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"Sister" Jane #8
Fox Tracks
“[Rita Mae Brown] enlivens a timely tale with . . . amusing accounts of her four-legged creations and delightful descriptions of the central Virginia countryside.”—Richmond Times-DispatchNew York Times bestselling author Rita Mae Brown bounds to the front of the pack with Fox Tracks, the thrilling new mystery in her beloved foxhunting series featuring the indomitable “Sister” Jane Arnold and, among others, the boisterous company of horses and hounds. Now, as a string of bizarre murders sweeps the East Coast, this unlikely alliance must smoke out a devious killer who may be closer than they first think. While outside on Manhattan’s Midtown streets a fierce snowstorm rages, nothing can dampen the excitement inside the elegant ballroom of Manhattan’s Pierre Hotel. Hunt clubs from all over North America have gathered for their annual gala, and nobody is in higher spirits than “Sister” Jane, Master of the Jefferson Hunt in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Braving the foul weather, Sister and her young friend “Tootie” Harris pop out to purchase cigars for the celebration at a nearby tobacco shop, finding themselves regaled by the colorful stories of its eccentric proprietor, Adolfo Galdos. Yet the trip’s festive mood goes to ground later with the grisly discovery of Adolfo’s corpse. The tobacconist was shot in the head but found, oddly enough, with a cigarette pack of American Smokes laid carefully over his heart. When a similar murder occurs in Boston, Sister’s “horse sense” tells her there’s a nefarious plot afoot—one that seems to originate in the South’s aromatic tobacco farms. Meanwhile, Sister’s nemesis, Crawford Howard, will stop at nothing to subvert the Jefferson Hunt Club. There’s more than one shadowy scheme in the works in Albemarle County, and some conspirators are unafraid of taking shots at those evidencing too keen an interest in other people’s business. When Sister voices her suspicions, she, too, becomes a target. Fortunately for her, the Master of the Jefferson Hunt may rely upon the wits and wiles of her four-legged friends—including horses Lafayette and Matador, the powerful hound, Dragon, and even the clever old red fox, Uncle Yancy! From Manhattan’s gritty streets to the pastoral beauty of Virginia horse country, Fox Tracks features the beloved characters from past Sister Jane novels in a fascinating new intrigue. This sly, fast-paced mystery gives chase from sizzling start to stunning finish! Praise for Rita Mae Brown’s “Sister” Jane novels “Brown is a keen plotter who advances her story with well-placed clues and showy suspects.”—The New York Times Book Review “[Brown] succeeds in conjuring a world in which prey are meant to survive the chase and foxes are knowing collaborators.”—People “One of the most entertaining amateur sleuths since those of Agatha Christie.”—Booklist
321 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
63 people are currently reading
831 people want to read
About the author
Rita Mae Brown
177 books2,245 followersRita Mae Brown is a prolific American writer, most known for her mysteries and other novels (Rubyfruit Jungle). She is also an Emmy-nominated screenwriter.
Brown was born illegitimate in Hanover, Pennsylvania. She was raised by her biological mother's female cousin and the cousin's husband in York, Pennsylvania and later in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Starting in the fall of 1962, Brown attended the University of Florida at Gainesville on a scholarship. In the spring of 1964, the administrators of the racially segregated university expelled her for participating in the civil rights movement. She subsequently enrolled at Broward Community College[3] with the hope of transferring eventually to a more tolerant four-year institution.
Between fall 1964 and 1969, she lived in New York City, sometimes homeless, while attending New York University[6] where she received a degree in Classics and English. Later,[when?] she received another degree in cinematography from the New York School of Visual Arts.[citation needed] Brown received a Ph.D. in literature from Union Institute & University in 1976 and holds a doctorate in political science from the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C.
Starting in 1973, Brown lived in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. In 1977, she bought a farm in Charlottesville, Virginia where she still lives.[9] In 1982, a screenplay Brown wrote while living in Los Angeles, Sleepless Nights, was retitled The Slumber Party Massacre and given a limited release theatrically.
During Brown's spring 1964 semester at the University of Florida at Gainesville, she became active in the American Civil Rights Movement. Later in the 1960s, she participated in the anti-war movement, the feminist movement and the Gay Liberation movement.
Brown took an administrative position with the fledgling National Organization for Women, but resigned in January 1970 over Betty Friedan's anti-gay remarks and NOW's attempts to distance itself from lesbian organizations. She claims she played a leading role in the "Lavender Menace" zap of the Second Congress to Unite Women on May 1, 1970, which protested Friedan's remarks and the exclusion of lesbians from the women's movement.
In the early 1970s, she became a founding member of The Furies Collective, a lesbian feminist newspaper collective in Washington, DC, which held that heterosexuality was the root of all oppression.
Brown told Time magazine in 2008, "I don't believe in straight or gay. I really don't. I think we're all degrees of bisexual. There may be a few people on the extreme if it's a bell curve who really truly are gay or really truly are straight. Because nobody had ever said these things and used their real name, I suddenly became [in the late 1970s] the only lesbian in America."
Brown was born illegitimate in Hanover, Pennsylvania. She was raised by her biological mother's female cousin and the cousin's husband in York, Pennsylvania and later in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Starting in the fall of 1962, Brown attended the University of Florida at Gainesville on a scholarship. In the spring of 1964, the administrators of the racially segregated university expelled her for participating in the civil rights movement. She subsequently enrolled at Broward Community College[3] with the hope of transferring eventually to a more tolerant four-year institution.
Between fall 1964 and 1969, she lived in New York City, sometimes homeless, while attending New York University[6] where she received a degree in Classics and English. Later,[when?] she received another degree in cinematography from the New York School of Visual Arts.[citation needed] Brown received a Ph.D. in literature from Union Institute & University in 1976 and holds a doctorate in political science from the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C.
Starting in 1973, Brown lived in the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles. In 1977, she bought a farm in Charlottesville, Virginia where she still lives.[9] In 1982, a screenplay Brown wrote while living in Los Angeles, Sleepless Nights, was retitled The Slumber Party Massacre and given a limited release theatrically.
During Brown's spring 1964 semester at the University of Florida at Gainesville, she became active in the American Civil Rights Movement. Later in the 1960s, she participated in the anti-war movement, the feminist movement and the Gay Liberation movement.
Brown took an administrative position with the fledgling National Organization for Women, but resigned in January 1970 over Betty Friedan's anti-gay remarks and NOW's attempts to distance itself from lesbian organizations. She claims she played a leading role in the "Lavender Menace" zap of the Second Congress to Unite Women on May 1, 1970, which protested Friedan's remarks and the exclusion of lesbians from the women's movement.
In the early 1970s, she became a founding member of The Furies Collective, a lesbian feminist newspaper collective in Washington, DC, which held that heterosexuality was the root of all oppression.
Brown told Time magazine in 2008, "I don't believe in straight or gay. I really don't. I think we're all degrees of bisexual. There may be a few people on the extreme if it's a bell curve who really truly are gay or really truly are straight. Because nobody had ever said these things and used their real name, I suddenly became [in the late 1970s] the only lesbian in America."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 115 reviews
December 27, 2012
I agree with all those who are annoyed byBrown's increasing use of her fiction as a political soapbox- I started out loving the Sneaky Pie books but the plots got weaker while the politics heavier. I am not sure she is really increasing the polemics in Fox Tracks but it is certainly there. The plot is OK- not one of her best but she has churned out poorer as well. If you love riding and reading about hunting though, you will enjoy the sections of this book which describe the hunts and wish you were there! The book is a quick and easy read, which is just as well, as it isn't worth a major investment of time- and I'd advise getting it from the library or in the least expensive format, if you must purchase it!
February 13, 2013
This is one of the Sister Jane, master of the foxhounds series. I grew up in beautiful foxhunting country back east, and one of the best friends of our local hunt club's first whipper-in was my brother's girlfriend. The master of the hounds was the father of one of my classmates. The place where I grew up is literally one of those tony spots where Dick Cheney'd go to shoot hundreds of game birds and then raise a few million dollars for the GOP.
Now that I live with my people (liberal and progressive to the core) in the SF Bay Area, I like to revisit my hometown through the Sister Jane series. She lives that life, and the books have it all completely right.
The mysteries are beside the point IMHO, although pleasantly for us repeat readers, the bad guys aren't always one-offs, such that you instantly recognize who is going to die or have done it, as one did so often when a stranger showed up on the crew of Star Trek (or Galaxy Quest). Repeat readers benefit from getting to know the regulars and watching their children come of age.
The real reason to read this series is to enjoy RMB's thoughts on the virtues of hard work, a man's or woman's word, the best body conformation and temperament of a good fox hound and horse (by type: thoroughbred, warm blood, quarter horse, and mixes - there aren't any Arabians as I recall), the evils of government intrusion on the noblesse oblige that of course all the good country gentlepersons embody and so on. I'm often startled at how politically conservative RMB seems to be. She's very up-by-your-bootstraps and leave us alone to go about our noble endeavors.
The last book had quite a bit of info about whiskey. This book benefits from prodigious research into the history of tobacco and quite rails against government taxation on tobacco and so-called do-gooders interference with an individuals right to smoke tobacco. RMB lives in a tobacco-growing, whiskey-brewing state, and I enjoy her research, even if I don't agree with her politics on the subject. The targeting of children/young folk as consumers of an addictive substance is never mentioned, while additives get a lot of press. Apparently there aren't any cigarettes left that use top tobacco (literally and figurely: like pot, apparently the top leaves of tobacco are the best tasting/most potent). The book posits an underground economy of true tobacco cigarettes that parallels delicious well-brewed moonshine or whiskey, which apparently is now being licensed for production and sale in small batches. It's all very interesting and very south of the Mason-Dixon line.
I love it, I really do. The details are right, the info about foxhunting and running a farm and living in gentile country are wonderful. And I really enjoy being reminded, again, why I left there and why I don't go back to visit.
Now that I live with my people (liberal and progressive to the core) in the SF Bay Area, I like to revisit my hometown through the Sister Jane series. She lives that life, and the books have it all completely right.
The mysteries are beside the point IMHO, although pleasantly for us repeat readers, the bad guys aren't always one-offs, such that you instantly recognize who is going to die or have done it, as one did so often when a stranger showed up on the crew of Star Trek (or Galaxy Quest). Repeat readers benefit from getting to know the regulars and watching their children come of age.
The real reason to read this series is to enjoy RMB's thoughts on the virtues of hard work, a man's or woman's word, the best body conformation and temperament of a good fox hound and horse (by type: thoroughbred, warm blood, quarter horse, and mixes - there aren't any Arabians as I recall), the evils of government intrusion on the noblesse oblige that of course all the good country gentlepersons embody and so on. I'm often startled at how politically conservative RMB seems to be. She's very up-by-your-bootstraps and leave us alone to go about our noble endeavors.
The last book had quite a bit of info about whiskey. This book benefits from prodigious research into the history of tobacco and quite rails against government taxation on tobacco and so-called do-gooders interference with an individuals right to smoke tobacco. RMB lives in a tobacco-growing, whiskey-brewing state, and I enjoy her research, even if I don't agree with her politics on the subject. The targeting of children/young folk as consumers of an addictive substance is never mentioned, while additives get a lot of press. Apparently there aren't any cigarettes left that use top tobacco (literally and figurely: like pot, apparently the top leaves of tobacco are the best tasting/most potent). The book posits an underground economy of true tobacco cigarettes that parallels delicious well-brewed moonshine or whiskey, which apparently is now being licensed for production and sale in small batches. It's all very interesting and very south of the Mason-Dixon line.
I love it, I really do. The details are right, the info about foxhunting and running a farm and living in gentile country are wonderful. And I really enjoy being reminded, again, why I left there and why I don't go back to visit.
November 20, 2012
Fox Tracks by Rita Mae Brown is the 8th novel in a series featuring foxhunter and fox lover, and amateur detective, Sister Jane.
It all begins with the murder of a tobacconist but it's not the crime that sets the pace and makes this such an interesting book to read, but the characters. First we have Sister Jane, a woman as unconventional as they come. Then there's Gray Lorillard, her boyfriend and an opium smoker. Before too long in comes Crawford Howard, Sister's enemy and a man so rich that can buy his way into and out of everything. And then there's "Tootie", a young woman who decides to give up Princeton, forget about her planned career and her family's fortune and become a veterinarian.
However it's not only the characters that make this novel interesting; it's also the hunting scenes. The author's descriptions of the action as it takes place are in most parts really great:
On and on they flew, the sound of hoofbeats thrilling. Shaker rode well with his hounds. Betty, feeling that water in her boots, on the right and Sybil, a swift-moving speck on the left, charged over undulating pasture... Hounds disappeared over a swale. An old tobacco barn hove into view as Sister galloped down that incline, then up the other side. The hounds surrounded the old curing shed, some eagerly wiggling through spaces, logs deliberately built that way a century and a half ago...
Speaking of tobacco, it does have an important part to play in this novel as well. It's not only that the murder of the tobacconist will spark a series of events that will put many lives into danger, it also has to do with the rights of smokers. Sister is really angry with the politicians that pass one law to protect the health of the public, but when it suits them just forget, or avoid, to pass another one, for the very same reason.
Another interesting fact here is that the animals talk between them, something that inputs lots of humor into the narrative. I especially like the hate and hate relationship between the Sister's dogs and cat. The cat is just like a spoiled and sly princess. She always gives the dogs a hard time and is the unofficial ruler of the domestic kingdom, and thus creates lots and lots of problems.
In an unconventional household like Sister's one could expect nothing less. These minor domestic troubles just seem to add spice to her life, and the fact that at her age she has a boyfriend she doesn't want to marry, does nothing but prove that she's true to her words: An unmarried woman is incomplete. When she's married, she's finished.
Crime, mystery, foxhunts and lots and lots of laughs; what more could one ask for in a novel? Rita Mae Brown makes sure that the reader has fun while reading her book, and she does so in a splendid way.
It all begins with the murder of a tobacconist but it's not the crime that sets the pace and makes this such an interesting book to read, but the characters. First we have Sister Jane, a woman as unconventional as they come. Then there's Gray Lorillard, her boyfriend and an opium smoker. Before too long in comes Crawford Howard, Sister's enemy and a man so rich that can buy his way into and out of everything. And then there's "Tootie", a young woman who decides to give up Princeton, forget about her planned career and her family's fortune and become a veterinarian.
However it's not only the characters that make this novel interesting; it's also the hunting scenes. The author's descriptions of the action as it takes place are in most parts really great:
On and on they flew, the sound of hoofbeats thrilling. Shaker rode well with his hounds. Betty, feeling that water in her boots, on the right and Sybil, a swift-moving speck on the left, charged over undulating pasture... Hounds disappeared over a swale. An old tobacco barn hove into view as Sister galloped down that incline, then up the other side. The hounds surrounded the old curing shed, some eagerly wiggling through spaces, logs deliberately built that way a century and a half ago...
Speaking of tobacco, it does have an important part to play in this novel as well. It's not only that the murder of the tobacconist will spark a series of events that will put many lives into danger, it also has to do with the rights of smokers. Sister is really angry with the politicians that pass one law to protect the health of the public, but when it suits them just forget, or avoid, to pass another one, for the very same reason.
Another interesting fact here is that the animals talk between them, something that inputs lots of humor into the narrative. I especially like the hate and hate relationship between the Sister's dogs and cat. The cat is just like a spoiled and sly princess. She always gives the dogs a hard time and is the unofficial ruler of the domestic kingdom, and thus creates lots and lots of problems.
In an unconventional household like Sister's one could expect nothing less. These minor domestic troubles just seem to add spice to her life, and the fact that at her age she has a boyfriend she doesn't want to marry, does nothing but prove that she's true to her words: An unmarried woman is incomplete. When she's married, she's finished.
Crime, mystery, foxhunts and lots and lots of laughs; what more could one ask for in a novel? Rita Mae Brown makes sure that the reader has fun while reading her book, and she does so in a splendid way.
September 5, 2015
I have read other books in this series but this one did not measure up. Basically, it was a questions of balance.I felt there was too much fox hunt and not enough mystery.
August 24, 2022
Fun and easy read, I like the fox hunting and tobacco historical context.
January 21, 2013
I always enjoy reading about the foxes, the hounds, the horses, and Sister Jane. This was every bit as enjoyable as any of the others in the series. The animals really make the story come alive. Their conversations make me giggle and chuckle.
September 30, 2018
First one of her books I have read. I like all the animals talking. Not sure I should have started with the hunting ones. Good sense of humor. Twist at the end.
July 17, 2019
To the Hounds
Adore Rita Mae Brown. Her books are delightful and Fox Tracks for most is a continuation of a really good series. The characters range in age from teens to very mature. The animals in these books are important to the story and have great impact. Smuggling, along with some present day politics of the Egypt and the U.S. Are the basis for the book. If you love Sister, Gray and the hounds and horses, you might need to read Fox Tracks.
Adore Rita Mae Brown. Her books are delightful and Fox Tracks for most is a continuation of a really good series. The characters range in age from teens to very mature. The animals in these books are important to the story and have great impact. Smuggling, along with some present day politics of the Egypt and the U.S. Are the basis for the book. If you love Sister, Gray and the hounds and horses, you might need to read Fox Tracks.
April 16, 2021
Loved this book again. i love books anyway about horses and dogs but really love reading about fox hunting and all the jumps with the horses. Sister Jane gets involved in a mystery which brings up about the South's history with tobacco growing. Loved how the teen girls from Custis Hall are again included and all the same dogs and foxes and horses too.
September 25, 2017
Fabulous book, and I so enjoy reading such great descriptions of the countryside and fox hunting in Virginia! I'm on to the next book, LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE, so I'll be ready for an ARC I won to review for LibraryThing.
October 5, 2020
I love the Mrs. Murphy/Sneaky Pie books so thought I'd try a different series. I listen my books, and found the author narration of this one unbearable. Very rarely do I stop listening to a book, but I just couldn't take the awkward inflections, nervous rushing, and the accent, whatever it is.
June 29, 2022
Although I learned a lot about the history of tobacca farming, this was not one of Ms. Brown's best.
I knew who the murder was early. But I do love reading about the hounds and horses. And of course Sister is a wonderful character. So I'll keep reading.
I knew who the murder was early. But I do love reading about the hounds and horses. And of course Sister is a wonderful character. So I'll keep reading.
September 16, 2023
Brown does an excellent job of describing the hunts and I enjoy the animals. This mystery through in information about cigarettes. The villain was a surprise for me. Sneaky Pie is still my favorite.
January 26, 2024
Despite Brown's constant outbursts about politics (as in most of her works) this was still a decent story. The subject of tobacco really is fascinating: however, I figured out pretty quickly who the killer was. Either way I still look forward to reading her books.
August 2, 2017
so far, I think this is my least favorite of her books. Like the characters, but not the story so much.
August 31, 2017
Rita Mae Brown and Sister Jane never fail to please! I was truly surprised by the antagonist!
November 30, 2018
I enjoy the hunting scenes and the animals.
December 11, 2018
Quite a few continuity errors in accordance with the rest of the series, but still a very enjoyable installment.
November 12, 2019
So many continuity errors with the other books in this series! It feels so lazy for the author to spoil continuity- like, did she forget what she wrote in the preceding stories?!
August 3, 2020
the one with contraband cigarettes, Tootie drops out of school
November 3, 2020
These are fun reads
November 26, 2020
Finally, one I didn't figure out.
June 30, 2021
Love this series and the animal talk. Bit darker than other installments.
March 6, 2022
Sister Jane at her finest!
July 24, 2022
Not the usual style of book for her. I usually enjoy her books
March 28, 2025
Good book. The plot was excellent but the storyline was drape. Enjoyed the characters for the most part. There was some good humor, mostly by the pets. Recommend.
December 23, 2025
Sister Jane is in NYC for the Masters' Ball; she and Tootie meet a fascinating shopkeeper. Murder is afoot and Sister must again use her wiles to catch the killer.
April 3, 2014
Disclaimer: I received Fox Tracks: A Novel, by Rita Mae Brown from Goodreads' Giveaway program.
There's an adage that a writer should write what he or she knows. Rita Mae Brown has taken that advice to heart. In her latest "Sister" Jane novel, Fox Tracks, Brown has Sister Jane still living in Albermarle County, Virginia, and reigning over the local hunt club. An equestrian who lives in Virginia and who rides with a hunt club, Ms. Brown has many of her books firmly set in Virginia, with characters noted for their strength and indepence. Brown's Miss Murphy mysteries - my first foray into Ms. Brown's writings - also take place in Virginia, as do many of her non-series books.
In Fox Tracks, Sister Jane and members of her hunt club gather with other hunt clubs for their annual event in Manhattan. The festive mood, however, is dampened with the murder of a local tobacco shop owner. Later, another murder takes place in Boston. Of course, this is not the end of the trail of murders. Even the beloved Sister Jane becomes a target, hunted with more zeal than a hunt club hound chases a fox. Does she smoke out the killer or killers before she becomes a victim? Read this quickly moving book to find out.
There are a few things that bothered me with Fox Tracks, all of which are relatively minor. There are times when Ms. Brown's wording seems a little stilted, with a slightly strange syntax. On page 17 of Fox Tracks, Ms. Brown writes, "Hailing from Lexington, Kentucky, where she was Master of the Woodford Hunt, Jane Winegardner walked across the ballroom straight toward Sister,..." It would have made more sense if "Jane Winegardner, the Master of the Woodford Hunt in Lexington, Kentucky, walked across the ballroom..." Meanwhile, on page 18, we learn that Jane "wave[d] at Lynn Lloyd, MFH, from Red Rock in Nevada." Adding the MFH seems to slow down the flow of the words a little. There are several other places where the writing is a little off, but not so much to where the reader would want to walk away from the book.
One thing that Brown does that I have found helpful, both in the Miss Murphy books, as well as Fox Tracks, is the habit of giving a list of characters at the beginning of the book. For a new reader in either the Sister Jane or Miss Murphy series, it helps to know who the characters are we'll encounter along the way. Readers who have followed each series from the start will be able to get a quick idea of how far the characters have come from the previous book, as well as any new characters who might either be a new permanent addition, or simply here for the current book.
Despite the slight quirks in Ms. Brown's writing, Fox Tracks is as enjoyable as other Rita Mae Brown novels and worth the read. Fans will thoroughly enjoy this book, and first time readers may become fans after this novel.
There's an adage that a writer should write what he or she knows. Rita Mae Brown has taken that advice to heart. In her latest "Sister" Jane novel, Fox Tracks, Brown has Sister Jane still living in Albermarle County, Virginia, and reigning over the local hunt club. An equestrian who lives in Virginia and who rides with a hunt club, Ms. Brown has many of her books firmly set in Virginia, with characters noted for their strength and indepence. Brown's Miss Murphy mysteries - my first foray into Ms. Brown's writings - also take place in Virginia, as do many of her non-series books.
In Fox Tracks, Sister Jane and members of her hunt club gather with other hunt clubs for their annual event in Manhattan. The festive mood, however, is dampened with the murder of a local tobacco shop owner. Later, another murder takes place in Boston. Of course, this is not the end of the trail of murders. Even the beloved Sister Jane becomes a target, hunted with more zeal than a hunt club hound chases a fox. Does she smoke out the killer or killers before she becomes a victim? Read this quickly moving book to find out.
There are a few things that bothered me with Fox Tracks, all of which are relatively minor. There are times when Ms. Brown's wording seems a little stilted, with a slightly strange syntax. On page 17 of Fox Tracks, Ms. Brown writes, "Hailing from Lexington, Kentucky, where she was Master of the Woodford Hunt, Jane Winegardner walked across the ballroom straight toward Sister,..." It would have made more sense if "Jane Winegardner, the Master of the Woodford Hunt in Lexington, Kentucky, walked across the ballroom..." Meanwhile, on page 18, we learn that Jane "wave[d] at Lynn Lloyd, MFH, from Red Rock in Nevada." Adding the MFH seems to slow down the flow of the words a little. There are several other places where the writing is a little off, but not so much to where the reader would want to walk away from the book.
One thing that Brown does that I have found helpful, both in the Miss Murphy books, as well as Fox Tracks, is the habit of giving a list of characters at the beginning of the book. For a new reader in either the Sister Jane or Miss Murphy series, it helps to know who the characters are we'll encounter along the way. Readers who have followed each series from the start will be able to get a quick idea of how far the characters have come from the previous book, as well as any new characters who might either be a new permanent addition, or simply here for the current book.
Despite the slight quirks in Ms. Brown's writing, Fox Tracks is as enjoyable as other Rita Mae Brown novels and worth the read. Fans will thoroughly enjoy this book, and first time readers may become fans after this novel.
December 1, 2012
Jane Arnold rides again, this time in pursuit of a killer riding with her own hunt.
The first signs of trouble are far from Virginia, in New York City, where "Sister" Jane Arnold, her lover Gray Lorillard, and two of the young ladies recently graduated from Custis Hall, and now attending Princeton, are attending the annual Masters of Foxhounds Association dinner. During this New York interlude, Jane and Tootie visit a tobacco shop to buy a gift for Gray, and meet a charming, Cuban-born tobacco merchant.
Within moments after their departure, the tobacco seller is dead, murdered, with a package of cigarettes bearing the name "American Smokes" left on his chest. It's not a brand she's ever heard of, but except for their proximity to the crime, it's a minor mystery, far from where they live their lives.
Until there's a nearly identical murder in a tobacco shop in Boston. And then a tobacco warehouse in Illinois burns down.
Jane Arnold's mind can't let go of it, and she starts digging for information on American Smokes, and on why a legal product like cigarettes might be smuggled internally in the United States. Meanwhile, she's also dealing with problems created by a rival hunt, and the sudden attacks on a teacher at Custis Hall, Tariq Al McMillan, by a local congressman determined to boost his career by targeting "terrorists," i.e., Muslims or anyone he thinks might be Muslim.
Of course, all these problems are interconnected, and Sister is in danger from directions she doesn't imagine.
As always, we also benefit from information Sister doesn't have: the observations and comments of the foxes, dogs, and horses in her household and her hunt area.
Overall, this is a good visit with familiar characters, and an enjoyable playing out of the ongoing, changing relationships among the regular characters. The resolution of the mystery is a bit disappointing, but it's almost a minor point, since the real purpose here is the time spent with the regular characters, the hunt life, and the animals.
Recommended to fans of the series.
I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
The first signs of trouble are far from Virginia, in New York City, where "Sister" Jane Arnold, her lover Gray Lorillard, and two of the young ladies recently graduated from Custis Hall, and now attending Princeton, are attending the annual Masters of Foxhounds Association dinner. During this New York interlude, Jane and Tootie visit a tobacco shop to buy a gift for Gray, and meet a charming, Cuban-born tobacco merchant.
Within moments after their departure, the tobacco seller is dead, murdered, with a package of cigarettes bearing the name "American Smokes" left on his chest. It's not a brand she's ever heard of, but except for their proximity to the crime, it's a minor mystery, far from where they live their lives.
Until there's a nearly identical murder in a tobacco shop in Boston. And then a tobacco warehouse in Illinois burns down.
Jane Arnold's mind can't let go of it, and she starts digging for information on American Smokes, and on why a legal product like cigarettes might be smuggled internally in the United States. Meanwhile, she's also dealing with problems created by a rival hunt, and the sudden attacks on a teacher at Custis Hall, Tariq Al McMillan, by a local congressman determined to boost his career by targeting "terrorists," i.e., Muslims or anyone he thinks might be Muslim.
Of course, all these problems are interconnected, and Sister is in danger from directions she doesn't imagine.
As always, we also benefit from information Sister doesn't have: the observations and comments of the foxes, dogs, and horses in her household and her hunt area.
Overall, this is a good visit with familiar characters, and an enjoyable playing out of the ongoing, changing relationships among the regular characters. The resolution of the mystery is a bit disappointing, but it's almost a minor point, since the real purpose here is the time spent with the regular characters, the hunt life, and the animals.
Recommended to fans of the series.
I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
August 11, 2016
This is the first book I've ever read by Rita Mae Brown, thanks in large part to the goodreads first reads giveaway. While it's obvious the main character, Sister, has some witty and sarcastic dialog, this book is definitely detail intensive, and the details aren't necessarily anything relevant to the so-called mystery.
Fox Tracks is intended for people who love rich, engrossing characters, scenery, and descriptions particularly related to fox hunts. It was difficult for this reader to find common ground with a seventy-two year old, upper-crust heroine who has no problem going out and buying a $2500 lighter only to go back into the store and find the man dead, then cut to the next chapter where she's at an elegant ball. At this point (which was only around chapter 3) I just sat there thinking, but what about the dead guy? Why aren't you being questioned since you were the last person to see him alive? The pacing of the story is something much different from what I'm used to in my normal police procedural or private investigator mystery novels, and the constant references to smoking and tobacco use as an industry and personal choice (particularly of her special someone) did nothing to earn favor with me.
That being said, I do think the author provides a great narrative and makes an excellent storyteller, but for a mystery, I was disappointed.
Fox Tracks is intended for people who love rich, engrossing characters, scenery, and descriptions particularly related to fox hunts. It was difficult for this reader to find common ground with a seventy-two year old, upper-crust heroine who has no problem going out and buying a $2500 lighter only to go back into the store and find the man dead, then cut to the next chapter where she's at an elegant ball. At this point (which was only around chapter 3) I just sat there thinking, but what about the dead guy? Why aren't you being questioned since you were the last person to see him alive? The pacing of the story is something much different from what I'm used to in my normal police procedural or private investigator mystery novels, and the constant references to smoking and tobacco use as an industry and personal choice (particularly of her special someone) did nothing to earn favor with me.
That being said, I do think the author provides a great narrative and makes an excellent storyteller, but for a mystery, I was disappointed.
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