The Gift of the Magpie Read online

  Snow was falling. And not just a few scattered flakes. The sky was full of the kind of tiny flakes you only see when a snowstorm means serious business.

  “Now that’s more like it,” Rob said.

  “Yes,” I said. “It looks as if we’ll be having a white Christmas after all.”

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks once again to everyone at St. Martin’s / Minotaur, including (but not limited to) Joe Brosnan, Lily Cronig, Hector DeJean, Paul Hochman, Andrew Martin, Sarah Melnyk, and especially my editor, Pete Wolverton. And thanks to David Rotstein and the art department for yet another beautiful cover. You’ve all got me spoiled.

  More thanks to my agent, Ellen Geiger, and to Matt McGowan, and the staff at the Frances Goldin Literary Agency—they take care of the practical stuff so I can focus on the writing. Many thanks to the friends who brainstorm and critique with me, give me good ideas, or help keep me sane while I’m writing: Stuart, Aidan, and Liam Andrews, Chris Cowan, Ellen Crosby, Kathy Deligianis, Margery Flax, Suzanne Frisbee, John Gilstrap, Barb Goffman, Joni Langevoort, David Niemi, Alan Orloff, Art Taylor, Robin Templeton, and Dina Willner. Thanks for all kinds of moral support and practical help to my blog sisters and brother at the Femmes Fatales: Alexia Gordon, Aimee Hix, Dean James, Toni L.P. Kelner, Catriona McPherson, Kris Neri, Joanna Campbell Slan, Marcia Talley, Elaine Viets, and LynDee Walker. And thanks to all the TeaBuds for two decades of friendship. I’d like to give a special shout-out to all my friends who struggle with clutter, like Harvey—and me. You know who you are! And above all, thanks to all my readers. You’re the ones who make this possible!

  ALSO BY DONNA ANDREWS

  The Falcon Always Wings Twice

  Terns of Endearment

  Owl Be Home for Christmas

  Lark! The Herald Angels Sing

  Toucan Keep a Secret

  How the Finch Stole Christmas!

  Gone Gull

  Die Like An Eagle

  The Lord of the Wings

  The Nightingale Before Christmas

  The Good, the Bad, and the Emus

  Duck the Halls

  Hen of the Baskervilles

  Some Like It Hawk

  The Real Macaw

  Stork Raving Mad

  Swan for the Money

  Six Geese A-Slaying

  Cockatiels at Seven

  The Penguin Who Knew Too Much

  No Nest for the Wicket

  Owls Well That Ends Well

  We’ll Always Have Parrots

  Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon

  Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos

  Murder with Puffins

  Murder with Peacocks

  About the Author

  DONNA ANDREWS has won the Agatha, Anthony, and Barry Awards, an RT Book Reviews Award for best first novel, and four Lefty and two Toby Bromberg Awards for funniest mystery. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Private Investigators and Security Association. Andrews lives in Reston, Virginia.

  The Gift of the Magpie is the twenty-eighth book and seventh Christmas mystery in the Meg Langslow series. You can sign up for email updates here.

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  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Donna Andrews

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  First published in the United States by Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group

  THE GIFT OF THE MAGPIE. Copyright © 2020 by Donna Andrews. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.

  www.minotaurbooks.com

  Cover art by Maggie Parr

  The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

  ISBN 978-1-250-76012-8 (hardcover)

  ISBN 978-1-250-76013-5 (e-book)

  eISBN 9781250760135

  Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at [email protected].

  First Edition: 2020