Book #52 was Pay Dirt, the fourth book in Rita Mae Brown’s Mrs. Murphy series.  The back of the book reads:

The residents of tiny Crozet, Virginia, thrive on gossip, especially in the post office, where Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen presides with her tiger cat, Mrs. Murphy. So when a belligerent Hell’s Angel crashes Crozet, demanding to see his girlfriend, the leather-clad interloper quickly becomes the chief topic of conversation. Then the biker is found murdered, and everyone is baffled. Well, almost everyone…Mrs. Murphy and her friends, Welsh corgi Tee Tucker and overweight feline Pewter, haven’t been slinking through alleys for nothing. But can they dig up the truth in time to save their humans from a ruthless killer?

This book was an improvement over the last Mrs. Murphy novel. The danger and the crimes got personal again, as the lives of more than one Crozet resident are affected. There was also less of the animals waxing rhapsodic about human nature. The true identity of the missing Malibu wasn’t that much of a secret to me, but I enjoyed watching everyone else try to figure out what was going on. We get a little more about Harry’s personal life here, as Blair and Fair (a name combo that drives me insane) are both actively vying for her affections, but I’d like to see that storyline move a little faster.  I’m curious to see Harry in a real relationship. This series was on life support, but this one has redeemed itself enough for me to continue reading.

Page count: 288 | Approximate word count: 72,000

2009: Sunny Chandler’s Return (Sandra Brown)
2008: Sharp Teeth (Toby Barlow)
2007: The Apprentice (Tess Gerritsen)
2006: The Winds of War (Herman Wouk)
2005: Four to Score (Janet Evanovich)

Used in these Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; E-book Reading Challenge; Pages Read Challenge Season 2;

Book #40 was Murder at Monticello, the third book in Rita Mae Brown’s Mrs. Murphy series.  The back of the book reads:

Mrs. Murphy digs into Virginia history–and gets her paws on a killer.

The most popular citizen of Virginia has been dead for nearly 170 years. That hasn’t stopped the good people of tiny Crozet, Virginia, from taking pride in every aspect of Thomas Jefferson’s life. But when an archaeological dig of the slave quarters at Jefferson’s home, Monticello, uncovers a shocking secret, emotions in Crozet run high–dangerously high.

The stunning discovery at Monticello hints a hidden passions and age-old scandals. As postmistress Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen and some of Crozet’s Very Best People try to learn the identity of a centuries-old skeleton–and the reason behind the murder–Harry’s tiger cat, Mrs. Murphy, and her canine and feline friends attempt to sniff out a modern-day killer. Mrs. Murphy and corgi Tee Tucker will stick their paws into the darker mysteries of human nature to solve murders old and new–before curiosity can kill the cat–and Harry Haristeen.

My second disappointing book in a row! What a bummer. I liked learning a little bit about Monticello and Thomas Jefferson, but the book was a little too focused on it.  I read this series for the personal danger that faces the citizens of Crozet and how they come together to deal with it, and a mystery from 1803 didn’t do it for me.  You do get that sense of danger eventually, but it’s past the halfway point of the book. And while I don’t normally mind the commentary offered by Mrs. Murphy, Tucker, and Pewter, the pages of them waxing rhapsodic about American history kinda crossed the line for me. I can buy them observing and making comments about human nature (you know, as much as I can buy that animals talk to each other in this way), but I can’t credit them with an extensive knowledge of historical fact. I’m sure I’ll read more of the books in this series, but I’m hoping we get back to the usual mysteries.

Page count: 320 | Approximate word count: 80,000

2009: Undead and Unappreciated (MaryJanice Davidson)
2008: 20th Century Ghosts (Joe Hill)
2007: Plum Lovin’ (Janet Evanovich)
2006: All the Flowers Are Dying (Lawrence Block)
2005: A Kiss of Shadows (Laurell K. Hamilton)

Used in these Challenges: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; 2010 Reading From My Shelves Project; Pages Read Challenge Season 2; The TwentyTen Challenge;

Book #27 was Rest in Pieces, the second book in Rita Mae Brown’s Mrs. Murphy series.  The back of the book reads:

Mrs. Murphy thinks the new man in town is the cat’s meow…. Maybe she should think again. Small towns don’t take kindly to strangers–unless the stranger happens to be a drop-dead gorgeous and seemingly unattached male. When Blair Bainbridge comes to Crozet, Virginia, the local matchmakers lose no time in declaring him perfect for their newly divorced postmistress, Marry Minor "Harry Haristeen." Even Harry’s tiger cat, Ms. Murphy, and her Welsh Corgi, Tee Tucker, believe he smells A-okay. Could his one little imperfection be that he’s a killer? Blair becomes the most likely suspect when the pieces of a dismembered corpse begin turning up around Crozet. No one knows who the dead man is, but when a grisly clue makes a spectacular appearance in the middle of the fall festivities, more than an early winter snow begins chilling the blood of Crozet’s very best people. That’s when Ms. Murphy, her friend Tucker, and her human companion Harry begin to sort throughout the clues . . . only to find themselves a whisker away from becoming the killer’s next victims.

I enjoy this series, even if the discussions between the animals about the moralities of humans are a little tiring. The whole "what makes humans so civilized when they go around killing each other" theme could stand to be a little less blatant.  Regardless, what you end up with here is a humorous, entertaining, well woven story. Maybe a little more humorous than the author intended, because the climax of the novel comes off a little like the Keystone Cops.  Though I wasn’t surprised by who the murderer was, I was completely surprised by the reason. And I like to be surprised. I’ll continue with this series.

Page count: 384 | Approximate word count: 96,000

2009: Vampire Academy (Richelle Mead)
2008: Ice Trap (Kitty Sewell)
2007: The Time Traveler’s Wife (Audrey Niffenegger)
2006: Betrayal in Death (J.D. Robb)
2005: Open Season (Linda Howard)

Used in these Challenges: The Four Month Challenge; Random Reading Challenge; 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; 2nd Reading Challenge; E-book Reading Challenge; Pages Read Challenge Season 2;