annieb123's Review of Whiskers in the Dark (Mrs. Murphy, #28) (Mrs. Murphy Mystery)

by Rita Mae Brown

Death stalks the Blue Ridge Mountains as a centuries-old mystery resurfaces and murder mars the lead-up to an annual beagle competition, in a thrilling new tale from Rita Mae Brown and her feline co-author Sneaky Pie Brown.

“As feline collaborators go, you couldn’t ask for better than Sneaky Pie Brown.”—The New York Times Book Review

A massive nor’easter has hit northern Virginia, where Mary Minor “Harry” Harristeen joins groundskeeping efforts at the National Beagle Club at Aldie as the date for its springtime Hounds for Heroes veterans’ benefit approaches. Harry’s fellow volunteers, including her oldest friend, Susan Tucker, comprise a spirited group of hunting enthusiasts, some former service members themselves. But things take a sinister turn when, after a routine tree cleanup along the Club’s hunting trails, retired foreign services officer Jason Holzknect is found dead, throat slit from ear to ear. Soon enough, another murder in their midst jolts the preparations, convincing Harry that the killer is familiar with the Club—and must be close by, masked in plain sight.

The intrigue extends to the grounds of Harry’s beloved local church, where the identity of an eighteenth-century skeleton wearing precious pearls remains a mystery. The anonymous woman’s neck had been snapped, and marks on the grave where her body was secreted indicate that someone recently tried to remove it, leading Harry to question how well she really knows those around her.

As always, Harry’s crime-solving cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and Tee Tucker the Corgi share her determination to sniff out the foes among friends, even those long buried. Harry will need her four-legged companions’ help more than ever: a ghostly beagle only they can see may hold the key to the culprit.

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Whiskers in the Dark is the 28th (!!!) book in the Mrs. Murphy mystery series by Rita Mae Brown (& Sneaky Pie). Released 4th June 2019 by Random House on the Bantam imprint, it's 278 pages and available in hardcover, ebook, and audio formats.

This is another one of those anthropomorphic animal cozy mystery series which is like a visit with an old friend for me. I'm always glad to see a new installment being released and happily the series quality has always been good in my opinion. This one sees the animal and human crew preparing for a hounds competition at a historical hunting lodge.

The narrative story arc is broken into two parallel timelines in the same location, one in 1787, one in present day Virginia. The bridge that ties the two together is the discovery of an unrecorded death (a murdered woman) from 1787 discovered in the churchyard wearing a fortune in jewels. The chapter timeline jumps are well demarcated with timestamps on the chapter headings, so they're not confusing. The plotting is variable. For me it moved along at a good clip and then got somewhat bogged down in relating a lot of historical information. I found the historical minutiae interesting, it might be less so for other readers.

The language is clean, the murders are (relatively) bloodless. There is a plot element and description of sexual assault in the 1787 plotline which might bother some readers, but there's nothing extremely graphic. There's a lot of social commentary, including views on gender roles in early American history along with slavery. The modern day plot denouement was a surprise for me, even though I had guessed 'whodunit'. There's also a paranormal (ghost) subplot which was quite melancholy to me.

The monochrome illustrations by Michael Gellatly give a sweetly nostalgic feel to the book. This is the same artist who illustrated earlier books in the series.

Four stars, I love Ms. Brown's work, and I am always in awe of her ability to combine deep social commentary with humor and wit.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Whiskers in the Dark (Mrs. Murphy, #28) (Mrs. Murphy Mystery)

by Rita Mae Brown

Reviewed by annieb123 on Jun 22, 2019

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