Donna Andrews, author of 28 (and counting) humorous mysteries about Meg Langslow and her small town of Caerphilly, VA, has written eight books set at Christmas*. The latest, The Gift of the Magpie, uses Christmas not only as the backdrop but as the catalyst that inspires the actions.
The Interfaith Women’s Council has started a program called Helping Hands for the Holidays that provides any needed service to anyone in the community. As part of that service, Meg takes on the challenge of helping “Harvey the Hoarder” to declutter his house in order to meet local safety and health regulations. Convincing Harvey to agree to give up some of his long- stored treasures / junk seems like it will prove to be Meg’s biggest challenge of the Christmas season. Then she finds Harvey murdered, and her priorities dramatically shift.
I am not usually a big fan of holiday- themed books. However, the use of Christmas as a literary device instead of merely as the theme of the audiobook makes The Gift of the Magpie highly enjoyable. I greatly appreciated getting to learn more about a social issue that affects so many within our communities. I liked gaining insight into the mindset of someone with this mental health disorder. This audiobook guides listeners to gain empathy for people with hoarding disorders.
Further, I appreciated seeing the personal growth of Meg as she comes to see Harvey through new eyes of compassion. She soon lets go of the fear that most experience when meeting someone different from ourselves. In the process, listeners will gain a sense of empathy for those dealing with the hoarding instinct as well.
I really appreciated the various projects that Helping Hands for the Holidays does to serve the community. It models the way that such programs should ideally work, and we see how serving one individual can create a domino effect to help the community even more.
Bernadette Dunne performs this, as well as all the other, audiobooks in the series. Dunne is, in my opinion, one of the best narrators out there. Given how many audiobooks I listen to each week, adding up to hundreds each year, I have listened to a vast number of narrators, but Dunne always makes my list of three top 5 favorites. I appreciate all aspects of Dunne’s performances, but she excels especially at giving life to each character. Not only does each one have a distinct voice that Dunne has clearly developed for that character, listeners will find themselves personally involved with each one.
When I listen to one of Dunne’s audiobooks, I feel that I am being transported to the location of the book’s action and am standing in the midst of the characters, personally involved in the conversation. No wonder she is such a favorite narrator!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed getting to listen to The Gift of the Magpie. This book has not only a great mystery and delightful humor, but also a human element, in this case in the topic of hoarding, and what can lead to the disorder, often left untouched in a great many patients with the sense of shame they feel in being afraid to seek professional help. So I was highly impressed by the manner it used the background if Christmas joy to highlight a genuine issue in the world . I hereby give The Gift of the Magpie five stars!
*I include here Stork Raving Mad (book 12), which is set just before Christmas but is not actually Christmas-themed. The other seven Christmas books include Seven Geese a-Slaying (book 10), Duck the Halls (book 16), The Nightingale before Christmas (book 18), How the Finch Stole Christmas (book 22), Lark! The Herald Angels Sing (book 24), and Owl Be Home for Christmas (book 26).
Read about other books by Donna Andrews here.
