Murder Unleashed

Murder Unleashed by Rita Mae Brown is the second book in her canine mystery series starring Magdelena "Jeep" Reed, Magdalena "Mags" Rogers and their dogs King and Baxter. The first book in the series is A Nose for Justice. This cozy mystery is set in Reno, Nevada, and furthers the story of Jeep, a seventy year old who is growing food on her ranch in the hopes of ending hunger in the area and Mags, a former Wall Street trader who was laid off from her job and is finding solace living with her great-aunt. I enjoyed the contemporary events discussed in this book, as the action of this story is centered around a bunch of squatters that are living in a group of vacant, foreclosed homes on one particular street in Reno, without food or electricity. The foreclosure crisis has taken a huge bite out of the real estate market in Reno and many banks and people are reeling from the hit. Big-hearted real estate agent, Babs Gallagher enlists Jeep and Mags to start a community research program to get the water and electricity turned back on in the houses and help the squatters find jobs. When one of their friends is attacked and a former banker is found brutally slain in one of the abandoned homes, Jeep and Mags set out to find the killer. Baxter, King and a host of other canine characters band together to protect their owners, help them find the killer and perhaps find a few clues as to where the missing silver from an old mine is. This is a great series for dog lovers and any other animal friendly mystery readers!

A Nose for Justice

I really enjoy it when one of my favorite authors begins a new series :) I enjoy Rita Mae Brown's "Jane Arnold" and "Mrs. Murphy" series (this is co-written by her cat Sneaky Pie Brown and stars postmistress Mary Minor Haristeen and her cat Mrs. Murphy). Brown's latest is similar to the "Mrs. Murphy" series in that the animals have starring roles in this cozy mystery. A Nose for Justice is the debut mystery in this series. The main characters are Magdalene "Jeep" Reed, a ranch owner in Nevada who piloted planes in World War II and is very well off because she discovered a large quantity of gold deposits and purchased the land and its rights. She owns a German Shepherd named King who discovers skeletal remains buried underground in her barn. The other main character is Magdalene "Mags" Rogers, Jeep's great-niece, who had a high-powered Wall Street job and moved in with her great-aunt to start her life over when the economy tanked. Mags owns a dachshund named Baxter who has had to discover how to get along with King and adjust to life in the great open spaces of Nevada. Another important character is Pete Meadows, a deputy investigating the sabotage of several water pumps around the ranch and a series of local murders. The writing is typical Rita Mae Brown--full of lush descriptions of the scenery and well-developed characters. My only complaint with the book is that there was a lot of involved information about the fight for water rights in Nevada. I believe the information was useful in setting up the scene for future books in the series, but the abundance of water rights history and information did make the first third of the book drag. I am looking forward to reading the second book in the series and watching these characters develop.

Cat of the Century

Rita Mae Brown, and her co-author Sneaky Pie Brown (her beloved tiger cat) have written another entertaining cozy! Cat of the Century is the eighteenth book in the "Mrs. Murphy" series starring Mary Minor "Harry" Harristeen, former postmistress of the town of Crozet, VA. I whole-heartedly believe you should read these books in series order, as the characters develop with each story and if you begin in the middle you might be confused as to who is who and why they act the way they do! Crozet is your typical small southern town---everyone knows everyone else and tries to meddle in your business, but in a charming way, of course. Harry is a farmer, and is descended from a long line of Virginians who instilled in their children a love of the land, animals and proper manners. In Cat of the Century, Harry is attending a reunion at William Woods College, because her Aunt Tally is the featured speaker and the reunion has been planned around her 100th birthday celebration. The mystery, in this book, occurs when several alumni association officers wind up dead. Even though Harry never attended William Woods, she is thrust thick in the middle of the mystery when she attempts to discover who murdered the officers and for what reason. Harry's trusted companions, her cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter and her dog Tucker, along with Aunt Tally and he best friends' animals, use their animal intelligence to help Harry solve the case. I enjoy this series because the animals talk to each other, and the reader hears their thoughts, but humans cannot understand them and they must use their wits to communicate. These books are great for mystery lovers who love animals and prefer their mysteries not too violent. Check out Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie on their website at ww.ritamaebrown.com.

A Dog-Gone Great Mystery

I just finished reading Hounded to Death, a new mystery written by one of my favorite authors, Rita Mae Brown. A bonafide Southern writer (she resides in Afton, Virginia), Ms. Brown’s books truly reflect the social graces, culture and food that all Southerners know and love! Hounded to Death is the latest book in Rita Mae Brown’s foxhunting series starring Sister Jane Arnold, Master of Foxhounds. Sister Jane is a feisty widowed woman in her seventies who has done her share of living and is very respected by the members of her hunt club. When murders occur in her community, Sister Jane can not resist joining the investigations. As with the other books in this series, Ms. Brown gives wonderfully detailed descriptions of the day-to-day operations of a hunt club, including particulars about the foxes, hounds, horses, farm animals and the lives of the hunt club members. Readers can trust the accuracy of these details because Rita Mae Brown is also the Master of Foxhounds of a hunt club located in Afton. The animals in this series do take part in the narration; however, whenever any animal speaks, their narration is in italics and only other animals are able to understand their dialogue. The books in these series are cozies- the murders that occur are gruesome but not gory. Ms. Brown has written many stand-alone books as well as other series such as three novels about the Hunsenmeir sisters, Juts and Weezy, and the Mrs. Murphy mystery series (co-authored by her cat, Sneaky Pie Brown). If you have not read any of Ms. Brown’s books, you should definitely “treat” yourself to one of her mysteries!