Catch as Cat Can

This was my second Mrs. Murphy book and I thoroughly enjoyed it, unlike my first foray into the series. It is a simple, fun, light romp and I enjoyed the antics of the cats and Tucker. I'll admit to being not put off by the preciousness of the thought of talking cats and animals, and it is the animals that really make these stories, not so much the humans, perhaps with the exception of Harry and perhaps one or two others. I liked it. I'll rate it 4 stars simply because although not complex, I would read it again and still enjoy it.

CATCH AS A CAT CAN

Spring has come to the Blue Ridge Mountains, and spring fever to the tiny town of Crozet. As the annual Dogwood Festival approaches, romantic maneuvers are rampant. Even equable postmistress Mary
Minor “Harry” Haristeen inadvertently snatches a blind date from under the nose of manhunter Lottie Pearson, the university fundraiser.

As for Mrs. Murphy, her interest in the exploding bird population is intensified by Pewter’s discovery of a dead rare woodpecker near the back porch. Feline intuition tells her more mysteries lie ahead. And they do.

A case of stolen hubcaps seems relatively straightforward until the truck that transported them to the unsuspecting O’Bannon brothers’ upscale salvage yard turns out to be show more completely untraceable. And while everybody deplores the tipsy, raunchy behavior of young mechanic Roger O’Bannon, nobody is sure it accounts for his sudden death over a sobering cup of coffee. But when his brother Sean will not authorize an autopsy and presses on with preparations for the Wrecker’s Ball, the climax of the season’s junketing, people start to whisper.

Then, as violent thunderstorms sweep in from the west to shadow spring festivities, another death occurs–could it be murder? Harry ponders whether the two deaths are connected. And as she and her furry cohorts–the cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter and corgi Tee Tucker–get mud on their boots and paws mapping local terrain and relationships and sniffing out telltale scents of villainy, someone is watching their every move.

When a shooting leads to the discovery of a half-million crisp, clean dollar bills that look to be very dirty, Harry’s blood is really up. But by the time she’s close to fingering 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. Mrs. Murphy show less

#10 in the Mrs. Murphy mystery series set in Crozet, Virginia and featuring Mrs. Murphy (a tabby cat), Tucker (a Welsh Corgi) and Pewter (a fat gray cat) and their human, Mary Minor “Harry” Harristeen, local postmistress. As usual, Harry becomes involved in a local murder investigation, the killing of one of the brothers who run the local auto salvage business. At first it looks accidental, but when two other dead bodies (obviously murdered) turn up and ties lead back to Roger, his body is exhumed and was found to be poisoned. What ties all three of them together? The answer was rather obvious to me, but my ‘bad guy’ antennae were twitching right from the very beginning—I just needed a couple of meaty clues to confirm my show more hunch. Mrs. Murphy and crew put Harry and the others on the right track in the end, of course. On a personal note, Harry is escorted to several local functions by an attractive and gentlemanly assistant ambassador from Uruguay, putting a fly in the ointment for Fair Haristeen, her ex-husband who is hoping to woo her back. Enjoyable light listen read by a wonderful reader. I’m catching up with the series rather quickly—only a half-dozen or so to go now! A show less

I have been enjoying my stress-free, non-professional life, and part of that is reading silly mysteries where cats solve crimes with the bumbling assistance of their humans. I like this series just fine for that purpose.

When a rare set of hubcaps is stolen, it seems like a harmless offense, until the suspected theif is found hanged in the woods. Soon the body count rises, forcing Harry to divide her time between getting to the bottom of the malfeasance and dating a handsome visitor from Uraguay.

Fast, fun read with Harry and her smart cats and dog.

CRAP!!! Couldn't even get through this meandering, distracted book. The plot goes nowhere and goes off on random tangents that last for chapters. The animals TALK and it's just terrible, terrible. You don't care about any character at all. Don't waste your time.