Product Description

Spring fever comes to the small town of Crozet, Virginia. As the annual Dogwood Festival approaches, postmistress Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen feels her own mating instincts stir.

As for tiger cat Mrs. Murphy, feline intuition tells her there’s more in the air than just pheromones. It begins with a case of stolen hubcaps and proceeds to the mysterious death of a dissolute young mechanic over a sobering cup of coffee. Then another death and a shooting lead to the discovery of a half-million crisp, clean dollar bills that look to be very dirty.

Now Harry is on the trail of a cold-blooded murderer. Mrs. Murphy already knows who it is--and who’s next in line. She also knows that Harry, curious as a cat, does not have nine lives. And the one she does have is hanging by the thinnest of threads.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #160815 in Books
• Published on: 2003-02-04
• Released on: 2003-02-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 368 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780553580280
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Springtime, romance and murder all visit the peaceful little town of Crozet, Va. home of Mary Minor Hairsteen ("Harry"), her trio of feline and canine sleuths, a cast of familiar supporting characters and, of course, a few new ones. Brown's cozy formula, honed over nine previous books in the series (Claws and Effect, etc.), includes Southern traditions, romantic rivalries and gentle humor typified by the talking animals, whose commentary on human foibles provides much amusement. While the Crozet social whirl revolves around the upcoming Dogwood Festival, the theft of some unusual hubcaps sets in motion an escalating series of crimes that, inevitably, catches the interest of Harry. And Harry's old rival, BoomBoom Craycroft, does Harry the peculiar favor of fixing her up with a very handsome diplomat from Uruguay. While Harry juggles her duties as postmistress of Crozet, her farm chores and the romantic attentions of ex-husband "Fair" Hairsteen and the suave Diego Aybar, her pets the comfort-seeking, fat cat Pewter; the brave little Welsh corgi, Tee Tucker; and the wise and cunning Mrs. Murphy, a gray tiger cat apply their various talents to protect "Mom," as they call Harry. Brown's proven brand of murder and mayhem played out against a background of Virginia gentility and idealized animals is once again up to scratch. (Mar. 5)Forecast: Like its predecessors, this should find a comfortable perch on bestseller lists.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
When Roger Roger O'Bannon is found dead at the Wrecker's Ball, "Harry" Haristeen and feline friend Mrs. Murphy suspect it wasn't gin that done him in.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
In a series that vacillates between corny and captivating, Brown's tenth Mrs. Murphy mystery lands in the plus column. This time most of the action (and the dialogue) features the three pets of Crozet, Virginia, postmistress "Harry" Harristeen: Tee Tucker, Harry's dog; Pewter, her fat gray cat; and tiger cat Mrs. Murphy, the brains of the operation. What starts as a simple case of stolen hubcaps rapidly turns complicated when someone finds the suspected thief hanged in the woods. As Mrs. Murphy, Tucker, and Pewter puzzle over whodunit, Harry enjoys dating handsome Diego, visiting from Uruguay, to the disgust of her still-smitten former husband, Fair. Two more murders make catching the killer critical, requiring Harry's pets to ask a nasty rat and a scary owl for help. Although some readers will be turned off by animal-lover Brown's inexplicable insistence on extolling the "beauty" of fox and coon hunting, loyal fans will be pleased to see Mrs. Murphy and cohorts back in fine form. Jenny McLarin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

A fun tale cosy readers will adore
In the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia lies the small bucolic town of Crozet located in the middle of Albermarle County. It is a special, magical town unlike any other because all the animals are sentient and can talk to each other including cross-species communication with one "muted" exception: that of the inferior humans who have not evolved enough to be on their level. Since man is the only species who kills for reasons other than food and defense, the animals of Crozet may have a point.

Currently Crozet is suffering from a crime wave with three murders, a stolen truck, an unexplained $530,000 in one of the homicide victim's safe, and other lesser felonies. Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, her gray tiger cat Mrs. Murphy, Pewter a fat gray cat, and Tucker the Welsh Corgi are as usual in the middle of the investigation and hope to close the case soon.

Any new Mrs. Murphy mystery is a joyful reading experience and CATCH AS CAT CAN is no exception. Rita Mae Brown and her feline Sneaky Pie have co-authored an adult mystery that appeals to the child in all of us. Although Harry and her ex-husband are still dating, the fair maiden has a gorgeous new suitor who seems to good to be true. Still Harry and her "owners" will never allow her romance to get in the way of justice; but then again she is human.

Harriet Klausner

Not up to the usual standard
I'm a huge fan of the Mrs. Murphy series; they're my favourites of all the cat/crime genre. Unfortunately, the latest volume doesn't come up to the standard set forth in the series so far. It reads like a rough draft turned in under a deadline. While the actual premise is interesting enough, it's both unoriginal and so far-fetched that it's hard for this ordinary person to care about it. The writing is wooden and stilted, more a recitation of events than a good story. The new characters are lifeless -- not even a budding romance has any real zing -- and the old characters are predictable. Nothing new is happening in the town of Crozet; let's eat some orange glazed cinnamon buns. Even the animals can't really save this one; they talk a lot but don't really contribute much. A fan of the series will want to read _Catch as Cat Can_, but get it out of the library.

Junk Into Gold
Catch As Cat Can is the 10th Mrs. Murphy Mystery by Rita Mae [and Sneaky Pie] Brown, and this time Mrs Murphy, Pewter [the cats], and Tee Tucker [the dog] are helping their companion human, Harry Haristeen, postmistress of Crozet, Virginia, snoop around the local salvage yard. BoomBoom Craycroft, woman of ample bosom, rich widow, and Crozet's most famous sampler of lifestyles, has taken up welding sculptures out of junk metal AND sets Harry up with a Uraguayan diplomat. Miranda, Harry's helper at the post office, has her hubcaps stolen and then recovered. Harry finds a dead woodpecker and takes it to the local taxidermist. And as always, the dead bodies begin to pile up. Trust me, it all fits together. For anybody new to the Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, suspension of disbelief will be required when dealing with the fact that the animals can talk to each other and the fact that they solve the mysteries faster than the humans. REMEMBER, THIS IS MYSTERY LITE! I enjoyed Catch As Cat Can, but can't rate it up with the best of this series. If you enjoy lite mysteries, I recommend you read Catch As Cat Can and the rest of the Mrs. Murphy Mysteries.