Reviews

2.5***

Two gruesome murders / mutilations have the residents of Crozet, Virginia in a tizzy. Postmistress Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen has the only clue – a day or two before they were killed, each of the victims received a postcard of a famous cemetery or tomb with a “Wish you were here” inscription. This book introduces the Mrs Murphy mystery series. Mrs Murphy is a tiger cat, whose “mommy” is Harry. Along with her Welsh corgi companion, Tee Tucker, the animals help Harry find the killer.

When it comes to the central murder mystery, there really are very few clues other than the postcards and the use of cyanide. More of the book is spent on dissecting Harry’s failing marriage and her soon-to-be-ex-husband’s affair with an old high school flame. And then we have the animals and their role in the case. As if anthropomorphizing the animals weren’t enough, Brown also goes off on tangents about the environment, politics, feminism, racism, etc. And some of these tangents are voiced by the animals. PUH LEEZE … The final solution is rushed – set-up and resolved in the last ten pages.

On the plus side, it’s a fairly fast read and Harry is an interesting character. While she’s suffering the hurts of a broken relationship, she is generally a strong, independent woman and I appreciate that. But it IS supposed to be a murder mystery, so I’d like more mystery and less social commentary.

perrilous's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

travelreader85's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.25

sriston's review against another edition

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1.0

I’m only three chapters in and while the story is intriguing, the amount of swearing has completely turned me off. The situations in which the words were used would not have been affected at all if those words had been left out. This is something I did not expect so much of in a cozy mystery- they are usually quite “clean”. I did not finish reading the book.

thepamz's review against another edition

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4.0

Jejeje está linda esta premisa de que las mascotas resuelven el caso y hacen un buen de maromas para tratar de comunicarse con los humanos. No sé muy bien cuál es el punto de algunas de las discusiones raras que tienen entre ellos (porque el lector obvio puede enterarse de lo que dicen los animales) pero creo que sí leería más de estos libros.

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