The Tail of the Tip-Off

Starred review from January 13, 2003
You don't have to be a cat lover to enjoy Brown's 11th Mrs. Murphy novel (after 2002's Catch as Cat Can), which centers on the "Clam," the University of Virginia's giant sports complex. After a women's basketball game, construction company owner H.H. Donaldson falls dead in the parking lot. The police and Crozet, Va., postmistress Mary Minor (Harry) Hairsteen are barely into trying to find out who killed H.H.—and how—when a second mysterious death occurs at the arena. While Harry snoops around, her cats, Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and corgi, Tucker, do their best to help and protect their mistress. Thinking and talking pets may not be to every taste, but Brown writes so compellingly of the sprightly residents of the Virginia Piedmont, both human and animal, that you have to be a real curmudgeon not to be won over. The author breathes believability into every aspect of this smart and sassy novel. (Mar. 4)Forecast:National print advertising, public radio sponsorship announcements and a simultaneous e-book release all augur another run up bestseller lists.

November 1, 2002
When a contractor drops dead at the local basketball game after an unfortunate encounter with poison, Mrs. Murphy is not amused. The fluffy feline takes on her 11th case.

December 15, 2002
Brown's eleventh Mrs. Murphy mystery finds Mary Minor ("Harry") Haristeen, who is postmistress in the small town of Crozet, Virginia, and also runs a farm, insinuating herself into a murder investigation. When H. H. Donaldson, head of a local construction firm, is murdered in the parking lot of a sports arena, Harry and her fellow four-footed amateur detectives--tiger cat Mrs. Murphy; the fat gray Pewter; and corgi Tee Tucker--try to figure out how and why he was murdered. Suddenly, Harry is looking at her longtime friends and neighbors with an uneasy suspicion and getting an inkling of the level of corruption in the construction industry. Meanwhile, the animals have their own agendas, as they amuse themselves by raiding the supply closet of the local Lutheran church and offer wry running commentary (set off in italics) on the foibles of humans. The politics of small-town life and the building trade are seamlessly woven into this lighthearted, facile tale that will appeal to loyal fans of the series. Others may find the anthropomorphic aspects of the story difficult to take, but it's hard to dislike Harry's giggle-prone, furry brood.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)