Follow Some Fox Tracks...

I followed a different path this past week with one of my favorite authors---instead of reading her newest novel, I listened to it instead!  Rita Mae Brown's Fox Tracks is the latest in her cozy series starring Sister Jane Arnold, Master of Foxhounds of the Jefferson Hunt in Albemarle County, Virginia. This book's action begins in New York City, where Hunt Clubs from all over the United States have gathered for their annual dinner and gala event.  Feeling celebratory, Sister Jane and her young friend (and Custus Hall graduate) Tootie run down the street a few blocks to visit a tobacco shop and purchase cigars.  After an entertaining conversation with the owner, Adolfo, Sister and Tootie are shocked when they return to the shop to retrieve Sister's cell phone and find Adolfo dead with a package of American Smokes cigarettes lying over his heart.  This murder leads to an investigation of contraband tobacco that stretches across Virginia and even through Albemarle County.  Interspersed with the tobacco plot are descriptions of hunts and events in the lives of the human, canine and horse characters.  I suggest you begin reading this series with the first book, Outfoxed. If you enjoy listening to audio books on CD, Fox Tracks is a special treasure because it is narrated by the author herself!