I’ve long meant to read Rita Mae Brown’s Mrs. Murphy series, for two reasons — 1. one of the main characters is a cat, and 2. they’re set outside of Charlottesville, VA (not so far from where I live). Despite a few faults, I enjoyed this. Though I like the conversations the animals have amongst themselves, I think I could have done without the philosophical discussions of how humans are not as good as animals because they kill each other for no good reason. I just don’t buy animals as philosophical creatures, no matter how intelligent they are. The depiction of small-town life is, I think, fairly accurate, and the mystery was sufficiently mysterious enough. I was unable to guess who the killer was, and I had no clue why until the big reveal. I think I’ll continue on with this series.

The one big problem with this book is that every time I read the title, I get Pink Floyd stuck in my head. ( )

August 18, 1999
Wish You Were Here
Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown

Another great Mrs. Murphy-Pewter-Tee Tucker mystery. Harry is so oblivious to the animals’ sleuthing skills that you just want to shake her. They bark (Tee), meow, scratch and paw frantically to try and communicate with her, and she never even realizes that they’re trying to tell her something. Even if I didn’t know what it was, I would at least know something was up! Ah well – that’s part of the charm of these books, I guess.
This time, nasty little secrets in the tiny town begin to explode, and people are turning up dead. Harry just happens to notice, as Crozet’s postmistress, that right before each death, the person received a strange postcard in the mail with a tombstone on the front and “Wish You Were Here” message inside. The silky little antiques dealer in town is not quite who he seems to be, though that’s really giving away too much.
Only one pet peeve I have about Harry: she still uses her ex-husband’s last name. I really have a thing about that, and I even sent Rita Mae Brown an e-mail about it. Harry’s a strong, independent woman and she should drop the Haristeen name AND that stupid nickname “Harry”. I mean, she does have her own name: Mary Minor. Is her entire identity wrapped up in her ex?
I still love the animals, though. ( )

Set in Virginia, this is a wonderful series to curl up with for recreational reading. Animal lovers will especially enjoy the interaction of not just the cats and dogs but wildlife and farm animals conversing, sometimes just socially and sometimes to solve the various murders that keep finding the heroine, Mary ("Harry") Haristeen.

One must remember that this is light reading. Fairly sympathetic treatment of Christian spirituality. ( )

This is the first in this series. I really loved it. Not surprsing the writing is top-notch, and the mystery was quite enjoyable. What really stood out for me in this book was the chat between the animals. Their 'philosophizng' was fascinating. ( )