Charlie Parker
supernatural crime
Series · cozy mystery
Meg Langslow
The Meg Langslow series by Donna Andrews has 39 known books (39 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Murder with Peacocks (1999). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Probable Caws. The next announced book, Jay to the World, is due 13 October 2026.
- Books
- 39 known books (39 novels)
- Published
- 39
- First published
- 1999
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Mystery & Crime
- Last checked
Start here: Murder with Peacocks (1999) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Murder with Peacocks
Murder with Peacocks is the book that opens Donna Andrews's Meg Langslow series, first published in 1999. It's followed in the reading order by Murder with Puffins. It runs 332 pages. This is the entry point for the series, which has kept going since.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Murder with Peacocks - Book 2:
Murder with Puffins
Murder with Puffins is the second book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2000. In the reading order it comes after Murder with Peacocks and before Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos. It runs 308 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Murder with Puffins - Book 3:
Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos
Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos is the third book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2001. It sits between Murder with Puffins and Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon in the reading order. It runs 293 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos - Book 4:
Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon
Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon is the fourth book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2003. In the reading order it comes after Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos and before We'll Always Have Parrots. It runs 315 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon - Book 5:
We'll Always Have Parrots
We'll Always Have Parrots is the fifth book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2004. It follows Crouching Buzzard, Leaping Loon and precedes Owls Well That Ends Well in the reading order. It runs 352 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of We'll Always Have Parrots - Book 6:
Owls Well That Ends Well
Owls Well That Ends Well is the sixth book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2005. In the reading order it comes after We'll Always Have Parrots and before No Nest for the Wicket. It runs 352 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Owls Well That Ends Well - Book 7:
No Nest for the Wicket
No Nest for the Wicket is the seventh book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2006. It follows Owls Well That Ends Well and precedes The Penguin Who Knew Too Much in the reading order. It runs 320 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of No Nest for the Wicket - Book 8:
The Penguin Who Knew Too Much
The Penguin Who Knew Too Much is the eighth book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2007. In the reading order it comes after No Nest for the Wicket and before Cockatiels at Seven. It runs 342 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Penguin Who Knew Too Much - Book 9:
Cockatiels at Seven
Cockatiels at Seven is the ninth book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2008. It sits between The Penguin Who Knew Too Much and Six Geese A-Slaying in the reading order. It runs 320 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cockatiels at Seven - Book 10:
Six Geese A-Slaying
Six Geese A-Slaying is the tenth book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2008. It follows Cockatiels at Seven and precedes Swan for the Money in the reading order. It runs 288 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Six Geese A-Slaying - Book 11:
Swan for the Money
Swan for the Money is the 11th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2009. It sits between Six Geese A-Slaying and Stork Raving Mad in the reading order. It runs 376 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Swan for the Money - Book 12:
Stork Raving Mad
Stork Raving Mad is the 12th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2010. In the reading order it comes after Swan for the Money and before The Real Macaw. It runs 316 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Stork Raving Mad - Book 13:
The Real Macaw
The Real Macaw is the 13th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2011. In the reading order it comes after Stork Raving Mad and before Some Like It Hawk. It runs 334 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Real Macaw - Book 14:
Some Like It Hawk
Some Like It Hawk is the 14th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2012. It follows The Real Macaw and precedes The Hen of the Baskervilles in the reading order. It runs 344 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Some Like It Hawk - Book 15:
The Hen of the Baskervilles
The Hen of the Baskervilles is the 15th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2013. In the reading order it comes after Some Like It Hawk and before Duck the Halls. It runs 336 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Hen of the Baskervilles - Book 16:
Duck the Halls
Duck the Halls is the 16th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2013. It sits between The Hen of the Baskervilles and The Good, the Bad, and the Emus in the reading order. It runs 329 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Duck the Halls - Book 17:
The Good, the Bad, and the Emus
The Good, the Bad, and the Emus is the 17th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2014. In the reading order it comes after Duck the Halls and before The Nightingale Before Christmas. It runs 352 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Good, the Bad, and the Emus - Book 18:
The Nightingale Before Christmas
The Nightingale Before Christmas is the 18th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2014. It follows The Good, the Bad, and the Emus and precedes Lord of the Wings in the reading order. It runs 320 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Nightingale Before Christmas - Book 19:
Lord of the Wings
Lord of the Wings is the 19th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2015. It sits between The Nightingale Before Christmas and Die Like an Eagle in the reading order. It runs 336 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Lord of the Wings - Book 20:
Die Like an Eagle
Die Like an Eagle is the 20th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2016. It sits between Lord of the Wings and Gone Gull in the reading order. It runs 320 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Die Like an Eagle - Book 21:
Gone Gull
Gone Gull is the 21st book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2017. It sits between Die Like an Eagle and How the Finch Stole Christmas! in the reading order. It runs 320 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Gone Gull - Book 22:
How the Finch Stole Christmas!
How the Finch Stole Christmas! is the 22nd book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2017. It sits between Gone Gull and Toucan Keep a Secret in the reading order. It runs 296 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of How the Finch Stole Christmas! - Book 23:
Toucan Keep a Secret
Toucan Keep a Secret is the 23rd book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2018. It follows How the Finch Stole Christmas! and precedes Lark! the Herald Angels Sing in the reading order. It runs 320 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Toucan Keep a Secret - Book 24:
Lark! the Herald Angels Sing
Lark! the Herald Angels Sing is the 24th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2018. It sits between Toucan Keep a Secret and Terns of Endearment in the reading order. It runs 304 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Lark! the Herald Angels Sing - Book 25:
Terns of Endearment
Terns of Endearment is the 25th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2019. It follows Lark! the Herald Angels Sing and precedes Owl Be Home for Christmas in the reading order. It runs 352 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Terns of Endearment - Book 26:
Owl Be Home for Christmas
Owl Be Home for Christmas is the 26th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2019. It sits between Terns of Endearment and The Falcon Always Wings Twice in the reading order. It runs 306 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Owl Be Home for Christmas - Book 27:
The Falcon Always Wings Twice
The Falcon Always Wings Twice is the 27th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2020. It follows Owl Be Home for Christmas and precedes Gift of the Magpie in the reading order. It runs 320 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Falcon Always Wings Twice - Book 28:
Gift of the Magpie
Gift of the Magpie is the 28th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2020. It follows The Falcon Always Wings Twice and precedes Murder Most Fowl in the reading order. It runs 304 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Gift of the Magpie - Book 29:
Murder Most Fowl
Murder Most Fowl is the 29th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2021. It follows Gift of the Magpie and precedes The Twelve Jays of Christmas in the reading order. It runs 320 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Murder Most Fowl - Book 30:
The Twelve Jays of Christmas
The Twelve Jays of Christmas is the 30th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2021. In the reading order it comes after Murder Most Fowl and before Round Up the Usual Peacocks. It runs 304 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Twelve Jays of Christmas - Book 31:
Round Up the Usual Peacocks
Round Up the Usual Peacocks is the 31st book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2022. It sits between The Twelve Jays of Christmas and Dashing Through the Snowbirds in the reading order. It runs 312 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Round Up the Usual Peacocks - Book 32:
Dashing Through the Snowbirds
Dashing Through the Snowbirds is the 32nd book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2022. In the reading order it comes after Round Up the Usual Peacocks and before Birder, She Wrote.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dashing Through the Snowbirds - Book 33:
Birder, She Wrote
Birder, She Wrote is the 33rd book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2023. It sits between Dashing Through the Snowbirds and Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Birder, She Wrote - Book 34:
Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow!
Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! is the 34th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2023. It sits between Birder, She Wrote and Between a Flock and a Hard Place in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! - Book 35:
Between a Flock and a Hard Place
Between a Flock and a Hard Place is the 35th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2024. In the reading order it comes after Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! and before Rockin' Around the Chickadee.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Between a Flock and a Hard Place - Book 36:
Rockin' Around the Chickadee
Rockin' Around the Chickadee is the 36th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2024. It follows Between a Flock and a Hard Place and precedes For Duck's Sake in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Rockin' Around the Chickadee - Book 37:
For Duck's Sake
For Duck's Sake is the 37th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2025. It sits between Rockin' Around the Chickadee and Five Golden Wings in the reading order. It runs 312 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of For Duck's Sake - Book 38:
Five Golden Wings
Five Golden Wings is the 38th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2025. It follows For Duck's Sake and precedes Probable Caws in the reading order. It runs 304 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Five Golden Wings - Book 39:
Probable Caws
Probable Caws is the 39th book in the Meg Langslow series, published in 2026. It follows Five Golden Wings and is the most recent entry in the series to date.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Probable Caws
About the Meg Langslow series
Meg Langslow is a blacksmith and metal sculptor in the small Virginia town of Caerphilly, saddled with the most theatrically eccentric extended family in cozy fiction: a scene-stealing mother obsessed with weddings and etiquette, a retired-doctor father who treats every case as a real-life mystery novel, and assorted relatives who show up uninvited and never leave. Every book drops a body into some corner of small-town Virginia life — crafts fairs, historical reenactments, faculty politics at the local college, holiday pageants — and lets Meg's dry, exasperated narration and practical problem-solving skills untangle it while she fields her family's chaos in the background.
Donna Andrews built the series on pun-stacked animal-themed titles (Murder with Peacocks, Six Geese A-Slaying, Toucan Keep a Secret) and a starting premise that never gets old: Meg is the only functional adult in a family of glorious oddballs, and the mysteries are as much about managing her relatives as solving the crime. The tone is broad, funny, and fast-paced rather than dark, with running gags (her father's amateur-detective enthusiasm, her grandfather's animal-rescue obsession) that deepen rather than repeat across 38-plus books. It's a reliable pick for readers who want laugh-out-loud cozy mystery with a big, affectionately drawn ensemble cast and a heroine who'd rather be welding.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Meg Langslow series?
There are 39 published Meg Langslow novels, from Murder with Peacocks (1999) to Probable Caws (4 August 2026). A 40th book, Jay to the World, is expected 13 October 2026.
What order should I read the Meg Langslow books in?
Publication order, starting with Murder with Peacocks. Each mystery stands alone, but starting at book one lets you meet Meg's family as Donna Andrews introduces them.
Is the Meg Langslow series finished?
No, it's ongoing. Donna Andrews publishes roughly one to two new Meg Langslow mysteries a year, with Jay to the World expected 13 October 2026.
Do I need to read the Meg Langslow books in order?
Not strictly — each mystery is self-contained — but reading in publication order lets Meg's marriage, family, and the town of Caerphilly develop the way Andrews intended.
Are the Christmas-themed Meg Langslow books a separate series?
No. Titles like Six Geese A-Slaying, Duck the Halls, and How the Finch Stole Christmas! are simply the holiday-set entries within the main numbered series, not a spin-off.
If you like the Meg Langslow series
Reading order last verified .