Product Description

Instead of a proper second honeymoon, the newly remarried Harry and Fair Haristeen leave cozy Crozet, Virginia, for Shelbyville, Kentucky, site of the famous saddlebred horse show. There they’ll visit dear friends Joan Hamilton and Larry Hodge and enjoy a week among some of the finest horses, trainers, and riders in the country.

But soon after they arrive, events veer mysteriously–and murderously–off course. First, Joan’s ruby and sapphire horsehead heirloom pin is stolen from her private box at the fairgrounds. Next, a young film star’s prize three-gaited mare disappears into thin air. There is no lack of suspects, from hotheaded trainers and jealous rivals to vicious ex-spouses. Then a body is found flagrantly murdered and it’s obvious to Harry that someone at Shelbyville is sending a strong message: winning is only secondary–first prize is survival.

As Harry searches for clues, rediscovers life as a married woman, and deals with her upcoming fortieth birthday, her four-legged detective friends are already on the case. But is animal instinct any match for human depravity? Especially with two humans to protect and a killer on the prowl?


From the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #198902 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-29
• Released on: 2008-01-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 352 pages

From Publishers Weekly
The charming 14th Mrs. Murphy mystery (after 2006's Sour Puss) finds ex-postmistress and sometime-detective Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen accompanying her veterinarian husband, Fair, to an equestrian extravaganza in Kentucky. The mishaps begin when Harry's good friend Joan loses a beloved pin—or is the treasured piece of jewelry stolen? Then Jorge, a groom at Joan's farm, is found murdered, a pair of crosses cut into his palm. As if murder's not enough, an aging movie star's horse goes missing, and INS officials show up, hunting illegal aliens. Throughout, Harry's menagerie—cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter as well as corgi Tee Tucker—cleverly sniff out wrongdoing. Though some readers might find the anthropomorphized animals' italicized dialogue a bit much, the novel's tight pacing, combined with intriguing local color, make this mystery a blue-ribbon winner. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
With nearly every new entry in the popular Mrs. Murphy series (the last five were New York Times best-sellers), Brown introduces an intriguing setting to go with her cast of human and feline characters. So if the plots sometimes fall a bit short, fans are sure to stay entertained by either the antics of the players or the particulars of the worlds into which they wander. This time it's a horse show, as newlyweds Harry and Fair Hairsteen take their mewing brood with them to the prestigious Saddlebred horse show in Shelbyville Kentucky, where they meet up with some old friends. Along for the trip is the whole four-legged gang: Mrs. Murphy (the feline matron, who's a tabby), Tucker (a corgi), and Pewter (a "full-bodied" gray cat). Not two days into their trip, there's a robbery, and the cats take it upon themselves to find the culprit, as they can see what humans can't. Those who can keep all the characters straight (there's a person named Booty and a cat named Frederick) will find that this clever mystery strikes a comfortable balance between suspense and silliness. Even those who find the scale tipping a little too much in the direction of silliness will learn something about horse shows. Mary Frances Wilkens
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Rita Mae Brown is the bestselling author of several books. An Emmy-nominated screenwriter and a poet, she lives in Afton, Virginia.

Sneaky Pie Brown, a tiger cat born somewhere in Albemarle County, Virginia, was discovered by Rita Mae Brown at her local SPCA. They have collaborated on fourteen previous Mrs. Murphy mysteries: Sour Puss; Wish You Were Here; Rest in Pieces; Murder at Monticello; Pay Dirt; Murder, She Meowed; Murder on the Prowl; Cat on the Scent; Pawing Through the Past; Claws and Effect; Catch as Cat Can; The Tail of the Tip-Off; Whisker of Evil; and Cat’s Eyewitness, in addition to Sneaky Pie’s Cookbook for Mystery Lovers.


From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews

There's no mystery here---
If you've never read any of the Sneaky Pie books--don't buy this one! Start at the beginning (Wish You Were Here) as this was once a great series, and read the books in sequence until you begin to get bored--then STOP!! The series only gets worse.

The wonderful warm characters have lost their charm, the "mysteries" have become flat and nonexistent, and the books have been weighted down with too much technical information.

Ms. Brown also has begun using her books as a soapbox for her many opinions. While it is interesting to find out an author's views, she goes on and on...and on. A case in point, there is a brief mention in this book about steroids in show animals, then she goes on...and on...about wanting steroids legalized for human athletes. As a mother I am appalled. As an avid reader; I think, "What the heck has this to do with the story?" A little hint--absolutely nothing!

Great title -- poor book
Hey, where's the story? I believe this should have been made into a short story with only Mrs. Murphy, Tucker, Pewter and the horses talking. I am so disappointed. After looking forward to this book, I find that I cannot continue past the first 50 pages. It is just too painful. So, I am sadly putting the book aside and going to take a break from the Mrs. Murphy series. It was fun while it lasted but the time has come to move on -- for both Ms. Brown and me.

Bait and Switch
This isn't really a mystery novel; instead, it's really just a series of harangues by the author on a variety of her pet topics disguised as a mystery novel.

The truth is that, with every installment in this series, the amount of political/social/economic diatribe placed in the characters' mouths increases, while the quality and quantity of the underlying mystery declines. If differing opinions were intelligently discussed and debated through the mouths of the characters, if there were any subtlety and nuance in the thinking, it might be a bit more digestible (if still mostly off track and pure filler), but here, incredibly, all the characters always seem to agree. By this installment, the characters have indeed lost their charm and their personality. They are merely mouthpieces that allow the author to endlessly grind away at her own pet issues. Whether you agree or not with her positions, all the haranguing disrupts the flow of the story and distracts the reader.

Unfortunately, since the writing keeps drawing attention to itself, it's also clear to me it isn't as good as it used to be, which may actually mean nothing more than that the quality of the editing has declined. There are too many sentences that have to be read over because they contain an ambiguity, or that beg to be read over because poor word order makes them say something that actually sounds kind of funny. And at one point, in a brief observation about how people in a relationship often independently dress alike, the point is totally blown by the fact that the text leaves out necessary information on the woman's shirt or blouse, so the comparison doesn't gel -- any good editor should have caught this with his/her eyes closed. Maybe everyone involved is just in too much of a rush to get the next annual installment out and collect the money.

I agree with earlier reviewers that this series is in decline. It's really too bad the entire enterprise seems to be resting on the laurels earned by the earliest installments. When I devote my very precious reading time to a book, I want the writing to be frictionless so I'm free to be totally absorbed by and lost in the story. What I don't want is to have the writing itself constantly intrude on and push me out of the story, to the point where over and over I all of a sudden realize I've stopped reading and instead am thinking, "Wow, is this ever irritating (or badly worded, or whatever)!"