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Cat's Eyewitness (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries)
 
 
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Cat's Eyewitness (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Rita Mae Brown (Author), Sneaky Pie Brown (Author)
3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)


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Book Description

Mrs. Murphy Mysteries January 25, 2005
It’s no secret that cats are a mystery writer’s best friend. Just ask the bestselling team of Rita Mae Brown and her furry partner, Sneaky Pie Brown, back on the prowl with another unforgettable whodunit. This time a controversial miracle in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains sparks religious fervor–and a suspicious death. Now the indefatigable felines Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, along with the dogged corgi Tee Tucker, must trust their animal instincts to sniff out the worst of human nature....

With the holidays approaching, Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen and her best friend, Susan Tucker, take a much-needed time-out at the mountain monastery of Mount Carmel. There, under the benevolent gaze of the statue of the Virgin Mary, their worldly worries are soon overshadowed. For in front of their very eyes the statue begins to cry tears of blood.

Legend has it that Mary’s crimson tears are harbingers of crises. And though skeptical, the ever-practical Harry can already see one on the horizon. If leaked, news of the so-called miracle could turn the monastery and the town of Crozet into a circus. What Harry doesn’t foresee is murder.…

When Susan’s great-uncle Thomas, a resident monk, is found frozen to death at the base of the statue, foul play is ruled out–at first. But at Harry’s urging, the body is exhumed for an autopsy. There’s just one problem: the coffin is empty. That’s when Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tucker get involved. Then there’s the shocking revelation of a mystery that has perplexed the citizens of Crozet for ages.

With Christmas around the corner and the monastery overrun by the faithful, all Harry’s meddling menagerie can do is stay on her trail as she jumps knee-deep into an unofficial investigation–one that becomes more dangerous when another Crozet citizen meets an untimely demise. In this case it will be a miracle if Harry stays alive....


Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The 12th novel in this bestselling cozy series from Brown and her feline collaborator (after 2004's Whisker of Evil) offers the usual irresistible mix of talking animals and a baffling murder or two. After she decides to quit her job as the Crozet, Va., postmistress because her animal companions--cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter and corgi Tee Tucker--are no longer permitted to accompany her to work, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen and best friend Susan Tucker retreat to a Blue Ridge Mountains monastery, where a statue of the Virgin Mary suddenly begins to bleed from the eyes. This curiosity, which attracts national media attention after a local reporter, Nordy Elliott, files a short piece on it, becomes more of a concern when Susan's beloved great-uncle, a monk, turns up dead at the foot of the statue. While Harry, her two cats and her dog investigate, Elliott becomes the next murder victim, in a symbolic manner linked to the supposed miracle. Though the culprit's identity is fairly obvious and some exposition borders on the simplistic ("If a person's last name began with 'A,' their large package would go on the 'A' section," we learn as Susan sorts packages at the PO), the animals' wry observations on human nature and beliefs amuse as ever. Michael Gellatly's charming illustrations perfectly complement the text.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"As feline collaborators go, you couldn't ask for better than Sneaky Pie Brown."
-- The New York Times Book Review (New York Times Book Review ) --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Bantam (January 25, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0553801643
  • ISBN-13: 978-0553801644
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,065,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rita Mae Brown is the bestselling author of the Sister Jane novels-Outfoxed, Hotspur, Full Cry, The Hunt Ball, The Hounds and the Fury, The Tell-Tale Horse, and Hounded to Death-as well as the Sneaky Pie Brown mysteries and Rubyfruit Jungle, In Her Day, Six of One, and The Sand Castle, among many others. An Emmy-nominated screenwriter and a poet, Brown lives in Afton, Virginia.

 

Customer Reviews

38 Reviews
5 star:
 (11)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:
 (10)
1 star:
 (4)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.3 out of 5 stars (38 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Only for series loyalists, March 21, 2005
This review is from: Cat's Eyewitness (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries) (Hardcover)
Before anyone gets upset, I enjoyed this series a lot which is probably why I had higher expectations for the latest entry. Cat's Eyewitness isn't bad, it just isn't very good either. My benchmark tends to be whether a title could attract new readers as well as hold established ones. This book wouldn't do it.
Much of the focus is on what happens in the life of series regulars. A lot happens in that area, and it's nice and all, but most of it was already telegraphed in earlier books. Frankly, not a single development suprised me in the least, either by what transpired or why--or even how. And it wouldn't matter much to new readers, so the book is only so-so on that level.
The mystery is tissue thin. Enough said.
The main charm of the series for me has been Brown's take on animals' view of the natural and human world. Her approach has slipped badly, IMO. Oh, the cats and dogs are still charming, but they've morphed into little more than mouthpieces to support Brown's various opinions--and sheesh, does she ever drone about opinions on everything from politics and religion to taxes and land use policy. My willing suspension of belief started to tank when a cat speculated about expiating sin--in those words. By the end I expected the animals to expound on the divine right of kings and FDR revoking the gold standard.
Again, Cat's Eyewitness is a passingly amusing entry in the series for hardcore fans who want to know what happens to favorite characters. Unfortunately, Brown seems to have lost the light touch needed to pull it off very well in all other regards.
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28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Always a pleasure to read a book by this author, December 5, 2004
This review is from: Cat's Eyewitness (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries) (Hardcover)
In a small hamlet in Virginia, animals talk to each other across species lines and the only ones unable to understand is the dumbest species: humans. Mary Minor "Harry " Haristeen loves her two cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter and her corgi Tee Tucker; they reciprocate her feelings, going so far as to help her when she becomes too deeply involved in a murder investigation and puts her life in danger.

The Greyfiars Monastery's has a Virgin Mary statue on their property that starts weeping bloody tears. Many people including some of the monks think it is a miracle. Monk Thomas is found frozen to death in a kneeling position besides the statue. Harry's intuition screams murder and her four legged protectors know a cardinal witnessed the homicide. The journalist covering this phenomenon is killed when someone sticks a pen in his eye. Harry thinks the killings and the tears are linked; she investigates but it is only because of her animal friends that she doesn't become the third murder victim.

It is always a pleasure to read a book starring Harry and Mrs. Murphy but the CAT'S EYEWITNESS is particularly good as several changes in Harry's life has occurred. The heroine's ex-husband gives Harry a marriage proposal ultimatum or he will look elsewhere for love. Harry no longer works in the post office because she cannot bring her animals into the new facility. Susan, Harry's best friend, reveals a secret she kept for over two decades, and the sexpot Boom Boom finds a surprising new lover. Readers will find it impossible to figure out who the perpetrator is among the even tempered monks. Rita Mae Brown delights her fans with this fantastic feline mystery.

Harriet Klausner
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Who Wrote It?, September 13, 2005
This review is from: Cat's Eyewitness (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries) (Hardcover)
My 17-year-old granddaughter and I have been reading all the Mrs. Murphy books for the last 6 or 7 years, and enjoy trading the books back and forth and discussing them. But - the latest one, "Cat's Eyewitness," was a disappointment. As other reviewers have stated, there was a lot of preaching and philosophical discussion between the characters, which are Ms. Brown's own opinions. And the lesbian love affair was unnecessary. The Mrs. Murphy novels have become progressively more sex-themed, be it [...]. What began as a good series for a girl and her grandmother to share, has turned into "Should I lend her this one?" Of course, she's a big girl now! But I am disappointed. The murderer's identity was very easy to spot early on. I wondered if Ms. Brown employed a ghost writer for this one. Or maybe Sneaky Pie did actually write it!
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
A thin trickle of water zigzagged over the Virgin Mary's cold face. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
vestry board, bloody tears, tiger cat
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Brother Thomas, Brother Handle, Brother Mark, Brother Andrew, Brother Frank, Big Mim, Brother Prescott, Virgin Mary, Brother John, Blessed Virgin Mother, Nordy Elliott, Afton Mountain, Little Mim, Our Lady, Mary Pat, Bland Wade, Sheriff Shaw, Alicia Palmer, Blair Bainbridge, Tazio Chappars, Blue Ridge Mountains, Brother Love, Brother Michael, Brother Sidney, Deputy Cooper
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