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Summary
Summary
Rita Mae Brown collaborates with feline co-author Sneaky Pie Brown in a new mystery starring Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, the curious cat detectives Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and Tee Tucker, the valiant crime-solving corgi. Halloween arrives early this year to rural central Virginia, when a twisted killer will stop at nothing to protect a multimillion-dollar scheme.
THE LITTER OF THE LAW
Autumn has descended and crops are being harvested all over Crozet, Virginia, ideal conditions for a scenic drive for Harry and husband Fair. Bucolic views are all well and good, but Harry's nose for trouble leads her straight to a cornfield's macabre scarecrow--an all too real murder victim that frightens all but the noisy crows.
This accountant's gruesome death is only the first of many disturbing events in this normally pastoral corner of the world. While Harry tends her beloved grapes and sunflowers, a killer edges closer--as does Harry's protective menagerie of animals.
Halloween's approach brings with it bona fide terror and a beloved local tradition that threatens to become fatal. Rooting out the guilty in the treacherous center of a lucrative conspiracy requires Harry's farmer's wisdom--along with the quick wits and extraordinary senses of Sneaky Pie, Pewter, and Tucker. A vicious murderer may know the lay of the land far better than Harry does, but that's about to change. It's up to her vigilant four-footed companions to make sure that the unearthing of this plot is not Harry's last act.
Praise for The Litter of the Law and the Mrs. Murphy mysteries
"As feline collaborators go, you couldn't ask for better than Sneaky Pie Brown." -- The New York Times Book Review
"Enchanting . . . Brown demonstrates once again why she's the queen of the talking animal cozy subgenre." -- Publishers Weekly
"As usual, the smart animals provide clues without getting in the way of the human interactions and plot. This is a strong addition to the popular series." -- Booklist
Author Notes
Rita Mae Brown was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania, on November 28, 1944. She received an associate's degree from Broward Junior College in 1965, a B.A. in English and classics from New York University in 1968, a Cinematography Degree from the School of the Visual Arts in 1968, and a Ph.D. in English and political science from the Institute for Policy Studies in 1976. She was the writer-in-residence at the Women's Writing Center of Cazenovi College and a visiting instructor teaching fiction writing at the University of Virginia.
After publishing two books of poetry, she published her first novel, Rubyfruit Jungle, in 1973. Her works include The Hand that Cradles the Rock, Sudden Death, Venus Envy, Loose Lips, and Rita Will: Memoir of a Literary Rabble-Rouser. She writes the Mrs. Murphy Mystery series and Foxhunting Mysteries series. She also writes screenplays and teleplays including Sweet Surrender, Room to Move, Table Dancing, and The Long Hot Summer. Her work on TV earned several Emmy nominations and she received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Variety Show in 1982 for I Love Liberty.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (3)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Chapter one of bestseller Brown's enchanting 21st Mrs. Murphy mystery (after 2012's The Big Cat Nap) finds Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen and her veterinarian husband, Fare, enjoying a drive through the central Virginia countryside one beautiful October day. A squabble among their backseat passengers-tiger cat Mrs. Murphy; Pewter, Mrs. Murphy's gray, overweight feline sidekick; and Tucker, a corgi-prompts the couple to pull over by a cornfield. A scarecrow that they spot in the middle of the field turns out, on closer inspection, to be a dead body. While the residents of Crozet, Va., continue to prepare for the Halloween Hayride, to raise money for the town library, the death toll mounts, and Harry resolves to catch a killer. Brown demonstrates once again why she's the queen of the talking animal cozy subgenre. Agent: Wendy Weil, Wendy Weil Agency. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Murders in a small town leave an armchair detective and her pet family with too few motives, or perhaps too many. Mary "Harry" Haristeen just can't stay out of trouble. Now, she and her loyal brood of animals stumble upon a scarecrow whose straw form has been replaced with a corpse. Harry didn't know the late Joshua Hill and can't seem to find a reason anyone would want him dead. Harry's friend Hester Martin has concerns of her own, from her resolve to save historical buildings to her determination to educate the consumers at her vegetable stand on the importance of organic foods. With Halloween fast approaching, Harry would love to get to the truth before the spooky mood settles over her little Virginia town. Before she can solve the case, however, one of Harry's friends is struck down in another grisly scene. Now, Harry's husband, Fair, insists that she carry her father's .38 and try to stay out of trouble, even though both are against her nature. On top of all this drama, sassy cat Pewter is working the last nerve of tiger-striped Mrs. Murphy and corgi Tee Tucker even though the crew have banded together to protect Harry, their mom. An animal-centric cozy that settles for educating rather than preaching, a nice shift from Brown's recent outings (Sneaky Pie for President, 2012, etc.).]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
The latest in Brown's long-running series begins with a body strung up like a scarecrow in a field. Series lead, postmistress Harry Harristeen, her husband, and her indefatigable crew of fellow-sleuth animals find the body as well as another added to a Halloween display. The first is an accountant, but the second is a friend of Harry's who ran a local organic farm stand. The only connection between the two was a shared interest in and ancestry of Native Americans from Virginia. Harry and neighbor Deputy Cooper learn that the state does not recognize many local tribes and that their history has virtually been erased. Maps and land ownership researched by the two victims together point toward a motive. The difficulties of Native Americans in reclaiming their heritage provides an engrossing angle in the case of the gruesome Halloween crimes. As usual, the smart animals provide clues without getting in the way of the human interactions and plot. This is a strong addition to the popular series.--Alessio, Amy Copyright 2010 Booklist