The Purrfect Murder (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries) by Rita Mae Brown
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Book Reviews of The Purrfect Murder (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries)
Book Review: good, but...
Summary: 4 Stars
The usual good story from a master storyteller, but the animals seem to have a much lesser role than in previous works.Book Review: Have them all
Summary: 4 Stars
I like all the Mrs. Murphy stories. This one just a little slow but still had to have it to read.Book Review: Purrfect murders
Summary: 4 Stars
This was my first Sneaky Pie book. I liked it and have ordered more.Book Review: Just plain impurrfect...
Summary: 3 Stars
First, I have read every book in this series. But the more recent ones are just not as good as the first ones (though this one was 100% better than the last one--at least we're back in Crozet!). But this is a cute murder mystery series where all the animals (rats, snakes, owls, etc.) talk to one another. Not a platform for political views. If I wanted that, I turn on CNN. Sure, people can have an opinion, but some of the things said by the characters are straight out of a book. People I know just don't talk like these characters--and I live in a very big city!
Second, the ending was incomplete. OK, now is Tazio off the hook? The ending never mentioned that. Will this continue in the next book? I assume we will have something about her marriage to Paul. Did we absolutely prove the Kylie was the killer? No. She took off. So you have a supposed double-murderer on the run. And really, were you supposed to believe, considering how Kylie's character was described, that she was a murderer of this kind. No, to me, she was written as a guy-crazy young woman who liked to shop. Maybe that was her disguise. And did Harry simply forget about seeing her buy the $19,000 watch? That tidbit was never mentioned again. As in the previous book, the ending was over in the last two pages. Boom, story over.
Third, Harry. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Harry should have been arrested for illegal trespassing or breaking and entering. You simply can't break into someone's house because you think they are guilty of something unless you are the law and even they need probable cause. She should be dead, and that would be the end of the series.
Now, I realize these books are fiction and cute, light-hearted mystery. Or at least the first ones were. Ms. Brown is turning out these books in an assembly-line fashion. It seems that not much thought is going into the characters (and way too many new ones--bring the old ones back like Miranda and Boom-Boom) and way too much thought goes into what is Ms. Brown's view of the world. I still love the banter between Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, plus all the other animals (even the rats). Their conversations are more enjoyable than the human conversations (and more understandable).
Hopefully, the next one will improve. Yes, I will continue to read the books (I also get them from my public library and do not waste money buying them), but it's getting more and more disappointing to read. I hope Ms. Brown spends some time reading her loyal readers' reviews and takes the hint.
Signed, A real Mrs. Murphy
Book Review: Cats and dog save the day--in very upscale rural Virginia
Summary: 3 Stars
Even rural Virginia can't escape from the larger issues confronting the U.S. And when a planned parenthood doctor is murdered, the issue of abortion comes up. Little Min and Big Min spiral into conflict with Republican Little Min refusing to condemn the murder--or to defend a woman's right to choose. Meanwhile, the police arrest an anti-abortion activist who quickly confesses to the crime, but Harry Haristeen and her pets wonders whether things really are that simple.
At a fund-raising dinner, the other shoe falls when a prominent socialite is murdered and Harry's friend, Tazio, is an immediate suspect. Harry is sure her friend is innocent, but the evidence--they found the bloody knife in her hand--will be hard to argue against. Especially when Harry's pets learn that rats destroyed clues that might have exhonorated Tazio. Still, Harry does have one clue--the corrupt construction code enforcer, Mike, is withholding secrets. Could murder be one of those?
Authors Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown continue their Mrs. Murphy cat detective series with an engagingly written story. With their strong opinions and certainty that their way is the correct way, Harry and her friends may offend some readers (in fact, maybe they'll offend all readers since they mix progressive views on abortion with strange thoughts on slavery (maybe it would have died out on its own if it hadn't been for the Civil War)), but at least the Brown team puts their characters in a world where issues like abortion and the disaster in Iraq exist.
Over the past several books in this series, the Browns have been looking at social issues. Change comes slowly to the rural south, but even there, reason has begun to stand up against religious bigotry. The Browns are careful, though, to show religion in a positive light, with Bible quotations and the local minister both playing major roles. From a mystery perspective, I would have preferred to have a more ordered sleuthing process--with Harry actually finding clues that led her into danger rather than leaping with just a feeling. The talking animals (they only talk among themselves and with the wild animals) are mostly charming.