Outfoxed

January 3, 2000
Set in Virginia's foxhunting country, Brown's latest, anthropomorphic mystery will appeal mainly to devoted fans of her animal-centric Sneaky Pie novels (Cat on the Scent, etc.). Jane Arnold, septuagenarian master of the venerable Jefferson Hunt, is preoccupied, Lear-like, with the question of succession. Whom should she train as joint-master of the foxhunting club: the philandering lightweight Fontaine Buruss, or the philistine Yankee millionaire Crawford Howard, who promises to save the club from financial ruin? While the two unworthy candidates vie shamelessly for the post, Jane (known locally as Sister, despite her matriarchal stature) must also cope with the personal travails of other club members, especially the Franklins, whose two beautiful daughters have become "coke whores." Then, in the middle of the season's opening hunt, Fontaine is found murdered, a fate that rattles Sister not half so much as the simultaneous discovery of a murdered red fox. As the foxes note appreciatively in their subterranean parallel universe, "Sister is one of us"; they also pontificate on human nature, the environment and other species ("Groundhogs have no sense of aesthetics"). Horses, foxhounds and Sister's pet cat Golliwog also hold forth for chapters at a time (Golliwog on why she reads Sister's books: "It's the best way to enjoy an uninterrupted conversation with the best human minds from any century"). Brown, herself a dedicated Virginia foxhunter, clearly knows her fascinating terrain, as well as her steely, charismatic protagonist. But few grown-up readers will buy her depiction of the animal kingdom as a benign world in which furry critters chatter philosophically, while bumbling humans commit savage acts. Author tour.

September 1, 1999
No Sneaky Pie here, just lots of dogs and foxes. When a candidate for joint-master of the Jefferson Hunt Club is murdered during the opening hunt, Master Jane Arnold must investigate.

Copyright 1999 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 1999
Fans who've delighted in Brown's earlier books, especially her Sneaky Pie series, will thoroughly enjoy her latest. Set in Virginia's hunt country, the story features an engaging cast of southerners of both the two-legged and four-legged variety. Sister Jane Arnold has been master of the Jefferson Hunt for 40 years. She knows it's time to choose a successor, but the choice is a difficult one. Should she pick Fontaine Buruss, a longtime Virginian who's squandered the family fortune and philandered his way across the county, or Crawford Howard, a blunt-talking Yankee who's wealthier than Croesus but "not one of us" ? Before Sister can decide, however, Fontaine is murdered during the year's biggest hunt. Crawford is the prime suspect, but Sister suspects he's not the killer. With the help of her four-legged friends, Sister lays a trap for the real murderer, whose identity, when revealed, is a shock to everyone except Sister, who instinctively guessed the truth. Packed with fascinating details about horses, hounds, and hunts, Brown's book also explores the vagaries of human nature at its best . . . and worst. The antics of the anthropomorphic foxes, horses, hounds, cats, and dogs are as entertaining as those of the humans, especially because the animals are often the wiser ones. A quirky, adventurous, intriguing read. ((Reviewed October 15, 1999))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1999, American Library Association.)