Customer Reviews

Claws and Effect

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Mrs. Murphy, Pewter and Tee-Tucker do it again! This latest mystery, featuring small-town postmistress Mary Minor Haristeen (Harry) and her buddies, human and otherwise, is a real romp. Set in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, this tale (Or should that be 'tail'?) is a must read for cat-mystery folks. You'd think a mystery featuring talking detective cats(and a dog!) would be unpalatably sweet--not so! This author's engaging human characters, well-paced plot and clever juxtaposition of human and animal dialog provide all the amusement needed. Five stars for Rita Mae Brown!

Never let anyone tell you that all the magic in the world is gone. In Crozet, Virginia, people know their neighbors and actually lend a helping hand (novel idea). Animals from different species communicate with one another and even understand humanese although the opposite is not true.

Local postmaster "Harry" Hartisteen has two cats (Mrs. Murphy and Pewter) and a Corgi (Tucker) who watch over her. The human needs special caring because Harry seems to always land in a homicide investigation, something she loves to solve in spite of the danger. Only the skills of her animals have kept her alive, kicking, and sleuthing. When a corpse turns up in the hospital basement, rumored to have been an underground stop, Harry decides to investigate. An unknown assailant bashes her in the head and a local doctor helping the police is shot to death. Though slightly deterred, Harry accompanied by her rescue trio vows to find the answers.

Reading a Mrs. Murphy mystery is like eating a potato chip. You always go back for more. These whimsical and enchanting stories beguile the reader with the sorcery of a special place. The who-done-it of CLAW AND EFFECT is addicting as the characters we care for hook us once again with their purrfect charm that steals the show of the latest expert tale from a deserving best-selling series.

Harriet Klausner

Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, the local post office operator/detective is out to solve another of Crozet's mysterious murders along with her pets Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tucker. The hospital is not the sort of place the town would've expected to be a crime scene, but after Hank Brevard, the plant manager, is killed in the old boiler room, no one knows what to expect. When semi-retired doctor Larry Johnson becomes the next victim after Harry's set foxhunt to catch the real killer fails, Mayor Jim Sanbourne's wife, Mim, has a terrible breakdown over her and Larry's past. Sheriff Rick Shaw and Deputy Cynthia "Coop" Cooper become even agitated that they catch the crazy murderer. They believe both of the murders are connected to Crozet Hospital, but they can't make the connection until they investigate old records of the hospital's IVAC units. Sam Mahanes, the director, swears their old so his nurses can operate them easily and they're cleaned whenever they become filthy. According to the only IVAC unit manufacturer and cleaner for miles, Crozet had stopped sending them in for cleanings four years ago and that the billings Shaw and Coop found were forgeries. Just a week after Larry's killed, nurse Tussie Logan is shot straight through the heart at her apartment and only Mrs. Murphy knows why. Browns exciting and surprising mystery goes right to the top with Agatha Christie's and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's.

Claws and Effect isn't just completely about the mystery. Even with all the killings in the small Virginian town, its politics aren't cooling down, in fact, they're heating up rapidly. Jim Sanbourne, the long time mayor, is beginning to support big business in Crozet. The only person in town crazy enough to challenge him is his own daughter Marilyn, or Little Mim, as Harry calls her. As their relationship goes downhill, Big Mim has a terrible crisis when Larry's killed. Many years ago, the two young friends fell madly in love, but Mim's mother didn't approve of her marrying such a poor medical student. Mim was too scared to stand up to her, so she agreed to marry the incredibly rich Jim Sanbourne. After Larry's funeral though, the older woman realizes her true feelings almost twenty years too late.

What really sets this novel apart from other murder mysteries is that the main detectives are all animals. Mrs. Murphy is the older tiger cat in charge of the others who's always willing to look into any mystery that crosses her path, big or small. Next there's Pewter, the gray, very opinionated, cat with a huge appetite. Her other animal friends agree that if she were to have kittens, Pewter would starve them if there wasn't enough food. Half the time, she's sleeping or just being whiney, but Murphy always manages to pull her into another one of her schemes. Tee Tucker, Harry's corgi, will do anything to protect her guardian. She's very loyal to Harry and provides a solution to any of her feline friends' arguments.

Like few mysteries out there, the conclusion was very surprising based on the information uncovered by the characters. In the last chapters of the book leading up to the conclusion, Coop, Harry, and all her animals visit the boiler room again where Hank was killed and Harry was attacked from behind. Murphy shows them the secret door on the floor that leads to the storage of the old, unprofessionally cleaned IVAC units when they hear footsteps outside. The humans go into the cellar and the animals hide behind the empty cardboard boxes as they wait. It's only Hank's replacement, but someone from behind knocks him out, making him fall into the cellar. Murphy, Pewter, and Tucker attack him, allowing Harry and Coop to escape, leaving the knocked out plant manager and hoping he'll be all right. The animals find the rumored tunnel used in the Underground Railroad and quickly climb with Harry and Coop. When the get out at the other end in the parking lot, the rush to their car to find Director Mahanes coming back from a meeting, but he can't fool Tucker's nose. She alerts Harry, an owner who never doubts her crime-solving pets, and attacks Mahanes to the ground as Coop puts the cuffs on him.

Money, politics, and murder make the perfect blend for a great cat mystery. Rita Mae Brown illustrates yet again that she, and her cat Sneaky Pie Brown of course, are two of the best contemporary mystery writers there are.

R. Turner

Like all of Rita Mae Brown's "Mrs. Murphy" series, CLAWS AND EFFECT reintroduces us to the residents of tiny Crozet, Virginia, a community of small-town archetypes in which the animal friends of various residents occasionally help their humans solve a murder in their midst. And this time the murder is a particularly bloody one: a member of the hospital staff is found with his throat cut ear to ear in the hospital boiler room. As usual, the mystrey entices Postmistress Mary "Harry" Harristeen--and when her own safety is threatened, her two cats (Mrs. Murphy and Pewter) and dog (Tee-Tucker) come to the rescue by investigating the crime for themselves.

The Mrs. Murphy series is light reading, of course, and taking it too seriously undermines the fun. As usual, the great attraction here is not the plot--for Brown has never really bothered to work out the tightly puzzle prized by hard-core mystery fans--but the way in which the thing is written: frothy, funny, and amusing. Unfortunately, CLAWS AND EFFECT has little of the froth we usually expect, and it may be that Brown has begun to tire of her creation, but it still makes for an entertaining way to pass an evening. Fans will enjoy it.

OK, so it's not Shakespeare, if I wanted that kind of reading I would read the master himself. This is a wonderful; get away from it all, type of book and series. Mrs. Murphy and the gang are just pure fun. Let's get real; if animals can talk to each other, they can do whatever they want to do. I remember very clearly picking this book up out of the fiction section at the bookstore. And if you ever have a doubt about animals being smart, take a look at their lives. They know what things are important in life, rest, food and fun, usually in that order. So you go to it, Rita, give us a bunch more of Mrs. Murphy and the gang.

I agree that these books should not be taken too seriously, but that doesn't mean that they're not fun. Reading a Rita Mae Brown book is like visiting some old, dear friends. And that is what the citizens of Crozet have become to me. These books are witty and wise becasue we see human nature so well in her characters. In this book there are nefarious doings at the Crozet Hospital. For some reason people affiliated with the hospital keep turning up dead. It takes some astute detecting by Mrs. Murphy and her two companions to figure out what is going on in the basement of the hospital. If you like a good cozy series, don't pass up Mrs. Murphy!

This book drew my interest because of the stop along the Underground Railroad hidden somewhere in the hospital. I love cozies about cats, and this one didn't disappoint! I have read one or two of Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie's books before, but this one was more entertaining. The fox hunt and breakfast afterward are customs I had not heard of before. I can't understand how such a small town can have so many murders, but that's what makes me come back for more! The animals are ingenious, as usual. How would their mistress get along without them?

During a tough winter very much like this one, the residents of Crozet have cabin fever. Interest turns to the local hospital when one of the employees gets murdered. Local legend has it that the hospital was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. Surprizing as it may seem, all of these elements combine to make a really entertaining mystery novel. I love the talking animals and the local characters.

I really enjoy the Mrs Murphy series because of the animal's dialogue. The plot is rather easy to follow, but I believe that is the author's intention. I have read 8 books in this series and I'm starting to feel like I personally know these people.

In every Mrs. Murphy mystery, someone gets killed. Who that will be is part of the mystery. In this volume, the victim is the real surprise. And as the story progresses, the readers of this series get closer to the residents of Crozet, Virginia, learning more about each. In this particular story Big Mim stands out and we find her even more human than before. The resolution is satisfying and Harry (Mary Minor Harristeen) is her usual curious and clever self, with the help of her three pets, of course

The question of whether Harry and her ex, Fair, will get back together is still up in the air, but they are getting along better as the series progresses.

Once more, a visit to Crozet leaves the reader with a mystery solved and the chracters more fully realized.