Sour Puss

Murder is such a rude interruption, but that's exactly what happens to in Crozet, Virginia, in this Mrs. Murphy mystery. Kaye Forbes's subtle narration on the use of fungi in bio-terrorism and the Supreme Court decision to allow direct sales of wines to out-of-state customers chillingly establishes the motives for rivalries and revenge. Despite human efforts, only the brave pets, Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tucker--and a barnful of other animals--can solve the mystery and save our heroine from certain death. The only thing that could have made these animals more delightful would have been unique voices for each from Forbes. K.A.T. (c) AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine

January 9, 2006
The 13th Mrs. Murphy mystery from bestseller Brown and her feline collaborator (after 2005's Cat's Eyewitness
) opens with the comic-opera remarriage of series heroine Harry Haristeen and Fair, Harry's veterinarian ex-husband, reintroducing at length some familiar characters before turning to the novel's main focus—the vagaries of the burgeoning wine industry in the Virginia Piedmont. The prospect of having your own label or selling at a profit to another winery is too good to pass up, and even Harry and Fair have put in a quarter acre of Petit Manseng grapes. But someone is trying to scare off the competition, and the disappearance of a respected expert in the mutation of toxins sets Harry's talking pets—cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter and corgi Tee Tucker—on the sleuthing trail. When a longstanding feud between rival vintners leads to murder, Harry has to read the clues before attrition gives us the answers. Brown provides a captivating look at grape growing and the passionate dedication it requires.