Claws and Effect (Hardcover)

by Rita Mae Brown (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
In a small town, everyone knows each other's secrets--or do they? When a Crozet Hospital staff member is found murdered in the boiler room, everyone in the bucolic Virginia burg is puzzled and none more so than postmistress "Harry" Haristeen. With the help of her two curious kitties, Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and her corgi, Tucker (who find human perception maddeningly slow), Harry soon finds herself entangled in the strange web of misdoings at the hospital.

The ninth installment in Rita Mae Brown's "Mrs. Murphy" series, Claws and Effect is more entertaining than suspenseful, with a liberal dose of witty conversations among the animals punctuated by Itoko Maeno's adorable illustrations of the four-legged sleuths. There is just enough misdirection to keep mystery buffs guessing and enough social gossip among the town's human citizens to make readers eagerly anticipate their next visit to Crozet. --Larisa Lomacky Moore

From Publishers Weekly
Mrs. Murphy, the incomparable feline sleuth with attitude, returns to captivate readers in her ninth outing (Pawing Through the Past; etc.). Ice and freezing temperatures have given the inhabitants of Crozet, Va., a bad case of the Februaries with little to discuss with postmistress Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen but the weather. However, when the cantankerous Hank Brevard, plant manager of the local hospital, is found murdered in the hospital basement, the focus of attention quickly shifts. Spurred by her natural curiosity and the age-old rumors that the basement had been part of the Underground Railroad during the Civil War, Harry visits the scene only to be attacked herself. When a beloved physician becomes the next victim, Harry is convinced that the crimes are connected and that something is sorely amiss at the hospital. Fearful for her mistress's safety, Mrs. Murphy and her cohorts, fellow cat Pewter and the lovable corgi, Tucker, take matters into their own paws, snooping and sniffing to discover the secret behind the mounting body count. The personal anecdotes and perplexing predicaments of the human and nonhuman characters enhance an intriguing and well-executed mystery. Particularly of note are the descriptions of the fox hunts that are so much a part of life in rural Virginia. Grateful fans will relish this charming addition by a master of the cozy cat genre.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (February 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553107437
• ISBN-13: 978-0553107432
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #700,907 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic new feline detective mystery!, March 5, 2001

By	SF Dawn "SF Dawn" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews

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!

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The "Purr"fect mystery, February 15, 2001

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Review, February 12, 2006

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Claws and Effect (Mass Market Paperback)

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