August 11, 1999
Pay Dirt
Rita Mae Brown

I love these books. It seems utterly ridiculous to have 3 animals act as the main characters, and a part of me keeps expecting to tire of the preposterous-ness of it all. Never happens, though. I love the threesome: Mrs. Murphy, the striped tiger cat, Tee Tucker, the Welsh Corgi, and Pewter, the fat gray cat who inevitably makes me think of George.

Someone named Wendy Wray does illustrations for the book, so every so often you’re treated to a charming charcoal (I guess) sketch of the animals doing various things: Mrs. Murphy riding in the truck with her paws up on the dash; or Pewter curled up in the canvas mail bin in the post office. Really nice renderings. Postmistress Harry is sometimes an almost marginal voice, more often viewed through the eyes of her animals who so desperately want to keep her out of danger.
In this book, a Hell’s Angel biker guy comes roaring into Crozet looking for some girl named Malibu, and winds up dead. Of course the animals have it figured out long before anyone else, and as usual, they’re continually frustrated by their inability to communicate their knowledge. “Malibu’s” real identity becomes clear later, and there’s a swindle and some missing bank money thrown in….Harry finally figures it out, much to the animals’ relief. ( )