The Tail of the Tip-Off

Rating:
Summary: The Tail of the Tip Off
Review: Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie outdo themselves on this one. Full of the usual interaction between the animals and Harry. (Oh if she only could understand what they are trying to tell her!) A new friend "Brinkely" is added. Couldn't really figure out the "bad guy" on this one till the end. Would recommend it to any Rita Mae or Sneaky Pie fan. Very good, really enjoyed it.

Rating:
Summary: Pleasant lite mystery
Review: Rita Mae Brown concocts a fairly pleasant little mystery in "The Tail of the Tip-Off," with quirky characters and lots of imagination. Her handling of the ending leaves something to be desired, but fans of light mystery -- not to mention fuzzy four-footed creatures -- might enjoy it.

Virginia town Crozet is in the middle of a nasty winter, which is warmed somewhat by public love for basketball. One of those basketball fans is H.H. Donaldson, the town builder and philanderer. But things take a nasty turn when H.H. drops dead of a heart attack in the parking lot. And then a deep puncture wound is found on his neck -- but no one can figure out how H.H. wouldn't have noticed a needle jabbing into his throat, or where the needle went.

Since H.H. was about to dump his long-suffering wife, she seems like the most likely suspect. But postmistress Mary "Harry" Haristeen (and her loyal pets Mrs. Murphy, Pewter and Tucker) suspect foul play. Was it really the wife? Or his mysterious girlfriend -- or a spurned ex-lover? When a second victim is found horribly killed, Harry and her fuzzy detectives set out to unravel the mystery...

Rita Mae Brown's Mrs. Murphy mysteries aren't too taxing, especially with the love-it-or-hate-it gimmick of talking animals. They don't talk out loud, but they have long arguments and debates. The animals are a bit too cutesy at times, especially when Brown uses them to point out human absurdities, but newly-adopted puppy Brinkley is an adorable addition.

The biggest problem with "Tail" is that it feels unfinished. While the mystery is dealt with nicely, the ending is too abrupt. And the whole matter of Harry and her ex-husband Fair's maybe-they-will-maybe-they-won't relationship is just left dangling. But Brown has a pleasant if undetailed way of writing. Except for a few dud lines ("Stop. Or I'll give you the third eye of prophecy!"), the dialogue tends to be funny and even cute. And Brown keeps it light with some funny scenarios, like the animals raiding a store of communion wafers.

Harry mellows out a little in this book, although she seems no closer to deciding whether to get back together with her loving ex-husband Fair. She does grow up a little, accepting that the woman who broke up her marriage isn't pure evil (even if she is called "Boom Boom"). Fair is likable as the repentent ex who desperately wants to get back with Harry. But the other human characters are a bit two-dimensional, with a few exceptions like the friendly minister Herb.

Amusing if vaguely unsatisfying, "Tail of the Tip-Off" is a pleasant mystery with a cutesy gimmick and a likable heroine. Fun for a light beach read.

Rating:
Summary: Mild But Always Amusing
Review: Rita Mae Brown's earlier, more-literary work--most particularly the widely celebrated RUBYFRUIT JUNGLE--assures her place in the collections of serious readers, who tend to sneer at her "Mrs. Murphy" murder mystery series. But no doubt Brown is laughing all the way to the bank: although no one would take the books seriously as literature, the "Mrs. Murphy" books are long on charm, a good choice to curl up with on a quiet evening. And while it may not be the best of bunch, THE TAIL OF THE TIP-OFF is hardly a bad choice if you're in the mood for something ultralight and amusing.

Crozet, Virginia must surely have the highest per capita murder rate on the face of the earth: Brown is seldom content to have her characters confront a single murder. In this particular episode postmistress Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen finds herself confronting two unexpected deaths--both of which seem to center around a university sports stadium. But Harry isn't the only one with curiosity: her cats, Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and dog, Tucker, are just as determined to bring the killer to light as Harry herself.

The novel revisits all the reoccurring characters Brown has established in previous episodes and introduces a few more, in this case several feuding building contractors, irate building inspectors, and basketball fans, all of whom are caught up in the carnage to one degree or another. As usual in the "Mrs. Murphy" books, you could float a battleship through the holes in Brown's plot--and in this particular instance savvy readers will likely roll their eyes at the very farfetched method of one of the murders, a device lifted straight out of 1920s Edgar Wallace. Even so, it's all in good fun, and if you're looking for something that is non-taxing, enjoyable, and amusing then the population of Crozet, Virginia are just the folks to visit.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: Mild But Always Amusing
Review: Rita Mae Brown's earlier, more-literary work--most particularly the widely celebrated RUBYFRUIT JUNGLE--assures her place in the collections of serious readers, who tend to sneer at her "Mrs. Murphy" murder mystery series. But no doubt Brown is laughing all the way to the bank: although no one would take the books seriously as literature, the "Mrs. Murphy" books are long on charm, a good choice to curl up with on a quiet evening. And while it may not be the best of bunch, THE TAIL OF THE TIP-OFF is hardly a bad choice if you're in the mood for something ultralight and amusing.

Crozet, Virginia must surely have the highest per capita murder rate on the face of the earth: Brown is seldom content to have her characters confront a single murder. In this particular episode postmistress Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen finds herself confronting two unexpected deaths--both of which seem to center around a university sports stadium. But Harry isn't the only one with curiosity: her cats, Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and dog, Tucker, are just as determined to bring the killer to light as Harry herself.

The novel revisits all the reoccurring characters Brown has established in previous episodes and introduces a few more, in this case several feuding building contractors, irate building inspectors, and basketball fans, all of whom are caught up in the carnage to one degree or another. As usual in the "Mrs. Murphy" books, you could float a battleship through the holes in Brown's plot--and in this particular instance savvy readers will likely roll their eyes at the very farfetched method of one of the murders, a device lifted straight out of 1920s Edgar Wallace. Even so, it's all in good fun, and if you're looking for something that is non-taxing, enjoyable, and amusing then the population of Crozet, Virginia are just the folks to visit.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Rating:
Summary: Very pleasant
Review: This was my first Rita Mae & Sneaky Pie mystery. I don't recommend starting with this one, because there are so many characters (both human and animal) and they take a while to keep sorted. Nevertheless once I really got into it, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Somehow a cozy mystery is very comfortable, and this book satisfied me thoroughly in that respect.

Still, it does ask you to suspend belief in so many ways! Not just the talking animals, but the whole set-up of Crozet (this is my first to read, but it's obviously a murder capital). And there is the idiocy of the main character at the end of the book as she confronts the murderer - done in such a way that the animals can play a role. A cozy of this nature can never reach great literature, hence only four stars. But a very enjoyable four stars, and I will be reading more by these authors.

Rating:
Summary: magnificent Mrs. Murphy mystery
Review: When there is no murderer on the loose, there is no better place to be than Crozet, Virginia. It is a magical place where animals talk to each other crossing species lines. The only ones who can't understand the animals are the dumb human beings and the animals believe that is because have gotten away from nature. The tiger cat Mrs. Murphy, the large gray Cat Pewter, and Tucker the Corgi, owns Mary Minor Haristeen, known as Harry to her friends. The trio loves Harry and will do anything to protect her and keep her safe when she is busy sleuthing.

Following a women's basketball game at the University of Virginia, HH Donaldson collapses and dies. An autopsy shows a one and a half-inch piercing in the back of his neck so the tentative conclusion is he was poisoned. A few days later, Mychelle Burns, a building code inspector is found in the closet inside the woman's basketball locker room with a knife wound through the chest. Harry, who has to be in the middle of a homicide investigation, tries to figure out who the murderer is and almost winds up as victim number three.

One of the most charming facets of the Mrs. Murphy mysteries is the conversation the animals have with each other. The heroine's animals go to great lengths to save her from her actions and their love and tender displays of affections would warm the heart of pre-ghostly Scrooge. THE TAIL OF THE TIP-OFF is a not to be missed exciting cozy.

Harriet Klausner