Customer Reviews

Sour Puss (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

The original charm of this series was the delightful camaraderie and interplay of the animals, amongst themselves and with their human companions. Harry as the heroine caught us all and we got swept up in the total life of Crozet from Big Mim to Pewter and every human and critter in between. This was especially so in using the display of the superior senses of the pets with the less discerning human senses, and how the animals' keen senses would play such a masterful part in the mystery and its solution. Especially if the reader, such as myself, has both a cat and a corgi in the family.
#12 in the series disappointed me very much. I felt it was getting away from the most attractive part of this series - the animals. (After all, doesn't Sneaky Pie help author these books?) I wondered at the time if I would even buy #13. And so did many of my friends.
I am now sorry to say that I have just finished #13 and my worst fears were imagined. The whole first half of the book reads like a personal agenda that tried to belong to a storyline. Where were our beloved critters? - where was the full description we came to expect in the development of the characters and the interplay of the plot with the critters and their humans. I read these books to step out of reality for awhile and to enjoy a storyline and characters that grab my interest to the point I feel as if they lived in the next town over. If the author wanted to tell us how she has assessed current day concerns and what her resolutions might be, she should have written a book to that effect. I will be checking the reviews before I purchase #14, if there is one.

Rita Mae Brown's characters are always a treat, and I look forward to each new book. But unfortunately, this one, was a a sour treatment. Too much techie information about grape growing and wineries, and not enough info about the wonderful characters and the usual antics of Mrs. Murphy, Tucker, Pewter and the horses. I have all of Ms. Brown's other books, and have loved them and re-read them often. This one, which sounded really interesting from the advance reviews and jacket info, just fell flat. A real disappointment.

I am a Rita Mae Brown fan and have been from her early novels on. I own and have read all of the "Mrs. Murphy" Mystery series. This book is awful. I can't believe she wrote it. I had to force myself to finish it. Characters did things that didn't work. The writing was just plain bad. Technical facts about wine and grapes and terrorism and you name it are thrown together and not wrapped in much story. Even the dialog is flat. I've enjoyed every topic Ms. Brown has tackled in the past because of her excellent writing so I concluded she is either ill, has writer's block, or had a crazy deadline that stopped the creative juices. Read any of the other books in the series, but don't bother with this one.

Wow...I have never had to force myself to finish a Mrs. Murhpy mystery, but THIS was really something. It was as if someone had bet Mrs. Brown that she couldn't fit 200 pages of random facts into a 275 page book. Bio-terrorism, gas prices, politics, and grapes, grapes, grapes. Even the little storyline that there was seemed strained and odd, as if it didn't fit in with any of the previous books: Harry had an affair right after her divorce with someone we have never seen? Mrs. Murhpy was never spayed, and no one (including Fair, a veterinarian) has ever noticed? Harry and Big Mim were as close as Mother and Daughter?
I really hope that Mrs. Brown won a lot of money on her bet to offset what she is going to lose in readers over this one...

I have been an avid reader of RMB tales for years. This one was the worst....boring and stale and very, very predictable. I cannot believe the rich characters of Crozet were betrayed by mundane descriptions of them in this book. The plot was lumpy and flipped back and forth between the mystery and the lessons on Virginia agriculture... no smooth transitions. I was so very disappointed by this book that I will wait for the next one to come out in paperback so I don't waste the dollars on another prune.

I was quite disappointed in this latest installment of the Mrs. Murphy mysteries. Nothing really seemed to happen plotwise, with much of the book devoted to lectures on grape-growing and parasites and diseases of grapevines. The villain was easy to guess, and the ending was very predictable. Probably worth reading for those who have been following the series, but if this is your first experience with Mrs. Murphy and the crew from Crozet, I recommend reaching for one of the earlier books in the series.

I've read all the previous Rita Mae Brown/Sneaky Pie Brown collaberations, so I was excited to see a new one at my local library. Being a murder mystery fan and cat lover, I've truly enjoyed reading the series. The best parts are the animals speaking (I love Pewter) and I have a special fondness for Mrs. Murphy because that's who I am (Mrs. Barbara Murphy). I love Harry, and I don't mind that she's not at the post office anymore. Her new adventures in grape growing and farming is who she really is--a country girl brought up on a farm. But I have to say I also forced myself to keep reading this book assuming (hoping) that as I went further, the plot would get better. I believe it took well over a 100 pages (or maybe it just seemed that long) to get to the "murder". It also seemed that many of the "regular" characters were missing or barely mentioned especially Miranda, who is a big influence in Harry's life. I think it was because of the way Ms. Brown went on and on about the biological terrorism, etc--it was like I was reading Time or Newsweek, not a fun, fictional murder mystery. The winery settings and grape growing were interesting, but some of the conversations that took place between Fair and Harry, or Fair and BoomBoom about the diseases, etc. just didn't seem realistic. As the story moved along, it did get a little easier to read, but I have to admit, for the first time, it was too obvious who did it and why. I enjoyed the ending with all of the animals from the barn getting into the mix. Well, I see another book is coming out early next year. I'm still looking forward to reading it.

I've read several of Rita Mae Brown's Mrs. Murphy series, and enjoyed them, though I've always found her writing style a little annoying.

"I'll sniff around." (says Harry)
"You've got a good nose." Bo's light eyes complemented his handsome features.

What in the heck do his eyes have to do with what he's saying? The book is full of such writing.

Anyway, this particular style has always been a little off-putting, but I've endured it because I like the characters in this series, especially the animals.

This entry, Sour Puss, however, was almost unreadable. I very rarely stop reading a book once I've started it, but I came very close with this one. I felt as if I were attending a bio-terrorism/grape-growing lecture. Boring! I didn't feel any interest at all in what happened until about the last fourth of the book. I get the distinct feeling that Brown is bored with her series and her characters. Maybe it's time to give them a rest.

I may or may not try another Mrs. Murphy book...I'm just glad I checked this one out of the library rather than purchasing it.

I have always loved this series, but the last two have started to take a downward turn. This one is so dissapointing I don't even think I will keep it (I have all the others and enjoy re-reading them). The bio-terrorism stuff was really not needed, the characters were never engaging, and the book really lacked the come on in and sit down feel the others have. You never get involved in the story, and most of what happens really isn't developed enough. If Archie is a past relationship of Harry, why did we never hear of him before? Why was Todd so crazy? Character developement is sorely lacking, and it is what I have really enjoyed in the past installments. And although I love the animals, and admit their banter keeps me laughing, I don't think they should always be coming to the rescue of Harry every single time. It is getting a little tired. I hope the next book goes back to the standards of the previous books, I will keep my fingers crossed.

Count another one very disappointed with this book. I have always enjoyed this series and generally buy them as soon as they come out, but had I read this one before buying, I would have had second thoughts. The plot takes a long time to get going and it spends too much time sounding more like a scientific presentation rather than a mystery. There were also things that seemed to be pulled from midair - Harry, who was so devastated by her divorce, suddenly is found to have had an affair soon after her divorce that was never mentioned before? And Mrs. Murphy, who was supposedly spayed, really wasn't? Come on, a farm girl like Harry wouldn't notice her cat was in season? That is beyond unbelievable.

I will definitely be reading new books in this series before buying after this.