In this 11th book in the 'Sister Jane' series, a threatened assault to the lovely Virginia landscape results in murder. The book can be read as a standalone.
*****
Jane Arnold, called "Sister", has been Master of Foxhounds (MFH) of The Jefferson Hunt - a foxhunting club in Jefferson County, Virginia - for over forty years. As MFH Sister hires and fires personnel; makes arrangements with landowners; develops the pack of hounds; organizes the hunts; and so on. The foxhunts are very popular, and Sister is aided by an array of personnel who command the hounds and make sure things run smoothly.
The yearly Christmas Hunt is especially popular, and - despite warnings of snow - Sister decides to go ahead with it. One of the hunt members has invited a guest this year, a man called Gregory Luckham, who heads the huge energy company Soliden - based in Richmond, Virginia.
Soliden plans to build an oil pipeline through Jefferson County, a project that will destroy land and despoil the environment. This infuriates some local residents, especially estate owners whose property values will plummet and conservationists concerned about the flora and fauna.
Luckham's host, a lawyer called Ronnie Howard, hopes that a ride through beautiful, historic Jefferson County will convince Luckham to alter the pipeline's route. The majority of club members - though angry at Luckham - are polite to him during the hunt, but one man is openly hostile and makes threats.
The Christmas Hunt is proceeding splendidly when a sudden snowstorm hits, obscuring everyone's vision and making it impossible to continue. The participants slowly make their way back to their vehicles and horse trailers.....everyone except for Luckham.....whose horse returns without him.
The sheriff is called, but it's impossible to search for Luckham during the blizzard, and the next day - when the storm abates - Luckham can't be found anywhere....dead or alive. The continuing search does turn up a body, but it isn't the oil company magnate. It's a popular local who works for a wealthy landowner.
As the days pass, clues indicate that Luckham is dead. Sister and her friends - who comprise an interesting array of characters - realize that the killer is intimately familiar with the area and must belong to The Jefferson Hunt. Worse yet, other hunt members may be in danger if a psychopath is on the loose.
The sheriff continues to investigate the two deaths, and Sister and her friends help by nosing around and visiting sites where clues were found.
That's the mystery/detective part of the novel, which comprises roughly 20 percent of the narrative. The remainder of the book describes foxhunt after foxhunt, with detailed descriptions of the equipment, attire, landscape, jumps, people, foxes, hounds, horses, refreshments, etc. This is too much foxhunting for a mystery novel in my opinion.
On the upside, the story is accompanied by comments from - and conversations among - the hounds, foxes, horses, and even the barn owls.....all of whom are remarkably intelligent and well-informed. This adds a fun element to the tale.
Unfortunately, there's not much investigative work, and the case is solved in an incidental fashion -when the killer is observed with a suspicious object. If you're looking for a typical mystery, this isn't the book for you. But readers who enjoy foxhunting and other horse related activities would probably like the story.
In case you're squeamish, the Virginia foxhunts don't kill the foxes. The dogs and riders just chase the wily creatures until they 'go to ground' in a den. In fact the foxes are coddled, since local residents provide comfortable shelters as well as food like kibble, scraps, Milk Bone biscuits, Jolly Ranchers, and wrapped grape candies. (Foxes have a sweet tooth. Who knew? 😊)
The author provides an index of characters (human and animal) at the front of the book as well as a dictionary of terms related to foxhunting, all of which I found very helpful.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Rita Mae Brown), and the publisher (Ballantine Books) for a copy of the book.
Rating: 3 stars
Soliden plans to build an oil pipeline through Jefferson County, a project that will destroy land and despoil the environment. This infuriates some local residents, especially estate owners whose property values will plummet and conservationists concerned about the flora and fauna.
Luckham's host, a lawyer called Ronnie Howard, hopes that a ride through beautiful, historic Jefferson County will convince Luckham to alter the pipeline's route. The majority of club members - though angry at Luckham - are polite to him during the hunt, but one man is openly hostile and makes threats.
The Christmas Hunt is proceeding splendidly when a sudden snowstorm hits, obscuring everyone's vision and making it impossible to continue. The participants slowly make their way back to their vehicles and horse trailers.....everyone except for Luckham.....whose horse returns without him.
The sheriff is called, but it's impossible to search for Luckham during the blizzard, and the next day - when the storm abates - Luckham can't be found anywhere....dead or alive. The continuing search does turn up a body, but it isn't the oil company magnate. It's a popular local who works for a wealthy landowner.
As the days pass, clues indicate that Luckham is dead. Sister and her friends - who comprise an interesting array of characters - realize that the killer is intimately familiar with the area and must belong to The Jefferson Hunt. Worse yet, other hunt members may be in danger if a psychopath is on the loose.
The sheriff continues to investigate the two deaths, and Sister and her friends help by nosing around and visiting sites where clues were found.
That's the mystery/detective part of the novel, which comprises roughly 20 percent of the narrative. The remainder of the book describes foxhunt after foxhunt, with detailed descriptions of the equipment, attire, landscape, jumps, people, foxes, hounds, horses, refreshments, etc. This is too much foxhunting for a mystery novel in my opinion.
On the upside, the story is accompanied by comments from - and conversations among - the hounds, foxes, horses, and even the barn owls.....all of whom are remarkably intelligent and well-informed. This adds a fun element to the tale.
Unfortunately, there's not much investigative work, and the case is solved in an incidental fashion -when the killer is observed with a suspicious object. If you're looking for a typical mystery, this isn't the book for you. But readers who enjoy foxhunting and other horse related activities would probably like the story.
In case you're squeamish, the Virginia foxhunts don't kill the foxes. The dogs and riders just chase the wily creatures until they 'go to ground' in a den. In fact the foxes are coddled, since local residents provide comfortable shelters as well as food like kibble, scraps, Milk Bone biscuits, Jolly Ranchers, and wrapped grape candies. (Foxes have a sweet tooth. Who knew? 😊)
The author provides an index of characters (human and animal) at the front of the book as well as a dictionary of terms related to foxhunting, all of which I found very helpful.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Rita Mae Brown), and the publisher (Ballantine Books) for a copy of the book.
Rating: 3 stars
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