Rating: 
Summary: Curiosity Kills...
Review: This book, the author, the characters had to really grow on me. I started off reading with quite an attitude - felt it was going to be way to cutesy to continue reading. But finally the book settled in and clipped along.The characters were crisp, once I got them lined up in my head. I was trying to tell in many places in the book if the author was trying to use the book as a way to push some of her thoughts out on paper, in particular she writes very strong ideas about organized religion (Catholicism in particular), the culling of the weak/sick from the pack. Having been to the Charlottesville area before it was interesting to imagine this area in the story's setting. I loved the language and odd turns of phrase/choices of words the author would throw into the book. Many other nice additions peppered her writing. On to the next book and looking forward to it.
Rating: 
Summary: As parlor jokes go this one has its moments.
Review: This book, though i would never never never call it quality literature, is cute and entertaining. I read it in 5 days and it kept my mind occupied and filled some time.
She portrays a small Southern town and its human and pet residents. She really makes the reader feel as though they are part of the action and each of the characters come alive through her brilliant language. Don't expect an intellectual read (the ending isn't much of a surprise)... but it is most definately fun. It is definately no "Rubyfruit Jungle" or "In Her Day", but i enjoyed in nonetheless...
Rating:
Summary: Cute...
Review: This book, though i would never never never call it quality literature, is cute and entertaining. I read it in 5 days and it kept my mind occupied and filled some time.
She portrays a small Southern town and its human and pet residents. She really makes the reader feel as though they are part of the action and each of the characters come alive through her brilliant language. Don't expect an intellectual read (the ending isn't much of a surprise)... but it is most definately fun. It is definately no "Rubyfruit Jungle" or "In Her Day", but i enjoyed in nonetheless...
Rating: 
Summary: A Delightful Small-Town Read
Review: This is a wonderful book for everyone. The mystery is intriguing and so are the characters. They all add their special brand of humor and vitality to the book. The animals are always a step ahead of the humans in finding out who the murderer is although they don't have time to figure it out themselves. The murderer slips near the end and you'll know who it is if you pay attention. Of course, if you read the other books before this one, you'll know who it is from the start. So, my advice, read this one first and watch the characters develop as you press further into the series.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable read with likeable characters
Review: This is the first in the Sneakie Pie series by this author, and I think I liked this better than a later book in the series I read, but perhaps they are best read in order. This is definitely a book for animal lovers (cats and dogs who communicate with each other are a significant part of the book). I suspect also that women will probably like this book more than men -- it's basically a cozy mystery set in a small Virginia town with a woman as the lead character.
Harry (a woman) is the overeducated (she went to Smith but is not particularly ambitious) postmaster of a small Virginia town. She walks to work from her country house, accompanied by her cat and dog, who spend the day with her at the tiny post office where residents come in to get their mail each day. No wonder she has such energy to garden, clean, and what not when she gets home -- her work takes up little energy so she spends much of the day socializing and reading post cards. She notices a strange postcard with a grave marker that says "wish you were here" -- and no signature. The recipient turns up dead shortly thereafter. She figures out the post card was sent by the killer and from there gets involved in solving the mystery (with the unbelievable cooperation of the sheriff). The plotting is pretty good, although I pegged the killer early on based on my knowledge of who the killer tends to be in mysteries. It didn't interfere with my enjoyment of the book as I suspected but didn't know for sure or why. This is a great "escape" book that doesn't require a lot of concentration -- no tricky time lines or long list of characters to try to keep track of -- each character stands out memorably.
I intend to go on reading this series -- I would describe this mystery as engaging and reasonably well written.
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