Finally something like she used to write!
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I have liked Rita Mae Brown's Mrs. Murphy series from the beginning but her last few books have left me hugely disappointed and almost ready to give up on her, but this book has reedeemed her. I love holiday books and since Christmas mysteries seem to be the current trend it doesn't surprise me that Brown has jumped on the bandwagon. While this is not the best of the holiday cat mysteries (I prefer Shirley Murphy's Cat Deck the Halls) it is certainly one I will read on a yearly basis.
The plot in short leaves the religious organization, Brothers of Love, short several members during the holiday season as they appear to be targeted by a murderer in their midst. What I really liked about this books is that I never guessed whodunit. Usually I am quite sleuthy and can figure it out, but Brown caught me completely off guard with this one. Our beloved main character, Harry, cannot keep her amateur nose out of the case and winds up a little worse for wear as she assists her friend, Sheriff Deputy Cooper in solving the mystery.
I liked that Brown made the book center more around the animals, as they have seemed to go by the wayside in her two previous books. I also liked the fact that she has stopped using her books as political forums, as that got very old very fast. However, most of the other usual cast of characters have disappeared. Miranada Hogendobber, a favorite of mine, has a very small part in this book as does Big Mim, who as the Queen of Crozet usually plays up quite prominently in the book.
I realize as this review goes on it sounds like I didn't really like the book. I did because as I mentioned before, Brown did not make this book like a political forum as she has done in the previous two novels. However, for the price of the book it reads very quickly. I hope that Brown continues to write more books like this (though a bit longer might be nice) and brings the Mrs. Murphy series back to the quality it used to have.
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