Ricki Lake as 'Harry Haristeen' with Mrs. Murphy (cat) and Tucker (dog)
In this 28th book in the 'Mrs. Murphy' series, amateur sleuth Harry Haristeen investigates several unnatural deaths with the help of her cadre of 'talking pets': the cats - Mrs. Murphy and Pewter;
the corgi - Tucker; and the half-grown Irish wolfhound - Pirate.
*****
The story, set in northern Virginia, ping pongs between the present (2018) and the time right after the Revolutionary War (1787).
In the present, Harry Haristeen and her best friend Susan Tucker are helping prepare the grounds at the 'Institute Farm' in Aldie, Virginia. The Institute will be the site of a fundraiser called 'Hounds F4R Heroes', being held to benefit veterans. The fundraiser will consist of a beagle hunt and a basset hound hunt, and fallen trees need to be cleared to make the area safe for running dogs and the humans that follow them.
A large number of Virginians are involved in the upcoming hunt, including prominent citizens who were formerly in the armed services or diplomatic corps. These include Arlene Billeaud -'Master of Blastoff Beagles', and Jason Holzknect and his wife Clare Holzknect- 'Joint Masters of Chesapeake Beagles.' Many other people will attend the hunt as well, either entering their dogs or just running along for fun.
In the meantime, a grave in the cemetery of St. Luke's Lutheran Church has been vandalized, and - when the grave is opened - a woman's body is found on top of two long buried caskets.
The caskets were interred in the late 1700s, and it's assumed the body (just bones by now) was thrown in at about the same time. What's really shocking, however, is that the body is wearing a pearl necklace and pearl and diamond earrings estimated to be worth at least $600,000.
Of course amateur sleuth Harry, who's intensely curious about odd occurrences, wonders about the dead woman - and hopes to figure out what happened to her.
The bejeweled body leads to flashbacks from 1787, when two large farms - called Cloverfields and Big Rawly - occupied the area.
The property owners, in addition to running their farms, constantly discuss the Constitutional Convention (occurring at the time) - and we get a big dose of history. Moreover a British prisoner who was captured during the American Revolution married one of the farmer's daughters, and - being an architect - designed St. Luke's Church.
Constitutional Convention
As was usual in the 1700s, both Cloverfields and Big Rawly used slaves. Some of the slaves in the story - like the butler, cook and weaver - seemed relatively content and some of the slaves - like the stable boys - became runaways. I was uncomfortable with the author's somewhat rosy-ish depiction of a slave-owning family - which has nothing but the slaves' best interests at heart. Really?? I suspect the author's loyalty to Virginia influenced the writing.
As we follow the 1787 storyline, we learn how the bejeweled woman came to be in St. Luke's cemetery.
In the chapters that jump back to the present, we find that events take an ominous turn and Harry soon has a lot on her plate. First Harry finds a body with a slit throat and later a body that APPEARS to have died from natural causes.....but Harry suspects foul play.
In between investigating the three deaths (one ancient and two current), Harry spends a lot of time talking about the Revolutionary War and the Civil War with her friends - all of whom are knowledgeable about the battles that occurred in Virginia. There's lots of chit-chat about where the soldiers' bodies are buried and whether ghosts haunt the battlefields. In fact the book is MUCH MORE historical novel than mystery.....with a good dose of basset hound hunting and beagle hunting thrown in.
Ghost soldier
Basset hound hunt
Beagle hunt
I was unsatisfied with the VERY skimpy mystery in this cozy, but I did enjoy the historical perspective - and I loved the cute animals and their antics. I'd recommend the novel to readers interested in American history as well as fans of Rita Mae Brown.
Thanks to Netgalley, the author (Rita Mae Brown), and the publisher (Bantam) for a copy of the book.
Rating: 3 stars
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