"New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews returns with another Meg Langslow mystery written "firmly in the grand tradition of Agatha Christie's Christmas books" (Toronto Globe and Mail). The 28th book and the seventh Christmas mystery in the Meg Langslow series, The Gift of the Magpie is yet another wonderfully merry and funny book from New York Times bestselling author Donna Andrews. Meg's running Caerphilly's Helping Hands for the Holidays...

Brother, Sister, and Honey are asked to clean out their playhouse, but they quickly abandon their chores and play baseball. Will they ever finish their task? Mama and Papa Bear show the cubs how putting in a good day's work can be fun and rewarding.

"Tiny speedcar racer, Max, goes on the imagined adventure of a lifetime after cleaning his room--over hot lava, across bright blue skies, through shark-infested waters, and past super-secret doors--until he finds his way back home to his mom ... and the mess he made of his bedroom"--

Raise the mainsail! Batten the hatches! It's time to set sail...on the couch! There's a storm coming, and a child is ready to captain the ship. "Make haste and climb aboard," they call out to their parent, "before you're swept out to sea!" Sea? What sea? The parent is only trying to vacuum the rug. But the child is adamant. It's not a rug--it's the ocean. And that broom? It's the ship's mast. Soon enough, child and parent are both off on an imaginary...

Having decided housecleaning is too much for her to handle, Heidi Heckelbeck pulls out her Book of Spells and conjures up a helper, with disastrous results.

Lazy Schnitzel is apprenticed to a famous wizard, and when a salesman selling vacuum cleaners offers to help clean house, Schnitzel accepts, but finds trouble when he realizes the salesman is a vampire.

"When Cork tries to boss Fuzz into helping him clean up, both friends learn how to work--and play--together"--