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Mrs. Murphy #19
Hiss of Death
Beloved authors Rita Mae Brown and her feline co-conspirator, Sneaky Pie Brown, sow the seeds of an all-new mystery featuring Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, sleuthing cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and that incorrigible corgi Tee Tucker. This time around, the onset of spring ushers in more than hay fever as the animal friends must come to the aid of an ailing Harry to sniff out the season's first blossom of murder. Ah, spring! The redbuds open, the robins return, and the days lengthen. People's spirits lift--as do those of their animal companions. As a wave of tilling and planting sweeps over Crozet, Virginia, Harry is especially excited: This year is her first harvesting grapes to sell. But then a health crisis sends her reeling into the forbidding world of hospitals and doctors, treatments and procedures. Surviving this journey will be tough, but Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tucker will do their best to steer Harry in the right direction--as will her ever-helpful husband, Fair. Others will have worse luck: An especially promising nurse's lifeless body is discovered without a mark on her. Then another hospital employee, who had seemed in perfect health, is also found dead. It's clear there's a mystery afoot--and that's one thing Harry and her menagerie can't keep their noses out of. [
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
199 people are currently reading
1196 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 282 reviews
June 1, 2011
Dear Sneaky Pie Brown: I have always really liked the books that you allow Rita Mae Brown to co-author with you--and by the way, why does she always insist on having her name listed first?--but I have had a little problem with the last several books. I know that this is no way your fault, but would you please ask Rita Mae to tone down on the political opinions. While I may agree with some, or even most of these opinions, I find that they distract from the flow of the narrative and can even be off-putting. Other than Rita Mae's constant editorializing, I, for the most part, enjoyed the story. I think that your input into the writing process is clear. While Rita Mae is busy dealing with the human characters, you are free to write about the most important characters in the book--the animals. I love Tee Tucker, of course, but you do your best work bringing Mrs. Murphy and Pewter to life. Keep the series going, but please leave the editorials and political opinions for another format.
April 13, 2011
I didn't finish this book and let me tell you why. After two chapters I remembered why I hadn't finished the last Mrs. Murphy book either: the author's insistence of putting her opinions about government and politics and all kinds of other issues into the mouths and minds of her characters.
Here's the thing, I don't necessarily disagree with Brown's opinions on global climate change, entitlement reform, or gay rights, but this book series isn't the place to voice them. I've been reading these books for years and had read the previous seventeen to much delight (except for that one where the main characters went on vacation, that just didn't work).
Harry has always been a frugal character. Rita Mae Brown used to paint that characterization well by having Harry talk (either out loud or internally) about how she loves her old truck and why, despite looking longingly at a newer fancier model someone else has, that she won't spend the money because the old truck is fine. But now Harry's internal thoughts go more like "the average American household has fifteen thousand dollars of credit card debt. I guess I'm not as as average an American as I thought." Hello, heavy-handed anyone?!
This isn't limited to Harry. There are political talking point shoved inelegantly into conversations and thoughts every couple of pages and the result is jarring.
If Brown wants to voice her opinions about these issues, she would be better served to write a non-fiction book on the subjects or sound-off in a blog format. Trying to preach via a mystery series where some of the main characters are cats and dogs who talk amongst themselves to solve crimes is very misguided and a disservice to her readers.
Here's the thing, I don't necessarily disagree with Brown's opinions on global climate change, entitlement reform, or gay rights, but this book series isn't the place to voice them. I've been reading these books for years and had read the previous seventeen to much delight (except for that one where the main characters went on vacation, that just didn't work).
Harry has always been a frugal character. Rita Mae Brown used to paint that characterization well by having Harry talk (either out loud or internally) about how she loves her old truck and why, despite looking longingly at a newer fancier model someone else has, that she won't spend the money because the old truck is fine. But now Harry's internal thoughts go more like "the average American household has fifteen thousand dollars of credit card debt. I guess I'm not as as average an American as I thought." Hello, heavy-handed anyone?!
This isn't limited to Harry. There are political talking point shoved inelegantly into conversations and thoughts every couple of pages and the result is jarring.
If Brown wants to voice her opinions about these issues, she would be better served to write a non-fiction book on the subjects or sound-off in a blog format. Trying to preach via a mystery series where some of the main characters are cats and dogs who talk amongst themselves to solve crimes is very misguided and a disservice to her readers.
March 13, 2016
I like cosy mysteries where half of the main characters are animals. But this would have been way more enjoyable if the author didn't use her characters as mouthpieces to preach at the reader.
August 8, 2011
Apparently, Rita Mae Brown has become old and cranky and taken Harry with her. So sad to see this series deteriorate into a platform for the author's pet peeves.
Also, it was absolutely unbelieveable that Harry would deal with breast cancer with no support from the regular characters she has loved and supported throughout the years. They are all missing from the book with little or no explanation. In their places are just pages of data dumping in dialogue form. No one would stand by and listen to these pompous speakers -- even if the listeners possessed their grandmothers' solid Virginian sterling manners.
Also, it was absolutely unbelieveable that Harry would deal with breast cancer with no support from the regular characters she has loved and supported throughout the years. They are all missing from the book with little or no explanation. In their places are just pages of data dumping in dialogue form. No one would stand by and listen to these pompous speakers -- even if the listeners possessed their grandmothers' solid Virginian sterling manners.
July 18, 2011
Remember when this was a great series? Not so much any more. This used to be my favorite series. It used to have exciting plots and wonderful, charming characters. Not so much any more. Now the plots are thin and boring. Now the characters are trite and flat.
The last two books have killed this series for me. Brown no longer seems to care about her stories or her readers. She spends most of her time, every third page or so, boring us and pulling the reader out of the story by beating us over the head with her political agenda. I don't buy these books to read pages of diatribes about how evil the government is, Rep. or Dem. You're a Libertarian-All govt. bad. We get it already.
Harry has become boring, preachy and I expect her next adventure will be in a survivalist training camp learning to spot black heliocopters. Maybe she needs to be single again cause since she remarried Fair she's become totally unlikable.
Oh, and the ending/motive of this was ridiculous. Brown pulled the wrap-up for this out of her...er...out of thin air.
The last two books have killed this series for me. Brown no longer seems to care about her stories or her readers. She spends most of her time, every third page or so, boring us and pulling the reader out of the story by beating us over the head with her political agenda. I don't buy these books to read pages of diatribes about how evil the government is, Rep. or Dem. You're a Libertarian-All govt. bad. We get it already.
Harry has become boring, preachy and I expect her next adventure will be in a survivalist training camp learning to spot black heliocopters. Maybe she needs to be single again cause since she remarried Fair she's become totally unlikable.
Oh, and the ending/motive of this was ridiculous. Brown pulled the wrap-up for this out of her...er...out of thin air.
May 17, 2011
So far this is much preachier than previous books in the series. Heavy-handed message delivery. I am a bit disappointed. Will see how this develops.
Almost 100 pages in now. Lurching from petroleum dependence to the high cost of farming to alternative technologies to health care reform to imported products made in China. Rita Mae, I fear, has lost the sense of lighthearted joy that percolated through the earlier books.
P. 160. Add misguided legislation that is crippling agriculture, the case for legalized drugs and the dangers of steroids. After yet another "lecture by character that does not advance plot," Rita Mae by way of Harry says "gang, I am so naive. What have I been doing all my life?" as if apologizing for ever just kicking back and enjoying life without fixating on all the ills of modern society. There is an overwhelming sense that either Rita Mae or someone she loves has just gone through this, and the book is a cathartic exercise.
finally finished. I give it two stars because I do like these characters and I love the Charlottesville area, and enjoy that "I know where that is" feeling when landmarks are mentioned. The author's message at the end of the book reinforces my supposition above. But whatever her motivation, this book was much too heavy-handed on the dire warnings and doom-laden messages and much too light on the plot. I do not think a cozy mystery is the most effective vehicle for expressing these concerns.
Almost 100 pages in now. Lurching from petroleum dependence to the high cost of farming to alternative technologies to health care reform to imported products made in China. Rita Mae, I fear, has lost the sense of lighthearted joy that percolated through the earlier books.
P. 160. Add misguided legislation that is crippling agriculture, the case for legalized drugs and the dangers of steroids. After yet another "lecture by character that does not advance plot," Rita Mae by way of Harry says "gang, I am so naive. What have I been doing all my life?" as if apologizing for ever just kicking back and enjoying life without fixating on all the ills of modern society. There is an overwhelming sense that either Rita Mae or someone she loves has just gone through this, and the book is a cathartic exercise.
finally finished. I give it two stars because I do like these characters and I love the Charlottesville area, and enjoy that "I know where that is" feeling when landmarks are mentioned. The author's message at the end of the book reinforces my supposition above. But whatever her motivation, this book was much too heavy-handed on the dire warnings and doom-laden messages and much too light on the plot. I do not think a cozy mystery is the most effective vehicle for expressing these concerns.
June 10, 2011
I have read a lot of the Mrs. Murphy, Pewter and Tucker books but I agree with the majority out there- this was one of my most horrendous reads of the year.
I understand the necessity of addressing the cancer part of the story, and it is important, hell, my mother, sister and aunt had breast cancer and I've had at least 5 other relatives die of it.
But if you want to air your uneducated backwater views on politics, write an editorial in your local paper. No one cares, is interested or wants it in the guise of our favorite characters, especially not for 5 pages followed by an adorable pencil sketch which is supposed to distract from your egomanical ravings. Ms. Brown, really. You and your editor should be ashamed that this was printed.
There was next to no plot and it appeared in the last 4 pages that you remembered there was supposed to be a mystery going on and wrapped it up in 3 paragraphs with the most contrived unbelievable drivel I have ever read.
Please don't waste the publisher's budget on releasing this in paperback, audio or ebook. It's not worth any of it.
I understand the necessity of addressing the cancer part of the story, and it is important, hell, my mother, sister and aunt had breast cancer and I've had at least 5 other relatives die of it.
But if you want to air your uneducated backwater views on politics, write an editorial in your local paper. No one cares, is interested or wants it in the guise of our favorite characters, especially not for 5 pages followed by an adorable pencil sketch which is supposed to distract from your egomanical ravings. Ms. Brown, really. You and your editor should be ashamed that this was printed.
There was next to no plot and it appeared in the last 4 pages that you remembered there was supposed to be a mystery going on and wrapped it up in 3 paragraphs with the most contrived unbelievable drivel I have ever read.
Please don't waste the publisher's budget on releasing this in paperback, audio or ebook. It's not worth any of it.
April 29, 2011
I have read everyone of Rita Mae Brown's books from her earliest to this one and I have either loved or enjoyed almost all of them. However in this book it seems that Ms. Brown has forgotten that the essence of a novel is a good story. Tell me a story and you can preach politics all you want, make social commentary, and let your opinions hang out. But remember to show me not to tell me. I can read the daily news and get all the insanity and political naivete that I want. But when I'm reading a book by a successful novelist I expect much more.
I have been let down.
I have been let down.
August 25, 2018
In Mrs. Murphy number 19, we learn that Harry has breast cancer. This was of particular interest to me because I went through the same 'biopsy' procedure on a doctor's table, after a suspicious mammogram. They called this a 'deep tissue biopsy' that would extract cells to see if they were cancerous. In Harry's case, it showed that she had cancerous cells. In mine, it showed that I did not. However, my doctor was not satisfied because she saw a pattern of calcium deposits clinging together in my left breast that,in her experience, indicated cancer. She wanted me to undergo a surgical biopsy where they would knock me out with 'Twilight' and dig wider and deeper. I was absolutely, positively certain that I did not have breast cancer. Why? I don't know. Certain things one knows to the bottom of their soul without rhyme or reason; at least, I do.* If left to my own devices, I would have rejected the surgery but my family was adamant. My surgery was scheduled for 11 am, but I had to wait until 4 pm because of some emergency (or something.) My sister-in-law sat with me the entire time, which was very sweet of her but I would not have minded to be alone to read a book. Lol. As I knew, they found no cancer and I learned they can operate in a way that isn't invasive. I would challenge anyone to find the scar. Unless they were a surgeon or examined me under fluorescent lights, I don't think 98% of people would even see the scar. One of my closest friends was not lucky and died way too young from breast cancer. She had the BRCA gene and so did one of her brothers, who died of pancreatic cancer. I think of her most days. I miss her every day. I found the cancer information that Rita Mae Brown researched interesting. This was another exceptionally good Mrs. Murphy cozy in my opinion.
*I have often read that we only use about 10% of our brains. It seems reasonable that some people use a little more and that little more might be compared to ESP. All my life, every once in a while, I 'know' something. I don't know how I know. It can be as simple as suddenly knowing what the next song will be on the radio or as complicated as that my body does not have cancerous cells. All kinds of useless stuff, nothing helpful like what the lottery number will be. Not yet, anyway. It doesn't happen often and I don't know how I do it, so I just kind of roll with the punches. I have had this since I was a child and could recount some odd experiences I've had, but this is a forum for book review and I learned a couple of things about cancer which is always welcome.
*I have often read that we only use about 10% of our brains. It seems reasonable that some people use a little more and that little more might be compared to ESP. All my life, every once in a while, I 'know' something. I don't know how I know. It can be as simple as suddenly knowing what the next song will be on the radio or as complicated as that my body does not have cancerous cells. All kinds of useless stuff, nothing helpful like what the lottery number will be. Not yet, anyway. It doesn't happen often and I don't know how I do it, so I just kind of roll with the punches. I have had this since I was a child and could recount some odd experiences I've had, but this is a forum for book review and I learned a couple of things about cancer which is always welcome.
February 26, 2015
I picked this book up because I have always trusted Rita Mae Brown's books to be good, cozy mysteries. Something to read in between heavier, more lengthy tomes. However, I am quickly becoming tired of the political sermonizing that is appearing more and more. The main characters are the same in this novel, but there is less development and they their dialogue is more trite and clichéd. And almost every character has something to say related to social or political issues. If Brown wants to talk about political and social issues, I don't mind a little in a novel, but she's going overboard. I would like a good, solid story with characters that grow and change.
I don't think I would recommend this book to my friends because of the sermonizing and lack of character development.
I don't think I would recommend this book to my friends because of the sermonizing and lack of character development.
June 29, 2012
If you want a treatise on cancer, ways of treating it, the medical profession, exercise programs, and vituperation about government, read this book.
If you want a good mystery, with funny comments by cats and dogs, go back to one of Brown's early novels.
She must have had to deliver a certain number of words, because she really padded this book. Even repeated a few sentences. (Does she not have an editor any more?) I'm really disappointed, as I had looked forward to reading this one. But it was difficult to drag myself through it. She should have saved her screed for a non-fiction work.
If you want a good mystery, with funny comments by cats and dogs, go back to one of Brown's early novels.
She must have had to deliver a certain number of words, because she really padded this book. Even repeated a few sentences. (Does she not have an editor any more?) I'm really disappointed, as I had looked forward to reading this one. But it was difficult to drag myself through it. She should have saved her screed for a non-fiction work.
October 25, 2019
I liked the parts that weren't "preachy" about all the ills of the world but those were few and far between. It got to the point where it seemed to me that rants were being added to pad the length of the novel; I didn't feel they were necessary or appropriate. I love the Mrs. Murphy mysteries and will probably read the next couple, because I have them, but if they are as heavy on issues as this one, I won't be reading any more after that. It takes away from the fun (can you say that about a murder mystery?) and the characters.
March 7, 2012
Ms. Brown is still using her fiction to beat her readers over her head with her political views. I still love Tee Tucker, Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, but the subplot was both unrealistic and annoying.
March 1, 2025
If you are searching for a light hearted mystery series to read, the Mrs. Murphy Mystery Series is an excellent one to entertain you! The main character, Mary Minor Haristeen, aka "Harry," has 2 felines, Mrs. Murphy & Pewter. She also has a female corgi, Tee Tucker, as well as horses and other barn dwelling critters. The magical part is that the animals can communicate to each other. They help Harry solve random murders. They don't need to be read in order, but I recommend it.
February 27, 2023
Honestly, this was one of the worst books I’ve ever read! I can’t believe that this author has such a following and has written so many stories. I love animals, but the animals “talking” in the book just annoyed me. Unfortunately, I can’t think of anything positive to say about this book. Needless to say, I won’t be checking out any of her other books.
October 28, 2017
This is nothing less than the worst book I have ever attempted to read. I say that with no exaggeration, or as an attempt to grab attention. It is preachy, rambling, badly written, and in such serious need of harsh cuts it astounds me this was published at all. I am seeing in the other reviews that previous books in the series were better? I will try one of those, then. I am not sure how it could get worse. I have a new low-bar for published literature, and it is Hiss of Death.
did-not-finish
May 4, 2018DNF'd around 34%. I am curious about writing cozy mysteries, so I am trying to read more of them. This one I hit a third of the way in and there still really wasn't a mystery - it was more of a book about a woman learning she has breast cancer and how everyone seems to have a form of cancer.
Is it my fault for picking the 19th book of a series? Probably. But it didn't make me want to go back to read the others either.
Is it my fault for picking the 19th book of a series? Probably. But it didn't make me want to go back to read the others either.
June 29, 2018
I always enjoy the animals in this series, but I felt that they were more of an after thought in this book.
May 18, 2019
Too much politics not enough mystery
February 22, 2022
Well, that was depressing.
I really, really enjoyed the Mrs. Murphy series at first. I loved the main character, I loved the sense of place the author was able to create with Crozet (I've lived in rural Virginia, let us simply say the author was spot on with the first half dozen books), and I even enjoyed the talking animals and found their characters as richly developed as the humans, which was to say, very.
With Murder at Monticello, I was a bit taken aback - an awful lot of Jefferson apologetics going on, but I thought, well, the weird obsession with _needing_ the enslaved people at Monticello to have been happy, that's at least in character for rich white people living nearby. Maybe that was deliberate storytelling.
Then she started doing the whole "I went down a google rabbit hole when I researched some throwaway detail for a character AND NOW I MUST TELL YOU EVERYTHING EVEN THOUGH IT DOES NOT BELONG IN MY STORY." And I winced, but the mystery (outside the long swathes of cut and paste) was still good.
Then the characters and plots started getting flatter. For example, Harry's "battle" with breast cancer (she's healthy enough to do long, intense, extremely detailed -- see above -- bodyweight workouts while undergoing radiation treatments, y'all) in this book is dramatically less affecting than Big Mim's brush with same umpteen books ago.
Then the author started inserting her absolute seething hatred of politicians, in theory because they don't understand "country people" when what she really means is "how dare the people living in the tax-paying parts of the state not cater to rich horsebreeders." We have hit the nadir of that with this book. At least a quarter of Hiss of Death is like listening to right wing radio without the obvious racism. Oh, wait, there's still the obvious racism, because the drug running gangs are all foreign brown people. Whoever explained to her that the local mountain people don't use "moonshine" as the name of the homebrew might want to clue her in to who's making the meth.
So I'm giving up on what had been a beloved series for me. If she's this unhinged in 2011, I don't want to know what the last five years did to her. But I won't be missing much. The characters are two dimensional wooden puppets and the plots are retreads.
I really, really enjoyed the Mrs. Murphy series at first. I loved the main character, I loved the sense of place the author was able to create with Crozet (I've lived in rural Virginia, let us simply say the author was spot on with the first half dozen books), and I even enjoyed the talking animals and found their characters as richly developed as the humans, which was to say, very.
With Murder at Monticello, I was a bit taken aback - an awful lot of Jefferson apologetics going on, but I thought, well, the weird obsession with _needing_ the enslaved people at Monticello to have been happy, that's at least in character for rich white people living nearby. Maybe that was deliberate storytelling.
Then she started doing the whole "I went down a google rabbit hole when I researched some throwaway detail for a character AND NOW I MUST TELL YOU EVERYTHING EVEN THOUGH IT DOES NOT BELONG IN MY STORY." And I winced, but the mystery (outside the long swathes of cut and paste) was still good.
Then the characters and plots started getting flatter. For example, Harry's "battle" with breast cancer (she's healthy enough to do long, intense, extremely detailed -- see above -- bodyweight workouts while undergoing radiation treatments, y'all) in this book is dramatically less affecting than Big Mim's brush with same umpteen books ago.
Then the author started inserting her absolute seething hatred of politicians, in theory because they don't understand "country people" when what she really means is "how dare the people living in the tax-paying parts of the state not cater to rich horsebreeders." We have hit the nadir of that with this book. At least a quarter of Hiss of Death is like listening to right wing radio without the obvious racism. Oh, wait, there's still the obvious racism, because the drug running gangs are all foreign brown people. Whoever explained to her that the local mountain people don't use "moonshine" as the name of the homebrew might want to clue her in to who's making the meth.
So I'm giving up on what had been a beloved series for me. If she's this unhinged in 2011, I don't want to know what the last five years did to her. But I won't be missing much. The characters are two dimensional wooden puppets and the plots are retreads.
December 30, 2016
very good reading!
July 20, 2017
This was a little disappointing. There were so many medical warnings that I felt like I was being preached at through most of the book. It became very tiresome. I think it is fine to slip in that the main character is going for a yearly check up or that another has been told by his doctor to lead a healthier life style, but it was everywhere you turned in this book and got in the way of the story. The mystery also didn't take center place. I never felt as if it developed because there were so many side stories. I haven't read any of Rita Mae Brown's book for quite a while and this may be why.
There are two murders which take place in the book and they are only loosely connected. The reason for the murders has to be spelled out by the murderer who spills his/her guts in the last few pages telling every little detail without benefit of lawyer or common sense. Those reasons were not a serious enough threat, I thought, to motivate any but the most paranoid and the murderer was not portrayed as any kind of extremist throughout the book. Sorry, but this is just the way this book struck me. I know the author has written many other books which are a lot better than this one.
There are two murders which take place in the book and they are only loosely connected. The reason for the murders has to be spelled out by the murderer who spills his/her guts in the last few pages telling every little detail without benefit of lawyer or common sense. Those reasons were not a serious enough threat, I thought, to motivate any but the most paranoid and the murderer was not portrayed as any kind of extremist throughout the book. Sorry, but this is just the way this book struck me. I know the author has written many other books which are a lot better than this one.
October 22, 2011
HISS OF DEATH.Ah Spring as a wave of tilling and planting sweeps over Crozet,Virginia,Harry is especially excited this is her first year planting and harvesting grapes to sell.But than a health care crisis sends her reeling into the forbidden world of doctors and hospitals, treatments and procedures.Harry is diagnosed with stage one breast cancer surviving this journey will be tough on her Fair her husband and her animals mrs . Murphy, Pewter and Tucker will help steer her in the right direction - others will have worse luck an especially promising nurse will be found dead with out a mark on her. Than another hospital employee who seemed in perfect health will be found dead- there,s a mystery afoot and thats one thing Harry and her menagerie can,t keep their noses out of.
May 9, 2011
I have been a loyal fan of Rita Mae Brown's since the '70's and have read almost everything she has written. That is why it pains me to say this book was not up to her usual style. I tend to agree with her in many ways, so the political content doesn't bother me, however, she usually shows rather than tells her stories. And this was a great story, but I needed the showing and the warm fuzzies and the humor and the endearing insights of the characters to make me stay up past my bedtime reading. Please, Ms. Brown, from another Ms. Brown, who was even born on the same day as you, the next Sneaky Pie book due out in Spring 2012, show rather than tell.
November 2, 2015
Used to love, love, love this series. It is now getting too preachy and too, too, too insular. I enjoyed the mystery; but I'm really getting tired of all the criticism of our country (to be fair, there is a lot to criticize; but this series doesn't seem to over any solutions and tends to get insular instead of trying to do something).
Have always love the animal's (Harry's dog and two cats) perspective and view of the human world. This is augmented occasionally by other animals - Harry's horses; wild fox; a snake, owl and possum in the barn. This is no longer enough to compensate for the preachy, preachy tone of this series.
Have always love the animal's (Harry's dog and two cats) perspective and view of the human world. This is augmented occasionally by other animals - Harry's horses; wild fox; a snake, owl and possum in the barn. This is no longer enough to compensate for the preachy, preachy tone of this series.
July 14, 2015
I absolutely loved this one! It's been a while since I've had a chance to read a Sneaky Pie Brown book, and I really do enjoy the series. I was a tad saddened by the cancer stuff, but mainly as I have lost a sister to this dread disease and would hate to lose a main character and ergo a favored series to this disease as well. This was tastefully handled though and didn't really detract from the mystery at all. I am looking forward to a chance to get my hands on the latest couple of these as well...
June 19, 2018
I used to love these books, but lately there are two recurring things that bother me in every book. One is, as others have mentioned, the political rants on any and every topic. The other is the tendency of almost every character to respond in fragments (i.e., "Did." "Have."). Neither of these were part of the earlier books, and the change is not for the better. Other than that, the mystery was solid.
May 3, 2020
Why can't I just leave Crozet? I have no idea. There is some old, deep fondness for this series, based on the pleasant reads of the first few books. But they've lost and charm of intelligence they had. And yet, though I am almost entirely fed up, I still feel I wont be totally done. I shall read more, and probably be frustrated then too.
September 28, 2014
I don't buy her books any more. Her books aren't as good as his earlier work. I feel like she makes her characters stand on a soapbox and bitch about politics. Her character of Harry was a lot more likable when she still worked at the post office.
January 23, 2016
Beginning was slow-- too much on Harry's **Spoiler** cancer. Picked up after first 100 pages, though. Totally scarred for life by the lamp event. Toooooooo graphic.
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