Whisker of Evil: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery

I really, really enjoyed this particular Mrs. Murphy mystery. As a horse person, I didn't find the detail about breeding and bloodlines to be tiresome. And the mystery itself was wonderfully wrought and believable. The relationships between the primary characters are developing nicely, too. Looking forward to continuing with the series.

This is the twelfth book in this seris. With other writer, ennui tends to set in at this point and the writer either rehashes previous plots or loses interest in the characters or the storyline and it shows. That is absolutely NOT the case with this book. The main characters and the setting of rural Virginia are a major part of the charm of this series. The fact that this series is a spoof on the detective genre is also part of the fun. Having cats, dogs, horses, possums, birds, and foxes all talking to one another and filling in the gaps in the human knowledge base is also part of the fun. Finally, the climatic scene in which the murderer is exposed and the cats and dog have to swing into action to save some humans has also become a standard part of the plots. The mystery itself was surprisingly easy to resolve for me, but I was still assidously reading the text to keep up with what happens next. The real fun of this series is to explore the author's depth of knowledge and love of the Virginia countryside. The reader is rewarded with descriptions and explanations of why southerners seem to be lazy; how the virginia aristocracy works; and - in this volume - a lot about the horse breeding culture. The mystery itself involves a disappearance of a local woman 30 years before and its links to a rabies-infected murdered person in the present. By the time the tangled web is completely unwoven you have learned a lot about what seems to go on beneath the placid-seeming surface of this small town. For longtime readers of this series, be prepared! There are some major developments in what I call the "soap opera" lines. The various people to people relationships are explored and are developed ... sometimes to a surprising degree. The only discordant note to me was that the author has chosen to become more apparent in her discussion of her own social poilitics. This was always a part of the series, but in this volume, it takes another step forward. My fear is that this factor would become more prominent and would distract from the wonderful world that she has created. Nonetheless this is a delightful read and fun for those who have followed this series for years.

The Mrs. Murphy mystery series is like a favorite pair of old slippers. I'll read one no matter what, but I think this particular volume shows new life. Although I don't have the objectivity of someone who has never read any of the books by the team of Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown, I think a newcomer could easily join the club with WHISKER OF EVIL. It defines old characters and references to past events and purveys the strengths of the series. Comparing this book to others in the series and to its genre, it gets 5 stars.The chief strength I find is that Brown succeeds in satirizing the "cozy" mystery genre at the same time she pays homage to it. She has created some genial though not uncomplicated regular characters and a world that she does not puncture even when shaking things up, which she does considerably this time around. She is realistic (well, as realistic as you get when animals have their own lines of dialogue). What began in her first books as a speck on a rural map of Virginia, the town of Crozet in Albemarle County, has become urbanized rural. Government regulations plague postmistress/heroine Mary ("Harry") Hairsteen. You can see the whole South grappling with its past, present and future through this series. In deceptively simple prose, she conveys a strong sense of how time and the world catch up with the individual.The mystery itself is predictable. But who really reads or even writes "cozies" as brainteasers? Brown is having a lot of fun. She exercises a lot of knowledge about horse culture and airs her views on growth, government, taxes, ageing, and humanity, not to mention tourists who visit the real town of Crozet and don't find it as cute as they think a setting in a "cozy" should be.

Whisker of Evil tells the "tail" of crime sniffing Mrs. Murphy and Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, a postmistress in the small country town of Crozet. Harry loves to farm her land, run the local postoffice,and when the oppurtunity comes, solve the perfect murder mystery. As fate has it, yet another murder is dropped into her lap. Barry Monteith, a succesful young horse trainer is found dead with a ripped jugular. Now Harry is hot onthe trail with Mrs. Murphy and her other two pets, gray cat Pewter, and corgi Tee Tucker. Together, this foursome begin to unravel the mystery. But the more that Harry knows, the more danger she is in. With another young trainer found dead and a bad case of rabies in Crozet, Mrs.Murhpy and co. have their hands full with keeping their beloved human, Harry, out of trouble and perhaps out of death. This novel by Rita Mae Brown is an excellent read for the murder mystery lovers out there. Written in third person, it provides a wonderful perception of all that goes on. A captivitaing read, Whiskers of Evil will have the tail scared off of you.

When I bought this book, I realized that it was part of a series and in fact, the very last addition in it. I thought that I may have had a hard time understanding the characters and other important facts about this book. But, it didn't matter that I read the last book. Rita Mae Brown made it possible so that you could read this book first and still understand the whole story. I thouroughly enjoyed this book.Mary Minor "Harry" Harristeen and her fellow animal companions have another mystery up their sleeves. A local horsebreeder has been murder. The catch is that this man also had rabies. Soon, Harry is following a trail of clues and reopened the disappearance of a horse breeder from 30 years ago. She feels that the 2 cases may be connected.At the same time, Harry's post office will be moved into a new building with new rules, prohibiting her cats and dog from helping her with her job.This book has many unsuspecting twists. I highly recommend it to any mystery or animal lovers.