Rating: 
Summary: Not As Good As the Rest
Review: I don't have much new to add to the previous reviews, except to say that I, too, have read all of the previous Mrs. Murphy books as well as Riding Shotgun and Rita Will. For some reason this story was strangely lacking. Maybe because she went a little over the top at the end and I couldn't suspend my disbelief as willingly as usual.If this book had been the first one I read, I'm not sure I would come back for more. I also think the new illustrations are jarring after the previously wonderful ones. Growing up, Marguerite Henry was my favorite author (because she wrote about horses), but the books would have not been complete without Wesley Dennis' illustrations. I feel the same way about Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, Tucker without Wendy Wray.
Rating: 
Summary: As always Rita Mae Brown's are entertaining!
Review: I enjoy all of Rita Mae Brown's "Sneaky Pie" books. My daughter who is of college age and I have read the entire series. As we have cats of our own, it adds to the entertainment! The only complaint I had was what happened to the killer in the end. It was a different approach then usual. I'm not sure I liked it. But it was intriqing! I'm anxious for the next book to see if she did anything else with the circumstances.
Rating: 
Summary: Didn't measure up.
Review: I enjoy Rita Mae Brown's books very much and I actually bought one from Amazon.com using a gift certifcate just last week. This, however, didn't measure up. I enjoyed the book and, as always, I thought the animals were a delightlful touch. However, I agree with a previous customer. I don't believe that the author should spell out EVERY single detail down to its threadbare minimum, but I like for the author to come right out and say who did it just to confirm my suspicions. The author did this in a way. The murderers confesssed to each other in a dilly-dallying, round-about way. My father is a police officer and just not having ANY justice served was another low point in the book.
Also, the animals in this one are rather incredulous, driving cars and such nonsense. Yes, they're the novelty behind these novels, but Brown has taken them too far with this one. They're becoming people in fur coats.
Rating:
Summary: Another wonderful mystery with Mrs. Murphy and Tucker
Review: I had only ever read one R.M. Brown novel, and that was "Riding shotgun." As a horsey person, I read it for the foxhunting element. Then a friend of mine was involved in the filming of the foxhunting sequence in the Disney movie, "Murder, she purred." After enjoying the movie, I decided to read the books. These are great, fun mysteries full of characters who are just that, characters. I'm only a sometime mystery reader, but I quickly gobbled up all six R.M. Brown mysteries that I could get my hands on. Please, Rita, write another one soon! We dog,cat,horse lovers need another book from you and Sneaky Pie!
Rating:
Summary: Welcome Back To Crozet!
Review: I have read all of Rita's & Sneaky Pie Brown's Mrs. Murphy tales (or is that tails(?)) "Cat on the Scent" was terrific! Unlike the others I have read, there are moments of great sadness among Harry's friends that makes them even more three-dimensional. I enjoyed this read very much. Thank you Rita and Sneaky!
Rating:
Summary: Welcome Back To Crozet!
Review: I have read all of Rita's & Sneaky Pie Brown's Mrs. Murphy tales (or is that tails(?)) "Cat on the Scent" was terrific! Unlike the others I have read, there are moments of great sadness among Harry's friends that makes them even more three-dimensional. I enjoyed this read very much. Thank you Rita and Sneaky!
Rating:
Summary: Welcome Back To Crozet!
Review: I have read all of Rita's & Sneaky Pie Brown's Mrs. Murphy tales (or is that tails(?)) "Cat on the Scent" was terrific! Unlike the others I have read, there are moments of great sadness among Harry's friends that makes them even more three-dimensional. I enjoyed this read very much. Thank you Rita and Sneaky!
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly unsatisfying
Review: I have read all of the previous Rita Mae/Sneaky Pie Brown books, and really enjoyed them. I sort of enjoyed this one as well, but if I had it to do over, I wouldn't read it. Here's why: - It's preachy. I can put up with, and even enjoy, some amount of commentary on the human condition from a "cat", but this book went overboard. - In the previous books, it was a clever literary device to use pets to push the silly humans in the right direction, but this book went too far. Cats aren't smarter than people. Cats have brains the size of walnuts. I love my cat, but I've had her ever since I was a child, and she's never shown any desire to use her intelligence for anything other than catching birds, squirrels, moles, etc. (Warning! Small spoiler to follow): - The people never found the answer. Even the pets were just guessing. If I want to read about unsolved murders, I can read the newspaper. When I read a mystery story, the only thing I absolutely require from it is that at the end of the book, at least one non-guilty person has figured out (or been told) who did it, how, and why. The reader finds out who, how, and why, but none of the characters do. I don't think I've run across that in a mystery before--at first I thought maybe some pages had fallen out of the book or something. It's like the last chapter was left off. (end spoilage) I'm giving this three stars, because it's the last point that really ruined the book for me. Since it came at the end, most of the book was reasonably good.
Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly unsatisfying
Review: I have read all of the previous Rita Mae/Sneaky Pie Brown books, and really enjoyed them. I sort of enjoyed this one as well, but if I had it to do over, I wouldn't read it. Here's why: - It's preachy. I can put up with, and even enjoy, some amount of commentary on the human condition from a "cat", but this book went overboard. - In the previous books, it was a clever literary device to use pets to push the silly humans in the right direction, but this book went too far. Cats aren't smarter than people. Cats have brains the size of walnuts. I love my cat, but I've had her ever since I was a child, and she's never shown any desire to use her intelligence for anything other than catching birds, squirrels, moles, etc. (Warning! Small spoiler to follow): - The people never found the answer. Even the pets were just guessing. If I want to read about unsolved murders, I can read the newspaper. When I read a mystery story, the only thing I absolutely require from it is that at the end of the book, at least one non-guilty person has figured out (or been told) who did it, how, and why. The reader finds out who, how, and why, but none of the characters do. I don't think I've run across that in a mystery before--at first I thought maybe some pages had fallen out of the book or something. It's like the last chapter was left off. (end spoilage) I'm giving this three stars, because it's the last point that really ruined the book for me. Since it came at the end, most of the book was reasonably good.
Rating: 
Summary: Clever animals, Good Plot, Flat Characters, Bad Prose
Review: I picked this book up while I was housesitting recently and strapped for something to read. I had a bad feeling when I came to the Cast of Characters in the front of the book--a list of who's who with each character summed up patly in one or two sentences. It's not a cheat. The characters in this book are flat enough that they really can be summed up that briefly. The plot was interesting enough to keep me turning, but the prose was really dreadful. I wish I had the book in hand to cite some examples; I was howling in places. The author has no truck with subtlety, and spells everything out for you in big letters. I had the feeling she doesn't trust her readers to figure things out. The animal characters are fairly sharp and I enjoyed getting to know them; I wish equal time had been taken to develop the two-legged characters. It's not a bad read, particularly if you're an animal person, but the writing could use a lot of polish.
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