fb2
The feline co-author of the
irresistible "Mrs. Murphy"
mysteries dishes up delectable
fare for cats and humans alike in
this unique collection of recipes
spiced with witty personal anecdotes.
Curiosity just might be the
death of Mrs. Murphy--and her
human companion, Mary Minor
"Harry" Haristeen. Small towns
are like families: Everyone lives
very close together. . .and everyone keeps secrets. Crozet,
Virginia, is a typical small town-
until its secrets explode into
murder. Crozet's thirty-
something postmistress, Mary
Minor "Harry" Haristeen, has a tiger cat (Mrs. Murphy) and a
Welsh Corgi (Tucker), a pending
divorce, and a bad habit of
reading postcards not addressed
to her. When Crozet's citizens
start turning up murdered, Harry remembers that each
received a card with a
tombstone on the front and the
message "Wish you were here"
on the back. Intent on
protecting their human friend, Mrs. Murphy and Tucker begin to
scent out clues. Meanwhile,
Harry is conducting her own
investigation, unaware her pets
are one step ahead of her. If
only Mrs. Murphy could alert her somehow, Harry could uncover
the culprit before the murder
occurs--and before Harry finds
herself on the killer's mailing
list.
Mrs. Murphy thinks the new
man in town is the cat's
meow.... Maybe she should
think again. Small towns don't
take kindly to strangers--unless
the stranger happens to be a drop-dead gorgeous and
seemingly unattached male.
When Blair Bainbridge comes to
Crozet, Virginia, the local
matchmakers lose no time in
declaring him perfect for their newly divorced postmistress,
Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen.
Even Harry's tiger cat, Mrs.
Murphy, and her Welsh Corgi,
Tee Tucker, believe he smells A-
okay. Could his one little imperfection be that he's a
killer? Blair becomes the most
likely suspect when the pieces
of a dismembered corpse begin
turning up around Crozet. No
one knows who the dead man is, but when a grisly clue makes
a spectacular appearance in the
middle of the fall festivities,
more than an early winter snow
begins chilling the blood of
Crozet's very best people. That's when Mrs. Murphy, her friend
Tucker, and her human
companion Harry begin to sort
through the clues . . . only to
find themselves a whisker away
from becoming the killer's next victims.
Mrs. Murphy digs into Virginia
history--and gets her paws on a
killer.
The most popular citizen of
Virginia has been dead for
nearly 170 years. That hasn't stopped the good people of tiny
Crozet, Virginia, from taking
pride in every aspect of Thomas
Jefferson's life. But when an
archaeological dig of the slave
quarters at Jefferson's home, Monticello, uncovers a shocking
secret, emotions in Crozet run
high--dangerously high.
The stunning discovery at
Monticello hints a hidden
passions and age-old scandals. As postmistress Mary Minor
"Harry" Haristeen and some of
Crozet's Very Best People try to
learn the identity of a centuries-
old skeleton--and the reason
behind the murder--Harry's tiger cat, Mrs. Murphy, and her
canine and feline friends
attempt to sniff out a modern-
day killer. Mrs. Murphy and corgi
Tee Tucker will stick their paws
into the darker mysteries of human nature to solve murders
old and new--before curiosity
can kill the cat--and Harry
Haristeen.
The residents of tiny Crozet,
Virginia, thrive on gossip,
especially in the post office,
where Mary Minor "Harry"
Haristeen presides with her
tiger cat, Mrs. Murphy. So when a belligerent Hell's Angel crashes
Crozet, demanding to see his
girlfriend, the leather-clad
interloper quickly becomes the
chief topic of conversation. Then
the biker is found murdered, and everyone is baffled. Well,
almost everyone...Mrs. Murphy
and her friends, Welsh corgi Tee
Tucker and overweight feline
Pewter, haven't been slinking
through alleys for nothing. But can they dig up the truth in time
to save their humans from a
ruthless killer?
The annual steeplechase races at
Montpelier, once the home of
James and Dolley Madison, are
the high point in the social
calendar of the horse-mad
Virginians of cozy Crozet. The race meet offers a cracking good
time with old friends and a
chance to get even—on the
racecourse—with old enemies.
Postmistress Mary Minor "Harry"
Haristeen will be in the thick of the action on this day of high
spirits and fierce competition.
But the glorious thoroughbreds
and the pinks and greens and
purples worn by the riders do
not blind Harry to the dangerous undercurrents that
start to surface. There's sure to
be some emotional fireworks at
Montpelier. Still, no one expects
the day to end in tragedy.
Found dead in the main barn is one of the day's riders, a knife
plunged through the jockey's
heart. The only clue is a playing
card, the Queen of Clubs,
impaled over the fatal wound.
Within the wealthy, tight-knit world of horse owners, trainers,
and jockeys, the victim had both
admirers and enemies.
Was the murderer's motive
greed, drugs--a pervasive evil in
the race world—or sexual rivalry? Luckily for Crozet's
humans, the tiger cat Mrs.
Murphy is right at home in the
stable yard...and on the trail of
the shocking truth. But will
Harry catch on in time to stop a killer grown bloodthirsty with
success?
In Murder, She Meowed Sneaky Pie Brown and her co-author,
Rita Mae Brown, have penned
another clever and sassy
mystery that probes the depths
of human depravity and the
heights of feline genius.
As the principal of St.
Elizabeth's, an exclusive private
school that caters to Crozet,
Virginia's, best families, Roscoe
Fletcher has proven himself to
be a highly effective and vastly popular administrator. So when
his obituary appears in the local
paper, everyone in town is
upset. Yet nothing compares to
the shock they feel when they
discover that Roscoe Fletcher isn't dead at all. Someone has
stooped to putting a phony
obituary in the newspaper. But
is it a sick joke or a sinister
warning? Only Mrs. Murphy, the
canny tiger cat, senses the pure malice behind the act. And
when a second false obit
appears, this time of a
Hollywood has-been who is
Roscoe Fletcher's best friend,
Mrs. Murphy invites her friends, the corgi Tee Tucker, and fat cat
Pewter, to do a bit of sleuthing.
It's obvious to this shrewd puss
that two phony death notices
add up to deadly trouble. And
her theory is borne out when one of the men is fiendishly
murdered. "Harry" Haristeen, in
her position as Crozet's
postmistress, is the first to hear
all the theories on whodunit -
starting with the man's jealous wife. Then a second bloody
homicide follows, and a third.
People are dropping like flies in
Crozet and no one seems to
know why.
It takes a cat to write the purr-
fect mystery.
Things have been pretty
exciting lately in Crozet, Virginia
—a little too exciting if you ask
resident feline investigator Mrs. Murphy. Just as the town starts
to buzz over its Civil War
reenactment, a popular local
man disappears. No one's seen
Tommy Van Allen's single-
engine plane, either—except for Mrs. Murphy, who spotted it
during a foggy evening's
mousing.
Even Mrs. Murphy's favorite
human, postmistress Mary
Minor "Harry" Haristeen, can sense that something is amiss.
But things really take an ugly
turn when the town reenacts
the battle of Oak Ridge—and a
participant ends up with three
very real bullets in his back. While the clever tiger cat and
her friends sift through clues
that just don't fit together,
more than a few locals fear that
the scandal will force well-
hidden town secrets into the harsh light of day. And when
Mrs. Murphy's relentless tracking
places loved ones in danger, it
takes more than a canny kitty
and her team of animal sleuths
to set things right again...
It takes a cat to write the purr-
fect mystery.
Things have been pretty
exciting lately in Crozet, Virginia
—a little too exciting if you ask
resident feline investigator Mrs. Murphy. Just as the town starts
to buzz over its Civil War
reenactment, a popular local
man disappears. No one's seen
Tommy Van Allen's single-
engine plane, either—except for Mrs. Murphy, who spotted it
during a foggy evening's
mousing.
Even Mrs. Murphy's favorite
human, postmistress Mary
Minor "Harry" Haristeen, can sense that something is amiss.
But things really take an ugly
turn when the town reenacts
the battle of Oak Ridge—and a
participant ends up with three
very real bullets in his back. While the clever tiger cat and
her friends sift through clues
that just don't fit together,
more than a few locals fear that
the scandal will force well-
hidden town secrets into the harsh light of day. And when
Mrs. Murphy's relentless tracking
places loved ones in danger, it
takes more than a canny kitty
and her team of animal sleuths
to set things right again...
Each member of the class of
1980 has received the letter.
Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen,
who is on the organizing
committee for Crozet High's twentieth reunion, decides to
take it as a compliment. Others
think it's a joke.
But Mrs. Murphy senses trouble.
And the sly tiger cat is soon
proven right ... when the class womanizer turns up dead with
a bullet between his eyes. Then
another note followed by
another murder makes it clear
that someone has waited
twenty years to take revenge. While Harry tries to piece
together the puzzle, it's up to
Mrs. Murphy and her animal pals
to sniff out the truth. And there
isn't much time. Mrs. Murphy is
the first to realize that Harry has been chosen Most Likely to Die,
and if she doesn't hurry, Crozet
High's twentieth reunion could
be Harry's last.
Winter puts tiny Crozet,
Virginia, in a deep freeze and
everyone seems to be suffering
from the winter blahs, including
postmistress Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen. So all are ripe for the
juicy gossip coming out of
Crozet Hospital–until the main
source of that gossip turns up
dead. It’s not like Harry to resist
a mystery, and she soon finds the hospital a hotbed of ego,
jealousy, and illicit love.
But it’s tiger cat Mrs. Murphy,
roaming the netherworld of
Crozet Hospital, who sniffs out a
secret that dates back to the Underground Railroad. Then
Harry is attacked and a doctor is
executed in cold blood.
Soon only a quick-witted cat
and her animal pals feline
Pewter and corgi Tee Tucker stand between Harry and a
coldly calculating killer with a
prescription for murder.
Spring fever comes to the small
town of Crozet, Virginia. As the
annual Dogwood Festival
approaches, postmistress Mary
Minor “Harry” Haristeen feels
her own mating instincts stir. As for tiger cat Mrs. Murphy,
feline intuition tells her there’s
more in the air than just
pheromones. It begins with a
case of stolen hubcaps and
proceeds to the mysterious death of a dissolute young
mechanic over a sobering cup of
coffee. Then another death and
a shooting lead to the discovery
of a half-million crisp, clean
dollar bills that look to be very dirty.
Now Harry is on the trail of a
cold-blooded murderer. Mrs.
Murphy already knows who it
is--and who’s next in line. She
also knows that Harry, curious as a cat, does not have nine
lives. And the one she does have
is hanging by the thinnest of
threads.
Spring fever comes to the small
town of Crozet, Virginia. As the
annual Dogwood Festival
approaches, postmistress Mary
Minor “Harry” Haristeen feels
her own mating instincts stir. As for tiger cat Mrs. Murphy,
feline intuition tells her there’s
more in the air than just
pheromones. It begins with a
case of stolen hubcaps and
proceeds to the mysterious death of a dissolute young
mechanic over a sobering cup of
coffee. Then another death and
a shooting lead to the discovery
of a half-million crisp, clean
dollar bills that look to be very dirty.
Now Harry is on the trail of a
cold-blooded murderer. Mrs.
Murphy already knows who it
is--and who’s next in line. She
also knows that Harry, curious as a cat, does not have nine
lives. And the one she does have
is hanging by the thinnest of
threads.
When winter hits Crozet, Virginia, it
hits hard--and hangs on for
months. Thats nothing new to
postmistress Mary Minor Harry
Haristeen and her friends, who keep warm with hard work, hot
toddies, and rabid rooting for
the University of Virginias
womens basketball team at the
old stadium affectionately
dubbed The Clam. But the usual postgame high spirits are laid
low when contractor H. H.
Donaldson drops dead in the
parking lot. And pretty soon
word has spread that it wasnt a
heart attack that did him in. It just doesnt sit right with Harry
that one of her fellow fans--
perhaps even an acquaintance
or neighbor sitting close by in
the stands--is a murderer. And
as tiger cat Mrs. Murphy is all too aware, things that dont sit
right with Harry make her
restless, curious, and prone to
poking her not-very-sensitive
human nose into dangerous
places. So the animals start paying closer attention to what
the people around them are
doing--and theyre the first ones
to realize when the next
murder occurs.It seems obvious
to Harry that the deaths are connected--and she intends to
find out exactly how. Theres no
shortage of suspects,
considering that H.H. was a
ladies man whod left a trail of
broken hearts all over town--the most recent belonging to his
wife-- and that the second
murder victim was not very
popular in Crozet.As the police
launch their investigation, Harry
picks up clues through savvy questioning of everyone she
knows. But its the critters who
are most attuned to trouble--
they scent something wicked
wafting Harrys way on the tail
of the next snowstorm. And as Harry draws closer to the truth
about a brutal killer, Mrs.
Murphy and her friends realize
its up to them to make sure
their intrepid mom lands on her
feet.
It's a summer full of turbulence
for small-town Crozet, Virginia,
with a movie star's
homecoming, a spreading
rabies epidemic, and the clues
to an old murder unearthed. But what's unsettling for Harry is
that the building of a new post
office may depose her as
postmistress.
It’s no secret that cats are a
mystery writer’s best friend.
Just ask the bestselling team of
Rita Mae Brown and her furry
partner, Sneaky Pie Brown, back
on the prowl with another unforgettable whodunit. This
time a controversial miracle in
Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains
sparks religious fervor–and a
suspicious death. Now the
indefatigable felines Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, along with
the dogged corgi Tee Tucker,
must trust their animal instincts
to sniff out the worst of human
nature....
With the holidays approaching, Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen
and her best friend, Susan
Tucker, take a much-needed
time-out at the mountain
monastery of Mount Carmel.
There, under the benevolent gaze of the statue of the Virgin
Mary, their worldly worries are
soon overshadowed. For in
front of their very eyes the
statue begins to cry tears of
blood. Legend has it that Mary’s
crimson tears are harbingers of
crises. And though skeptical, the
ever-practical Harry can already
see one on the horizon. If
leaked, news of the so-called miracle could turn the
monastery and the town of
Crozet into a circus. What Harry
doesn’t foresee is murder.…
When Susan’s great-uncle
Thomas, a resident monk, is found frozen to death at the
base of the statue, foul play is
ruled out–at first. But at Harry’s
urging, the body is exhumed for
an autopsy. There’s just one
problem: the coffin is empty. That’s when Mrs. Murphy,
Pewter, and Tucker get
involved. Then there’s the
shocking revelation of a
mystery that has perplexed the
citizens of Crozet for ages. With Christmas around the
corner and the monastery
overrun by the faithful, all
Harry’s meddling menagerie can
do is stay on her trail as she
jumps knee-deep into an unofficial investigation–one
that becomes more dangerous
when another Crozet citizen
meets an untimely demise. In
this case it will be a miracle if
Harry stays alive...
In this latest whodunit, Rita Mae
Brown and her feline partner-in-
crime-detection, Sneaky Pie
Brown, return to the scene of
their bestselling crimesâ
€”picturesque Crozet, Virginia. Love is in the air as spring
comes to the small town, but no
sooner has Mary Minor â
€œHarry†Haristeen remarried
than she is rudely interruptedâ
€”by murder. And no sooner does the trouble start than
curious cats Mrs. Murphy and
Pewter, along with corgi Tee
Tucker, sink their claws into the
case.…
After an unexpected rekindling of their romance, Harry and her
veterinarian ex-husband, Fair
Haristeen, have happily
remarried. But the excitement
of their nuptials is quickly
overshadowed by the murder of Professor Vincent Forland, a
world-famous grape and fungal
expert who was in town
visiting the local vineyards.
Within days of giving a lecture
on how distilled fungus and cattle diseases are the current
basis of chemical warfare,
Forland’s decapitated body
is discovered. After their initial
fright, the residents of Crozet
believe that this was a political murder and settle back into
their routines–until a local is
also found dead, killed in the
same gruesome manner as
Professor Forland. Now
residents can’t help wondering, is this really the
work of an
outsider—or one of their own?
No longer working in the post
office, Harry had just planted a
quarter acre of grapes, which fuels her natural curiosity over
just what the two murder
victims knew and had in
common. Once the warmth of
spring arrives, the grapevines
blossom and Harry’s furry entourage discovers the first
critical clue. But how can they
show the humans what theyâ
€™ve learned? And how can
they—or anyone—stop the
killing?
Instead of a proper second honeymoon, the newly remarried Harry and Fair Haristeen leave cozy Crozet, Virginia, for Shelbyville, Kentucky, site of the famous saddlebred horse show. There they'll visit dear friends Joan Hamilton and Larry Hodge and enjoy a week among some of the finest horses, trainers, and riders in the country.
But soon after they arrive, events veer mysteriously-and murderously-off course. First, Joan's ruby and sapphire horsehead heirloom pin is stolen from her private box at the fairgrounds. Next, a young film star's prize three-gaited mare disappears into thin air. There is no lack of suspects, from hotheaded trainers and jealous rivals to vicious ex-spouses. Then a body is found flagrantly murdered and it's obvious to Harry that someone at Shelbyville is sending a strong message: winning is only secondary-first prize is survival.
As Harry searches for clues, rediscovers life as a married woman, and deals with her upcoming fortieth birthday, her four-legged detective friends are already on the case. But is animal instinct any match for human depravity? Especially with two humans to protect and a killer on the prowl?