A Hiss Before Dying

April 10, 2017
Bestseller Brown’s leisurely paced 25th Mrs. Murphy mystery (after 2016’s Tall Tale) finds farm owner Mary “Harry” Haristeen’s pets—Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, both cats, and Tee Tucker, a corgi—enjoying a walk one autumn day near sundown in Virginia’s rural Albemarle County. When the animals spot an eagle carrying a strip of bloody flesh in its talons, an obliging blue jay informs them that it’s a blue human eyeball. “Sometimes a horse will have blue eyes,” Tucker comments. (Yes, these animals can communicate with each other, which is a big part of the appeal of this long-running series.) Soon two unidentified bodies turn up, and Harry and her pets do what they can to assist in solving the murders. The present-day action is supplemented by a story, told in flashback, of prominent families in Albemarle County and Richmond shortly after the Revolutionary War. Brown uses her knowledge of Virginia history to illuminate some of the economic hardships facing the new nation and the social mores of the time. The staccato conversation style of the contemporary chapters contrasts nicely with the more fluid prose of those set in the 18th century. Brown’s signature asides—on such subjects as local and national politics, traditional art, race, God, and just about anything else that strikes her fancy—give readers plenty to think about besides the loosely connected plot lines. Agent: Wendy Weil, Wendy Weil Agency.

April 15, 2017
Two modern murders with ties to the 18th century excite the interest of a Virginian busybody and her animal friends, though perhaps not many others.First, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen's beloved pets--cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, along with their much maligned corgi companion, Tee Tucker--are on the prowl near their farm in Crozet when they see an eagle flying overhead with a strip of skin and a human eyeball dangling from its talons. Next up is Deputy Cynthia Cooper, who responds to a call about a running transport vehicle with the keys still in the ignition. The missing driver turns up dead and wedged beneath a rock, with half his face torn off and no eye. Then the Waldingfield Beagles, a pack of hunting dogs on a horseless, kill-free hunt, find the body of an African-American investigator with an 18th-century brass chit--a slave pass from one of the area's former plantation owners, Ewing Garth. As the narrative alternates between the earlier century, including Garth, his family, his "people" (delicacy prevents the Garths from calling them slaves), and his neighbors, and the 20th-century citizens of Albermarle County, more questions arise about what the late private eye was investigating, who robbed a high-end shop of Native American artifacts, who disturbed the graves of an 18th-century couple, and who's taking potshots at the ever curious Harry. The plot inches forward amid debates about currency in the 18th century and modern lessons about Virginia history and discussions of golf, along with commentary from Mrs. Murphy and friends. A couple of tacked-on resolutions will provide small satisfaction to genre fans. This 27th meandering cozy from Brown and her feline co-author (Tall Tail, 2016, etc.) is cluttered with too many characters too sketchily drawn. Loyal fans may be chagrined to see the franchise menagerie reduced to little more than a furry Greek chorus.

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