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Mrs. Murphy #17
Santa Clawed
Bestselling authors Rita Mae Brown and her feline partner, Sneaky Pie Brown, are back for the holidays in a mystery featuring Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen, the sleuthing cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and corgi Tee Tucker. Can they save the season from a killjoy who’s decided to gift the festive little town…with murder?
As Harry well knows, there’s hardly a place on earth cozier than Crozet, Virginia, at Christmastime. The snowflakes drifting lazily down, the soft glow of the winter light, the sound of old carols in the streets…even cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter get into the spirit batting ornaments and climbing the holiday tree. In fact, it’s this year’s tree that Harry and her husband, Fair, have gone to fetch when they find the one they’ve chosen grimly decorated with a dead body.
The tree farm is run by The Brothers of Love, a semimonastic organization that tends to AIDS patients. The brothers live in a monastery atop the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains. Harry is surprised to find an old high-school friend associated with The Brothers of Love. Christopher Hewitt wasn’t a bad man, but good works weren’t exactly one of his priorities. But then, if even Scrooge could turn over a new leaf, certainly Chris could. And after the scandal that all but destroyed his life, there were probably few in Crozet who needed the gift of a second chance more.
Harry knows she shouldn’t take it personally, but it was her tree that someone left the corpse under. Now, as the season grows merrier, a murderer is growing bolder. One by one, prominent men of Crozet are being crossed off Christmas shopping lists and added to the morgue. And if Harry and her four-legged helpers aren’t very good—and very careful—this Christmas may be her last.
As Harry well knows, there’s hardly a place on earth cozier than Crozet, Virginia, at Christmastime. The snowflakes drifting lazily down, the soft glow of the winter light, the sound of old carols in the streets…even cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter get into the spirit batting ornaments and climbing the holiday tree. In fact, it’s this year’s tree that Harry and her husband, Fair, have gone to fetch when they find the one they’ve chosen grimly decorated with a dead body.
The tree farm is run by The Brothers of Love, a semimonastic organization that tends to AIDS patients. The brothers live in a monastery atop the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains. Harry is surprised to find an old high-school friend associated with The Brothers of Love. Christopher Hewitt wasn’t a bad man, but good works weren’t exactly one of his priorities. But then, if even Scrooge could turn over a new leaf, certainly Chris could. And after the scandal that all but destroyed his life, there were probably few in Crozet who needed the gift of a second chance more.
Harry knows she shouldn’t take it personally, but it was her tree that someone left the corpse under. Now, as the season grows merrier, a murderer is growing bolder. One by one, prominent men of Crozet are being crossed off Christmas shopping lists and added to the morgue. And if Harry and her four-legged helpers aren’t very good—and very careful—this Christmas may be her last.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
268 people are currently reading
1339 people want to read
About the author
Rita Mae Brown
173 books2,232 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 254 reviews
December 26, 2021
For the past four weeks or so, I have been bombarded with Christmas media. Between hearing countless holiday tunes on my Mac and iPod pretty much every day, watching Yuletide films from Hallmark Channel and Disney Plus, reading Christmas-themed literature ranging from Dickens' classic story of Scrooge to the original Grinch book, along with the usual annual traditions--buying gifts, singing carols in church, etc.--I am officially Christmas-ed out. That's why this will be the last Yuletide-themed book I'll read for a while. I'm glad that tomorrow is the last Sunday of the month, which means I can switch my literary focus from holiday literature to the timeless space opera Star Trek, which is an old favorite of mine.
December 29, 2018
Not quite 4 stars. It's been a while since I read a book in this series, though I have, and have read, quite a few of them, before this #17. Seems like Pewter is more of a PITA than I remember - she gets a new bowl with "DIVA" on it - and there was less chat from Mrs Murphy. However, this is Tee Tucker's book in which to shine: she helps save Harry, and runs a long, long way back and forth up the hills behind the Haristeen farm to do so.
July 16, 2018
Always enjoy visiting Mrs. Murphy, Pewter and Tucker.
July 20, 2010
It took me a ridiculously long time to read this book. That's because I started it somewhere not here, and then left it there, and then couldn't finish reading it (obviously.)
So the reason why "Santa Clawed" (OMG don't you just love the titles?) showed up on my "currently reading" list for nearly five months or so is not that Brown suddenly started to write deep, thought-provoking, hard-to-read social studies, but only disorganisation in my part.
No, Brown still writes funny, fluffy, easy-to-read crime stories featuring Harry and the Talking Animals, which is not an 80s pop band, (but they could be).
Santa Clawed comes with the added bonus of snow, christmas, hot milk and dead monks. And it really only takes a cozy two or three hours to read. (if you are in the same city as the book, otherwise, see above). It's all the guilty reading pleasure you could possibly want for christmas. (don't read too many of them at once, or your brain will fry)
Enjoy!
So the reason why "Santa Clawed" (OMG don't you just love the titles?) showed up on my "currently reading" list for nearly five months or so is not that Brown suddenly started to write deep, thought-provoking, hard-to-read social studies, but only disorganisation in my part.
No, Brown still writes funny, fluffy, easy-to-read crime stories featuring Harry and the Talking Animals, which is not an 80s pop band, (but they could be).
Santa Clawed comes with the added bonus of snow, christmas, hot milk and dead monks. And it really only takes a cozy two or three hours to read. (if you are in the same city as the book, otherwise, see above). It's all the guilty reading pleasure you could possibly want for christmas. (don't read too many of them at once, or your brain will fry)
Enjoy!
December 31, 2018
Santa Clawed is part of the Mrs Murphy mystery series by Rita Mae Brown. I just love how she intertwines her pet cats, Mrs Murphy and Pewter and dog, Tucker a Corgi in her books to help solve mysteries. This story takes place in Crozet, Virginia at Christmastime.
Mary Minor,"Harry" Haristeen goes to a Christmas tree lot run by the Brothers of Love, to buy a tree. The brothers live in a monastery on top of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Harry goes to the lot and finds one of the brothers, Christopher, murdered. A lot of scandal, more murders and intrigue take place. Even Harry’s life is threatened. But her four legged friends come to the rescue.
Mary Minor,"Harry" Haristeen goes to a Christmas tree lot run by the Brothers of Love, to buy a tree. The brothers live in a monastery on top of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Harry goes to the lot and finds one of the brothers, Christopher, murdered. A lot of scandal, more murders and intrigue take place. Even Harry’s life is threatened. But her four legged friends come to the rescue.
August 21, 2021
This was a completely unexpected turn of events. Didn't see that ending coming at all. I just didn't like all the fat shaming in it. It was a bit much. If anyone is a touch overweight or really overweight, every comment or thought about that person is fat shaming. Not cool.
Read
December 21, 2015Mrs Murphy, Pewter and Tucker
This one of the best Mrs Murphy's book I have read as the are the MC's set against the background of Crozet and Harry's farm. The animals were normal except for talking to each other. It is Christmas time and the Brothers of have a Christmas tree lot to raise money for their programs. One of the Monks is found with throat cut on the lot. Harry begins wondered why. Mrs Murphy, Pewter and Tucker help Harry solve the murders.
This one of the best Mrs Murphy's book I have read as the are the MC's set against the background of Crozet and Harry's farm. The animals were normal except for talking to each other. It is Christmas time and the Brothers of have a Christmas tree lot to raise money for their programs. One of the Monks is found with throat cut on the lot. Harry begins wondered why. Mrs Murphy, Pewter and Tucker help Harry solve the murders.
December 18, 2017
By far the best Sneaky Pie Brown book I’ve read! Current issues even now. Fun read and honestly, I didn’t see the killer coming. Nothing puts you in the Holiday spirit like a Christmas Sneaky Pie Brown mystery!
January 1, 2022
I like to read a Christmas themed book around the holidays and this has been sitting in my library for awhile. It is a light, easy read in the usual style of a Mrs. Murphy mystery. The ending seemed rushed and thrown together and didn’t really tie up all the loose ends. Disappointed.
June 28, 2013
We are accustomed to talking about "summer reads," those light but compelling novels we have in hand on planes or at the beach, gulping down a few chapters on vacation or sunning at the park. In winter we like to turn to serious books, thick tomes to lose ourselves in, ideally sitting before a warm fire, snuggled in a favorite chair. But the holidays are times of rest and travel as much as the summer is, and snowy and cold days call for fun and well-written books as much as hot and humid days do. Enter Rita Mae (and Sneaky Pie) Brown and SANTA CLAWED, a solid mystery with familiar characters and a brisk pace, just perfect for wintertime reading.
The small, tight-knit town of Crozet, Virginia, is gearing up for Christmas. Mary Haristeen, known to all as Harry, is busy preparing for holiday parties and events, spending time with family and friends. But as colder than typical weather blows in, the town finds itself dealing with a series of murders, and the only clue to solving them is a bit of Greek mythology.
It all starts when Harry and her husband Fair go to the tree lot run by the Brothers of Love, a monastic order living on the outskirts of town, to select a Christmas tree. They find the perfect pine but also come across the slain body of one of the monks at the end of the lot. Brother Christopher had been raised in Crozet, and after getting in trouble for white collar crimes, he dedicated his life to The Brothers of Love. He was well liked, so it was hard to imagine who would hate him enough to slit his throat right before Christmas. Harry promises to stay out of the way of the police investigation, but another murder and her own assault --- after finding a suspicious box hidden in the woods near her home --- make that impossible. Christmas is coming ever closer, and the town is reeling as it becomes obvious that there is a killer at work and at large.
Brown's latest is at once homey and exciting. Popular characters like Harry, Fair and others who people Crozet are back. Returning too are Harry's funny animal familiars, cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and dog Tucker. Though they can't always clearly communicate to the humans they live with, these pets find ways to help Harry and the others solve the mystery nonetheless.
SANTA CLAWED balances well the violence of the murders and the fear of the town's residents with witty dialogue and an overall entertaining feel. There are crimes to solve here, but Brown's focus is on the characters themselves and how they deal with the stress and uncertainty in their town. Though most of them rally together, there are those who, realistically, don't. In the end, the identity of the killer and the motivation for the crimes come as a big surprise.
In this new Mrs. Murphy mystery, Rita Mae Brown again shares authorial credit with her feline companion, Sneaky Pie Brown, and so it is not surprising that the animal characters are just as interesting as the human ones. But the easy and enjoyable nature of the novel (despite the subject matter) makes SANTA CLAWED a recommendable wintertime read.
The small, tight-knit town of Crozet, Virginia, is gearing up for Christmas. Mary Haristeen, known to all as Harry, is busy preparing for holiday parties and events, spending time with family and friends. But as colder than typical weather blows in, the town finds itself dealing with a series of murders, and the only clue to solving them is a bit of Greek mythology.
It all starts when Harry and her husband Fair go to the tree lot run by the Brothers of Love, a monastic order living on the outskirts of town, to select a Christmas tree. They find the perfect pine but also come across the slain body of one of the monks at the end of the lot. Brother Christopher had been raised in Crozet, and after getting in trouble for white collar crimes, he dedicated his life to The Brothers of Love. He was well liked, so it was hard to imagine who would hate him enough to slit his throat right before Christmas. Harry promises to stay out of the way of the police investigation, but another murder and her own assault --- after finding a suspicious box hidden in the woods near her home --- make that impossible. Christmas is coming ever closer, and the town is reeling as it becomes obvious that there is a killer at work and at large.
Brown's latest is at once homey and exciting. Popular characters like Harry, Fair and others who people Crozet are back. Returning too are Harry's funny animal familiars, cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and dog Tucker. Though they can't always clearly communicate to the humans they live with, these pets find ways to help Harry and the others solve the mystery nonetheless.
SANTA CLAWED balances well the violence of the murders and the fear of the town's residents with witty dialogue and an overall entertaining feel. There are crimes to solve here, but Brown's focus is on the characters themselves and how they deal with the stress and uncertainty in their town. Though most of them rally together, there are those who, realistically, don't. In the end, the identity of the killer and the motivation for the crimes come as a big surprise.
In this new Mrs. Murphy mystery, Rita Mae Brown again shares authorial credit with her feline companion, Sneaky Pie Brown, and so it is not surprising that the animal characters are just as interesting as the human ones. But the easy and enjoyable nature of the novel (despite the subject matter) makes SANTA CLAWED a recommendable wintertime read.
November 26, 2019
I’m done with this series. The last 2 books I’ve read by Brown have been an intense disappointment.
What got me was this paragraph:
“Brother Morris, head of the Brothers of Love, was so filled with the milk of human kindness that he almost mooed. Would have been a big moo, too, since Brother Morris tipped the scales at 310 pounds. Now forty-eight, he attracted devotees due to his own story. Once a major tenor in opera, specializing in German roles, he had fallen from grace. Given his weight, it was a wonder he didn’t create a pothole in New York’s streets big enough for three taxis to disappear altogether.” (P. 37)
Like can we not with the fat shaming? Also I’m 99% sure he has more to his personality and life and impact than... his weight. Please.
And then there were the homosexual stereotypes and the heavy handed political views and use of overexplaining... like can we not? Can we just not?
Her early books were decent. Now, though, they’re full of telling instead of showing, and have become soapboxes for Brown’s personal views instead of absorbing stories meant to take us away from regular adulting life.
What got me was this paragraph:
“Brother Morris, head of the Brothers of Love, was so filled with the milk of human kindness that he almost mooed. Would have been a big moo, too, since Brother Morris tipped the scales at 310 pounds. Now forty-eight, he attracted devotees due to his own story. Once a major tenor in opera, specializing in German roles, he had fallen from grace. Given his weight, it was a wonder he didn’t create a pothole in New York’s streets big enough for three taxis to disappear altogether.” (P. 37)
Like can we not with the fat shaming? Also I’m 99% sure he has more to his personality and life and impact than... his weight. Please.
And then there were the homosexual stereotypes and the heavy handed political views and use of overexplaining... like can we not? Can we just not?
Her early books were decent. Now, though, they’re full of telling instead of showing, and have become soapboxes for Brown’s personal views instead of absorbing stories meant to take us away from regular adulting life.
January 1, 2012
This is another Christmas book where the author makes no attempt to introduce you to the characters. The assumption is that you have read at least some of the previous 16 books and already know the characters. I have never read any of this series and simply picked it up because it was a Christmas murder mystery and I like cats. I am about 70 pages in and about ready to give up due to not really understanding who everyone is.
I finally decided to stop trying to figure out who everyone was and just focus on the plot. The novel got better as it stopped introducing a million new characters every chapter. The major plot twist at the end was good, I totally didn't see it coming.
The best thing about the novel was the illustrations. They were really good and I loved seeing the two cats, and corgi curled up by the fire.
I finally decided to stop trying to figure out who everyone was and just focus on the plot. The novel got better as it stopped introducing a million new characters every chapter. The major plot twist at the end was good, I totally didn't see it coming.
The best thing about the novel was the illustrations. They were really good and I loved seeing the two cats, and corgi curled up by the fire.
October 13, 2019
Well, I really, REALLY like cats. And dogs. I adore them. And a book with cats and dogs in my mind can't be all bad.
At least I thought so before I read Santa Clawed.
I am really, really sorry, as the author managed to come up with a potentially good story and completely destroyed it with terrible writing style.
Avoid.
At least I thought so before I read Santa Clawed.
I am really, really sorry, as the author managed to come up with a potentially good story and completely destroyed it with terrible writing style.
Avoid.
December 6, 2016
This book was recommended by my bestie and it took me a little bit to get into but after I did I couldn't stop. It's very different from my typical choice but nothing wrong with reading variety. I recommend to anyone looking for a change in reading scenery. Good quick read
April 4, 2009
I have read every Mrs Murphy book and I SO looked forward to this one..but it just wasn't as good as the rest. Especially the early ones. But I read it, nonetheless.
November 17, 2012
Santa Clawed was an enjoyable cozy mystery. But I have read so many of her Harry Haristeen and Mrs. Murphy mysteries that they are all beginning now to be very similar plot lines.
November 30, 2015
Cute. Clever. I liked it better when Harry was the post master. Not the worst book in the series.
November 27, 2016
I really enjoyed this book in the series. Some have not always been favorites but I really enjoyed Christmas with Harry and her critters.
November 18, 2024
The edition I got of this said it was written in 2008 and MAN does it show. I picked it up on a whim walking through the library and collecting mystery books because of the pun name and cute cover, but of the three mysteries I grabbed, this was the weakest. (I don't have any prior experience with this author or universe to compare to).
Lots of little inconsistencies also pulled me out of the story. The dust jacket says the first body was dumped under the protagonist's Christmas tree, it was not - they were looking at the tree the protagonist had selected and the protagonist's dog ran over and led them to a different tree, where the body then was. Later on the protagonist's husband is purported to run down the stairs naked to make sure she's ok, but in the illustration shown immediately before this, he's shown to be wearing a shirt. I also don't believe for a second that someone who thinks the power may go out during a serious blizzard would sleep naked on the floor with just a couple blankets. There's also a moment where the protagonist is hit on the head, and the animals, who recognize guns by name and sight, don't mention she was hit by a gun or recognize the danger of the gun or treat it as anything special until the second time it's brought up, and it ends up not mattering at all that it was a gun.
Then there's the politicking. Generously, I would say it's about 45% mystery and 55% the characters dropping character to talk back and forth about corruption in the pharmaceutical industry or painting cops sympathetically, grousing about people feigning insanity to get out of prosecution, how Rome was better at everything (the ignorant comment about the roads especially annoyed me), one absolutely baffling section hit me with a disparagement of welfare sandwiched between a criticism of victim blaming and the high ages of politicians(derogatory) when both the page before and page after were the two characters trying to solve the mystery, and it is just Said and Moved on From as if it was not said. And let's not forget how blessed america is that the second amendment exists! And we can't move on without shooting a dig at city living. Just a truly baffling amount of asides like that from the humans and animal characters.
I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of staunch homophobia considering the above paragraph. There is a lesbian couple that is friends with the protagonist, and despite one of them being named BoomBoom (?????), they are never villainized and play a positive minor role. The gay/bi men get it pretty rough, one of them is revealed to be an evil capitalist misogynist control freak that cheats on his wife, another is the conniving, silver tongued mastermind blackmailing the otherwise Good rich people into fraud, who the book will not on any circumstance let you go a second without telling you how fat he is, how grotesque, how portly, how pulverized the bones in his feet must be from supporting his massive weight, and the last one is the tired trope of "homosexual man acts outwardly homophobic as a defense" and yes, he does say a slur. I just kept telling myself: "it was 2008, it was 2008, it was 2008" but yeesh. The protagonist, to her credit, believes that christianity does not conflict with homosexuality, again a welcome surprise.
I was also surprised at how bloodthirsty the protagonist's animal companions were?! They're written with human intelligence, and their plotting and communication saves the protagonist when her life is threatened multiple times, but Pewter (one of her cats) was insufferable, and all three of them launch into the severing of muscles and tendons, carving ribbons of flesh out of antagonist's face and body, delighting in the bloody chunks left on their claws after they're pulled off the attack. I just kind of sat there stunned because the only clue that things might have been leading there was that the dog thought fresh blood smelled good in the very early pages, a pretty normal canine thing.
But ok, positives. Fair and Harry's relationship is very wholesome and believable. The illustrations were very good! Michael Gellatly really knows how to work a piece of graphite, and I wish more books peppered their pages with illustrations like this one did. I also found the depictions of southern community care and togetherness charming, especially for a holiday novel. I also liked the author giving male names to female characters (Harry, Tucker), I think it's fun when authors do that.
Overall, if you are or wish strongly to be a wealthy Christian Horseman (Not simply a mere person who rides horses), you'll probably enjoy this book. However it was very much not for me!
Lots of little inconsistencies also pulled me out of the story. The dust jacket says the first body was dumped under the protagonist's Christmas tree, it was not - they were looking at the tree the protagonist had selected and the protagonist's dog ran over and led them to a different tree, where the body then was. Later on the protagonist's husband is purported to run down the stairs naked to make sure she's ok, but in the illustration shown immediately before this, he's shown to be wearing a shirt. I also don't believe for a second that someone who thinks the power may go out during a serious blizzard would sleep naked on the floor with just a couple blankets. There's also a moment where the protagonist is hit on the head, and the animals, who recognize guns by name and sight, don't mention she was hit by a gun or recognize the danger of the gun or treat it as anything special until the second time it's brought up, and it ends up not mattering at all that it was a gun.
Then there's the politicking. Generously, I would say it's about 45% mystery and 55% the characters dropping character to talk back and forth about corruption in the pharmaceutical industry or painting cops sympathetically, grousing about people feigning insanity to get out of prosecution, how Rome was better at everything (the ignorant comment about the roads especially annoyed me), one absolutely baffling section hit me with a disparagement of welfare sandwiched between a criticism of victim blaming and the high ages of politicians(derogatory) when both the page before and page after were the two characters trying to solve the mystery, and it is just Said and Moved on From as if it was not said. And let's not forget how blessed america is that the second amendment exists! And we can't move on without shooting a dig at city living. Just a truly baffling amount of asides like that from the humans and animal characters.
I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of staunch homophobia considering the above paragraph. There is a lesbian couple that is friends with the protagonist, and despite one of them being named BoomBoom (?????), they are never villainized and play a positive minor role. The gay/bi men get it pretty rough, one of them is revealed to be an evil capitalist misogynist control freak that cheats on his wife, another is the conniving, silver tongued mastermind blackmailing the otherwise Good rich people into fraud, who the book will not on any circumstance let you go a second without telling you how fat he is, how grotesque, how portly, how pulverized the bones in his feet must be from supporting his massive weight, and the last one is the tired trope of "homosexual man acts outwardly homophobic as a defense" and yes, he does say a slur. I just kept telling myself: "it was 2008, it was 2008, it was 2008" but yeesh. The protagonist, to her credit, believes that christianity does not conflict with homosexuality, again a welcome surprise.
I was also surprised at how bloodthirsty the protagonist's animal companions were?! They're written with human intelligence, and their plotting and communication saves the protagonist when her life is threatened multiple times, but Pewter (one of her cats) was insufferable, and all three of them launch into the severing of muscles and tendons, carving ribbons of flesh out of antagonist's face and body, delighting in the bloody chunks left on their claws after they're pulled off the attack. I just kind of sat there stunned because the only clue that things might have been leading there was that the dog thought fresh blood smelled good in the very early pages, a pretty normal canine thing.
But ok, positives. Fair and Harry's relationship is very wholesome and believable. The illustrations were very good! Michael Gellatly really knows how to work a piece of graphite, and I wish more books peppered their pages with illustrations like this one did. I also found the depictions of southern community care and togetherness charming, especially for a holiday novel. I also liked the author giving male names to female characters (Harry, Tucker), I think it's fun when authors do that.
Overall, if you are or wish strongly to be a wealthy Christian Horseman (Not simply a mere person who rides horses), you'll probably enjoy this book. However it was very much not for me!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2025
Why is this the seventeenth book in a series where the cats solve crimes and I’m just now showing up like someone who brought boxed wine to a royal wedding? I don’t know. I genuinely don’t. But I do know this: I picked up Santa Clawed expecting festive fluff, and what I got was corpse-on-a-tree-lot realness with judgmental animals, a suspiciously high murder rate, and one corgi who is frankly doing too much unpaid labor.
We open on Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen, a woman who just wanted a Christmas tree and instead found a dead body tucked under the pine like some kind of sinister ornament. She’s not even surprised. Just mildly annoyed. That’s the energy of this book. She and her husband, Fair, were tree shopping from a local lot run by a monastic group called The Brothers of Love, which yes, absolutely sounds like a rejected name for a 90s gospel boy band. Turns out one of the Brothers, Christopher Hewitt, is not just a fallen man of God. He’s a fallen man, period. Very dead. Throat-slashy dead. Merry Christmas.
Harry, naturally, says she’ll stay out of the investigation. And then immediately doesn’t. She apparently has a long, well-documented history of finding herself in the middle of homicide investigations like it’s her part-time job. And tagging along, because they are nosy and smarter than every man in law enforcement, are her animals: Mrs. Murphy, the no-nonsense cat; Pewter, the chaos goblin diva with a new food bowl and zero tact; and Tee Tucker, the corgi with the soul of a Navy SEAL.
Tee absolutely steals the show. She’s sprinting across icy hills, saving Harry’s life, delivering messages like she’s in a canine version of Mission: Impossible. Pewter, meanwhile, is deeply invested in throwing shade and being the kind of dramatic queen who would absolutely solve your murder, but only if you brought her snacks first.
The mystery itself is solid enough. The vibes are cozy, the body count is festive, and the small-town Crozet setting feels like a Norman Rockwell painting that accidentally got blood on it. But there are moments when the tone goes weird. One minute we’re sipping hot milk and solving monk murders, the next we’re diving face-first into fat-shaming commentary that feels like it was stolen from a 2003 tabloid. That part? Could’ve stayed in the drafts. The ending also comes in like a late Uber. Abrupt, slightly confusing, and you’re not entirely sure it got you where you meant to go.
That said. This book? Weirdly addictive. It’s like Christmas popcorn mix - cozy, salty, a little sweet, and there’s probably something in it that shouldn’t be there, but you’re eating it anyway. I did not expect to vibe this hard with a series where animals hold full conversations about crime scenes and then paw at clues dramatically while the humans bumble along behind them.
Will I keep reading the series? Yes. Will I go back and start from book one like a normal person? Absolutely not. I’ll probably just jump into another random volume in July 2026 when I’m emotionally unstable and want a talking cat to boss me around. And honestly? I can’t wait. 3.5 stars and a strong desire to adopt a cat with a monocle and a tiny corgi sidekick.
Merry Mayhem Prize: For Turning a Christmas Tree Lot Into a Crime Scene and Still Making It Weirdly Wholesome
We open on Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen, a woman who just wanted a Christmas tree and instead found a dead body tucked under the pine like some kind of sinister ornament. She’s not even surprised. Just mildly annoyed. That’s the energy of this book. She and her husband, Fair, were tree shopping from a local lot run by a monastic group called The Brothers of Love, which yes, absolutely sounds like a rejected name for a 90s gospel boy band. Turns out one of the Brothers, Christopher Hewitt, is not just a fallen man of God. He’s a fallen man, period. Very dead. Throat-slashy dead. Merry Christmas.
Harry, naturally, says she’ll stay out of the investigation. And then immediately doesn’t. She apparently has a long, well-documented history of finding herself in the middle of homicide investigations like it’s her part-time job. And tagging along, because they are nosy and smarter than every man in law enforcement, are her animals: Mrs. Murphy, the no-nonsense cat; Pewter, the chaos goblin diva with a new food bowl and zero tact; and Tee Tucker, the corgi with the soul of a Navy SEAL.
Tee absolutely steals the show. She’s sprinting across icy hills, saving Harry’s life, delivering messages like she’s in a canine version of Mission: Impossible. Pewter, meanwhile, is deeply invested in throwing shade and being the kind of dramatic queen who would absolutely solve your murder, but only if you brought her snacks first.
The mystery itself is solid enough. The vibes are cozy, the body count is festive, and the small-town Crozet setting feels like a Norman Rockwell painting that accidentally got blood on it. But there are moments when the tone goes weird. One minute we’re sipping hot milk and solving monk murders, the next we’re diving face-first into fat-shaming commentary that feels like it was stolen from a 2003 tabloid. That part? Could’ve stayed in the drafts. The ending also comes in like a late Uber. Abrupt, slightly confusing, and you’re not entirely sure it got you where you meant to go.
That said. This book? Weirdly addictive. It’s like Christmas popcorn mix - cozy, salty, a little sweet, and there’s probably something in it that shouldn’t be there, but you’re eating it anyway. I did not expect to vibe this hard with a series where animals hold full conversations about crime scenes and then paw at clues dramatically while the humans bumble along behind them.
Will I keep reading the series? Yes. Will I go back and start from book one like a normal person? Absolutely not. I’ll probably just jump into another random volume in July 2026 when I’m emotionally unstable and want a talking cat to boss me around. And honestly? I can’t wait. 3.5 stars and a strong desire to adopt a cat with a monocle and a tiny corgi sidekick.
Merry Mayhem Prize: For Turning a Christmas Tree Lot Into a Crime Scene and Still Making It Weirdly Wholesome
December 20, 2024
This book is the Seventeenth in the series featuring Mrs. Murphy, a Grey tiger short-hair cat who, along with a Welsh corgi dog named Tee Tucker, and the stout grey cat Pewter, solves mysteries with the assistance of Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen, a farmer married to Fair Haristeen, an equine veterinarian, outside the small town of Crozet, Virginia, some ten miles west of Charlottesville. (It should be noted that all animals can talk to each other, and that they all understand humans, but humans, being dense imperfect beings, cannot understand the animals.) And these are fun mysteries to read.
This was something of an odd mystery, as we apparently have a new group of male religious up on Afton Mountain; they are the Orders of the Brothers of Love, who specialize in taking in men who have sinned mightily in their secular lives. They run the local Hospice; their major money making activity is the Christmas Tree lot in town (which is, of course, seasonal). As the book begins, a week before Christmas, Harry and her female friends are at St. Lukes doing decorating; among her friends are Raquel Deeds, whose husband Bryson is a doctor at the hospital, and Jean Keelo; Raquel and Jean were sorority sisters, and have lived in town for twenty years. Harry then goes to get a Christmas Tree, and chats with Brother Christopher, of the Brothers of Love (who had been a crooked investor in his previous life in Phoenix), who was in school with her. However, when she goes with Fair that evening to get the tree, they find a very dead Brother Christopher, his throat slashed. Thus begins a mystery that includes murder, head whacking, betrayal, embezzlement, anti-gay sentiment, and people who are operating under very false colors. And since Harry is as usual trying to find out what is going on, her loyal animals are devoted to helping her and protecting her.
My major problem with this book was not with the mystery per se, but with the fact that the religious order of men that were up on Afton Mountain (which is actually referenced in this book, with the plot of land that Harry’s friend Susan inherited from her great uncle, who was a monk in that order) seem to be gone, with a new religious order of men up there instead. I very much doubt that we will find out what happened to the first set of religious, and I am certain that we will never hear of the Brothers of Love again. But this was a fun book to read, and I look forward to seeing what pops up out of the blue in the next book to be the focus of the mystery.
This was something of an odd mystery, as we apparently have a new group of male religious up on Afton Mountain; they are the Orders of the Brothers of Love, who specialize in taking in men who have sinned mightily in their secular lives. They run the local Hospice; their major money making activity is the Christmas Tree lot in town (which is, of course, seasonal). As the book begins, a week before Christmas, Harry and her female friends are at St. Lukes doing decorating; among her friends are Raquel Deeds, whose husband Bryson is a doctor at the hospital, and Jean Keelo; Raquel and Jean were sorority sisters, and have lived in town for twenty years. Harry then goes to get a Christmas Tree, and chats with Brother Christopher, of the Brothers of Love (who had been a crooked investor in his previous life in Phoenix), who was in school with her. However, when she goes with Fair that evening to get the tree, they find a very dead Brother Christopher, his throat slashed. Thus begins a mystery that includes murder, head whacking, betrayal, embezzlement, anti-gay sentiment, and people who are operating under very false colors. And since Harry is as usual trying to find out what is going on, her loyal animals are devoted to helping her and protecting her.
My major problem with this book was not with the mystery per se, but with the fact that the religious order of men that were up on Afton Mountain (which is actually referenced in this book, with the plot of land that Harry’s friend Susan inherited from her great uncle, who was a monk in that order) seem to be gone, with a new religious order of men up there instead. I very much doubt that we will find out what happened to the first set of religious, and I am certain that we will never hear of the Brothers of Love again. But this was a fun book to read, and I look forward to seeing what pops up out of the blue in the next book to be the focus of the mystery.
December 21, 2021
It's almost Christmas in Crozet. Harry and friends plus Racquel Deeds and Jean Keelo are gossiping as they decorate St. Luke's. Talk turns to Brother Cristopher Hewitt, who went to high school with Harry, Fair, BoomBoom, and Susan and is now back in the area at the monastery on Afton Mountain. He is running their Christmas tree farm after getting out of prison for an insider trading scheme in Phoenix. Later, Harry goes to get a tree and chats with Brother Christopher. He's really busy so they mark her tree and she says she'll come back and pick it up that evening.
Harry, Fair, and the animals return to pick up the tree. While they're waiting, Tucker runs off. She finds Brother Christopher dead and brings the rope from his cassock to Harry and Fair so they'll find the body. His throat has been slit and there's an ancient Greek coin in his mouth. A few days later, another brother is found dead in similar circumstances. He used to be a jockey and joined the monastery after getting over a drinking and drug problem. As Harry, Rick, and Cooper investigate, we learn the complicated histories of various monks as well as more about their two businesses - the tree farm and a hospice.
The cats and dog are also curious and investigate. Flatface the owl tells them she saw some strange activity in a walnut stand on the mountain. Mrs Murphy and Tucker go up the mountain to check it out as a snow storm approaches. They find a tool box full of cash. Tucker grabs a strap of bills and they hurry back to show Harry. She is convinced to follow them back to the box where she meets with foul play setting up a dramatic rescue in the blizzard.
During the storm, Raquel's husband Bryson says he's going out to run an errand and also is found dead. From there, the investigation really gets going and the disappearance of a few monks starts to clarify everything.
Like many of these books, small town scandal leads to extortion schemes and misunderstandings lead to murder. The animals were more involved than usual and it was fun seeing them (mostly) figure it out and point their humans in the right direction. It also put me in the mood for Christmas as for once I'm reading a Mrs Murphy book in the correct season.
Harry, Fair, and the animals return to pick up the tree. While they're waiting, Tucker runs off. She finds Brother Christopher dead and brings the rope from his cassock to Harry and Fair so they'll find the body. His throat has been slit and there's an ancient Greek coin in his mouth. A few days later, another brother is found dead in similar circumstances. He used to be a jockey and joined the monastery after getting over a drinking and drug problem. As Harry, Rick, and Cooper investigate, we learn the complicated histories of various monks as well as more about their two businesses - the tree farm and a hospice.
The cats and dog are also curious and investigate. Flatface the owl tells them she saw some strange activity in a walnut stand on the mountain. Mrs Murphy and Tucker go up the mountain to check it out as a snow storm approaches. They find a tool box full of cash. Tucker grabs a strap of bills and they hurry back to show Harry. She is convinced to follow them back to the box where she meets with foul play setting up a dramatic rescue in the blizzard.
During the storm, Raquel's husband Bryson says he's going out to run an errand and also is found dead. From there, the investigation really gets going and the disappearance of a few monks starts to clarify everything.
Like many of these books, small town scandal leads to extortion schemes and misunderstandings lead to murder. The animals were more involved than usual and it was fun seeing them (mostly) figure it out and point their humans in the right direction. It also put me in the mood for Christmas as for once I'm reading a Mrs Murphy book in the correct season.
August 1, 2019
This Christmas-themed cozy mystery is a lot of fun to read. Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie Brown deliver a story about a monk trying to repent for the sins of his past life, Brother Christopher, who meets a grisly end when he is murdered on the Christmas tree farm run by his order, the Brothers of Love. Harry, the human protagonist in the Mrs. Murphy series, and her husband Fair find his body, and Harry becomes wrapped up in solving the crime.
We get to learn more about Deputy Cynthia Cooper in this book, which I found delightful. Coop has moved into Rev. Herb Jones’ farmhouse next door to Harry, and is in a new relationship with a man named Lorenzo. She’s one of my favorite characters, and I loved seeing the spotlight on her and watching her friendships with Harry and Fair grow. The spirit of Christmas makes this book even cozier than the others in the series, and I loved the scenes involving the residents of Crozet attending various dinners, church services, and holiday parties.
The critters are as cunning as ever, with Pewter delivering extra sass even with the holidays approaching. Harry’s delivering of Christmas presents to the animals living in the barn, Simon, Flatface, and Matilda, was adorable. Of course, the furry friends save the day, and life goes on in this beloved town. These books are great.
We get to learn more about Deputy Cynthia Cooper in this book, which I found delightful. Coop has moved into Rev. Herb Jones’ farmhouse next door to Harry, and is in a new relationship with a man named Lorenzo. She’s one of my favorite characters, and I loved seeing the spotlight on her and watching her friendships with Harry and Fair grow. The spirit of Christmas makes this book even cozier than the others in the series, and I loved the scenes involving the residents of Crozet attending various dinners, church services, and holiday parties.
The critters are as cunning as ever, with Pewter delivering extra sass even with the holidays approaching. Harry’s delivering of Christmas presents to the animals living in the barn, Simon, Flatface, and Matilda, was adorable. Of course, the furry friends save the day, and life goes on in this beloved town. These books are great.
December 13, 2023
So. The premise behind this is good. The cats and dog "speak" although the humans and the animals don't understand one another. There's a lot of characters so it's difficult to keep track, and there's some rather odd details that didn't really seem necessary to the story. There's a lesbian couple, an overweight former opera singer monk who was previously bisexual and liked threesomes (one of many Brothers of Love monk characters that appear in the story), two couples recovering from infidelity, and a woman whose husband professed to dislike gays and immigrants (there actually is a point to that one). The main character Harry and her husband discover one of the monks at a Christmas tree farm with his throat slit. Two more murders follow. At one point Harry is at the grocery store and observing one of the monks who used to be a jockey and says to herself she wouldn't have minded squeezing his buns back in his younger days. Just rather random. The murder victims had their *minor spoiler* throats slit in a manner that made me suspect a physician, however, when the murderer was revealed, although I wasn't completely surprised, I did wonder if they would have been actually physically capable of committing the crimes. I finished it because I wanted to know who the murderer was, so there is that, but I probably wouldn't recommend this one to anybody.
December 10, 2024
Das Cover hat mich sofort angesprochen – da konnte ich am Buch einfach nicht vorbeigehen. Auch der Klappentext klang vielversprechend und amüsant.
Und genau das war es auch: ein schöner, kurzweiliger Krimi zur Weihnachtszeit. Ich habe mich direkt ins Setting eingefunden und fand es sehr erfrischend, dass die Gedanken der Tiere ganz unkompliziert durch Kursivschrift integriert wurden.
Die Geschichte versprüht jede Menge weihnachtliche Stimmung, kombiniert mit einem Mordfall, der gar nicht so einfach zu lösen ist. Vielleicht wäre es leichter, auf den Täter zu kommen, wenn man bereits andere Bücher aus der Reihe gelesen hat.
Die Handlung bleibt durchgehend stabil – große Spannung kam für mich zwar nicht auf, aber das Buch war dennoch sehr kurzweilig.
Mit den Charakteren hatte ich stellenweise leichte Schwierigkeiten. Die große Anzahl an Figuren und deren Namen hat mich manchmal verwirrt und ordentlich aufs Glatteis geführt. Die Hauptprotagonisten hingegen lernt man gut kennen und schließt sie schnell ins Herz. Besonders die Frotzeleien zwischen Hund und Katzen haben mir sehr gefallen.
Die Auflösung hat mich komplett überrascht – damit hätte ich wirklich nicht gerechnet. Sie war stimmig und überzeugend. Vielleicht greife ich auch noch zu den anderen Büchern aus der Reihe.
Ein wunderbares Buch für Zwischendurch!
Und genau das war es auch: ein schöner, kurzweiliger Krimi zur Weihnachtszeit. Ich habe mich direkt ins Setting eingefunden und fand es sehr erfrischend, dass die Gedanken der Tiere ganz unkompliziert durch Kursivschrift integriert wurden.
Die Geschichte versprüht jede Menge weihnachtliche Stimmung, kombiniert mit einem Mordfall, der gar nicht so einfach zu lösen ist. Vielleicht wäre es leichter, auf den Täter zu kommen, wenn man bereits andere Bücher aus der Reihe gelesen hat.
Die Handlung bleibt durchgehend stabil – große Spannung kam für mich zwar nicht auf, aber das Buch war dennoch sehr kurzweilig.
Mit den Charakteren hatte ich stellenweise leichte Schwierigkeiten. Die große Anzahl an Figuren und deren Namen hat mich manchmal verwirrt und ordentlich aufs Glatteis geführt. Die Hauptprotagonisten hingegen lernt man gut kennen und schließt sie schnell ins Herz. Besonders die Frotzeleien zwischen Hund und Katzen haben mir sehr gefallen.
Die Auflösung hat mich komplett überrascht – damit hätte ich wirklich nicht gerechnet. Sie war stimmig und überzeugend. Vielleicht greife ich auch noch zu den anderen Büchern aus der Reihe.
Ein wunderbares Buch für Zwischendurch!
February 22, 2023
Mary "Harry" Harristeen loves the holidays, but this Christmas is much less jolly when she and her husband, Fair, go to pick up a live tree sold by the monks of the Brothers of Love and find one of the order has been murdered. While the police try to determine if someone in Brother Christopher's past would be seeking revenge, another brother is murdered in the same fashion. Harry can't help but be curious, even though Fair and the local police tell her to leave well enough alone. When her pets lead her to a mysterious box filled with money, Harry gets knocked cold by an unseen assailant. Now she's right in the thick of things, and just in time for Christmas.
I powered through this book. It was one of the shorter ones in the series, but it was quite gripping. Nothing was making sense, which just escalated the tension. I enjoy the series, and the characters are so three-dimensional that it's like visiting old friends each time I read one of the books. The pets and various livestock and wildlife are fully realized as well, adding a whimsical touch to the stories.
Engaging and thought-provoking--five stars!
I powered through this book. It was one of the shorter ones in the series, but it was quite gripping. Nothing was making sense, which just escalated the tension. I enjoy the series, and the characters are so three-dimensional that it's like visiting old friends each time I read one of the books. The pets and various livestock and wildlife are fully realized as well, adding a whimsical touch to the stories.
Engaging and thought-provoking--five stars!
April 23, 2021
Well, it's a Christmas murder story. The Brothers of Love monastery is almost unrecognizable in the single year since "Cat's Eyewitness." Gone are the shops selling local honey, moonshine, and other rustic items. Suddenly the order only has two sources of income: Christmas trees and fundraising for a hospice that has existed since the 1980s but wasn't mentioned at all in the previous book. (They weren't selling trees in "Cat's Eyewitness" either). With a new abbot, a new treasurer, and even, I think, a new doctor, the order is in financial trouble. This explains why a select few have been extorting money from local wealthy men with secrets polite Virginia society might frown upon (or any polite society really).
There isn't anything wrong with this book, exactly. The motive is tired, especially after the turn of the century, but a sex scandal is a sex scandal I guess. What really threw me was how much time I spent trying to figure out if this was the same group of monks as last Christmas or if Crozet somehow had two monasteries - albeit two very different ones.
There isn't anything wrong with this book, exactly. The motive is tired, especially after the turn of the century, but a sex scandal is a sex scandal I guess. What really threw me was how much time I spent trying to figure out if this was the same group of monks as last Christmas or if Crozet somehow had two monasteries - albeit two very different ones.
July 1, 2021
Interesting story centred again on the monks in the monastery. When Harry and Fair go to the tree farm operated by the monks, they find the body of Brother Christopher, a friend of Harry’s, by a tree with his throat cut. A second monk is killed in the same way. Then the animals find a box with loads of cash in it and when they persuade Harry to accompany them—Tucker had brought a $10,000.00 stack of bills back with her—someone hits Harry over the head and leaves her to freeze to death. Brave heroic little Tucker fights her way back home through a raging blizzard to get Fair and Cooper to return to save Harry. In the meantime, Mrs. Murphy curled herself upon Harry’s face, to keep her face from freezing. This is a good story because of the heroics of the animals. As is usually the case in these Mrs. Murphy stories, the three animals attack the culprit and save Harry’s life; but that’s okay because I love animals and stories where they are the heroes just melt my heart.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 21, 2022
Rating: 8/10
Pages: 237
This is the first Mrs. Murphy mystery I have read. Yes, I know, it is #17. But I need to start diving into life, so don't judge. And it was near Xmas. Let's get one thing out of the way: Just like "Murder She Wrote," all people should steer clear of this gorgeous, idyllic Virginia town, and Harry--the perfect, animal-assisted heroine.
That being said, I appreciated the plot and the novel-unique characters. I also enjoyed the recurring characters (a list is kindly provided at the onset of the friar slaughters). The pets and the people are just imperfect enough to give them some dynamics. And while a bit set in the time it is written, it is still a really fun, fast read.
It has been a while since I have dived into a new series--and for hte time being, I would happily pick up any of the Mrs. Murphy books. I just want to stay far away from Harry, or remain interesting enough to stay alive in her world!
Reccomend
Returning (borrowed)
Pages: 237
This is the first Mrs. Murphy mystery I have read. Yes, I know, it is #17. But I need to start diving into life, so don't judge. And it was near Xmas. Let's get one thing out of the way: Just like "Murder She Wrote," all people should steer clear of this gorgeous, idyllic Virginia town, and Harry--the perfect, animal-assisted heroine.
That being said, I appreciated the plot and the novel-unique characters. I also enjoyed the recurring characters (a list is kindly provided at the onset of the friar slaughters). The pets and the people are just imperfect enough to give them some dynamics. And while a bit set in the time it is written, it is still a really fun, fast read.
It has been a while since I have dived into a new series--and for hte time being, I would happily pick up any of the Mrs. Murphy books. I just want to stay far away from Harry, or remain interesting enough to stay alive in her world!
Reccomend
Returning (borrowed)
December 9, 2025
My Washington trip book 🤍 I had saved this for Christmas time just so I could fully dive into the holiday murder mystery.
Sad to say this one didn’t capture me quite as much as the first Rita Mae brown book I read. The homophobic comments were a little out of left field for me - it felt like a completely different other. Yes one of the characters literally was homophobic but she didn’t have to put so much about it. Another aspect that felt off was the affair and past history with Fair and Harry - I had no clue he had cheated on her before; they seem so in love. I feel like that was just added in there bc the murderer had cheating aspects. It took away from the story for me.
The murder itself didn’t feel very resolved; Raquel did it but there was another person that they never revealed.. I knew it was a woman but my money was on Boomboom.
A bit sad with the turnout for this one but glad it was at least set in Christmas time!
Sad to say this one didn’t capture me quite as much as the first Rita Mae brown book I read. The homophobic comments were a little out of left field for me - it felt like a completely different other. Yes one of the characters literally was homophobic but she didn’t have to put so much about it. Another aspect that felt off was the affair and past history with Fair and Harry - I had no clue he had cheated on her before; they seem so in love. I feel like that was just added in there bc the murderer had cheating aspects. It took away from the story for me.
The murder itself didn’t feel very resolved; Raquel did it but there was another person that they never revealed.. I knew it was a woman but my money was on Boomboom.
A bit sad with the turnout for this one but glad it was at least set in Christmas time!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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