I really liked this one. Josh and Jamie have grown into wonderful 10-year olds.
Michael has expanded his one man show of A Christmas Carol into a full production. They hired a B-movie actor named Malcolm Haver as Scrooge. The man is a belligerent unrepentant alcoholic. He shows up to rehearsals late and drunk. Randall has convinced the town to not sell the man alchohol but he keeps getting it anyway. Haver even tried to yell at the costume mistress, Mother! I was positive by this time in the book that Haver would be the dead body and Mother the prime suspect. I was wrong.
Throughout the last few books, Grandfather and Dad have been helping save Gouldian Finches. Everybody in town seems to be fostering cages of finches because Grandfather's friend with Fish and Wildlife will be bringing more. The guy never shows but while following Haver to see who his bootlegger is, Meg stumbles on a house full of cats, an old lady in a wheelchair, and a barn full of exotic animals. The chief stages a raid. They rescue the old lady, her cats, the exotic animals and the puppy mill. They also find the bootlegger with 2 bullets in his brain.
There are plenty of suspects, a lady of the evening in Westlake!, a couple of red herrings, an unexpected murderer and a wonderful production of A Christmas Carol. ( )

How the Finch Stole Christmas by Donna Andrews is a 2017 Minotaur publication.

Ho! Ho! Ho! It’s that time again…

Yep! Christmas in July!!

This year in Caerphilly, there will be a full-blown production of ‘A Christmas Carol’ and Malcolm Havers, a quasi-big-name actor has been cast in the role of Scrooge. Unfortunately, Haver is difficult and has a bit of a drinking problem. While everyone is trying to keep Havers sober, someone keeps supplying him with booze.

Hoping to catch this ‘bootlegger’ Meg follows Haver to his possible source, only to discover an animal smuggling ring….

And a dead body…

Andrews always adds a little something extra to her holiday themed mysteries. I loved the mystery, which was well-plotted, and had a kind of dual thread, and of course, the play and the snowy Christmas atmosphere, along with a little holiday spirit, gave the story a little sweet, cozy, and heartwarming atmosphere to close things out.

This is the twenty-second installment in the series, and it is still drawing me back for more. I enjoyed touching base with all the zany characters, who are, by now, old friends, and it is especially nice when they are dispensing a little holiday cheer!

Overall, Andrews delivers again- and of course, I look forward to my next visit to Caerphilly! ( )

I'm an unrepentant fan of this series, but I got about half way through this book and sort of resigned myself to a good read, but not a great read. Admittedly, to my way of thinking Duck the Halls is a pretty hard book to beat in terms of holiday spirit and humour, as well as a solid mystery.

The mystery in this one is, it pains me to admit, weak. The lady doth protest too much, sort of, and it made the culprit feel obvious. But I suspect that if you got Andrews drunk, she might admit that the mystery wasn't the point of this story. The series has always been about the characters, and to a lesser degree, about animals, but How the Finch Stole Christmas is almost all about the animals. The front flap leads a reader to think it's about the town's holiday play of A Christmas Carol and the shenanigans of the lead actor, but from the beginning the story really revolves around

an exotic animal smuggling ring, and a puppy mill that Meg stumbles across while tailing her lead actor, trying to figure out where he was getting his booze.

This is where the finches in the title come into play, and at least one of them plays a much larger role towards the end of the book.

So the book was good, but not great. Until the very end. And Andrews' managed to get me in the feels. I'm not sure how, because the scene isn't one I'd normally be moved by, so credit has to go to her writing, I think. No matter the reason, I found myself a little misty eyed as I finished, and once again feeling like she'd given me exactly what I was looking for: a Christmas mystery full of Christmas spirit.

By the way, this book works PERFECTLY for the Bodhi day square: Book themes for Bodhi Day: Read a book which involves animal rescue. ( )

Not too bad. I was 1) disappointed that her fun eccentric family members are being referred to as "helpers" instead of given a name and an amusing history and 2) a little unimpressed with the twins part in the finale. It was rather uncharacteristic of kids that age. ( )