Random House
Featuring: Harry Haristeen; Fair Haristeen; Mrs Murphy
192 pages ISBN: 0345538579 EAN: 9780345538574 Kindle: B00ALBR2MM e-Book Add to Wish List
Autumn has followed a long dry summer and Mary Harristeen,
known as Harry, is driving with her husband past harvest
fields and vegetable stalls, when Virginia throws yet
another murder in her direction. THE LITTER OF THE LAW is
the latest in a long-running series about Harry, the good
people of Crozet, and Harry's tabby cat Mrs Murphy and
Corgi dog Tucker.
Someone has trussed a body up as a scarecrow. The sight is
made more grotesque by the lively interest of crows, which
is what draws Harry's attention. Who would treat a man in
this way? Harry and her husband Fair have diversified into
sunflowers, grapes and ginseng recently, but maize growers
have been suffering from the drought. A thoroughbred filly
is found injured in a field. Fair, a veterinarian, is
called out but he can't save her. Nobody immediately spots
a connection. A model scarecrow is noticed however - in
the middle of a Halloween display of pumpkins and sheaves.
Is this all coincidence or could someone seriously creepy
be around? Nobody is sure, until a harmless neighbouring
woman is found dead in a witch's costume....
The early books presented Harry as a divorced postmistress,
but she has by now remarried her forgiven husband, survived
serious illness and settled to farming. Fair always seemed
like a decent man who had grown up a little later than
Harry, and he's now a dependable, smart foil for her
sleuthing. The dog, cats and other animals in this series
chatter away to one another, take note of crime scene
details and use their sharp senses to follow trails.
A library being refurnished, historic schoolhouse
buildings, local tribes who intermarried with settlers,
farming irrigation and other issues are discussed. The
economic downturn is a part of people's lives and a
gasoline surcharge is being added to bills even by
handymen. Social issues from the sixties have been
researched too as Rita Mae Brown brings her community to
life. The natural life is also described, with nests being
lined and leaves turning colour. There's so much going on
and such beautiful drawings to admire that we almost forget
to hunt for the murderer. Then we get reminded that the two
dead people had been 'fishing for trouble. THE LITTER OF
THE LAW will appeal to all cosy mystery fans, especially
animal lovers.
ita Mae Brown collaborates with feline co-author Sneaky Pie
Brown in a new mystery starring Mary Minor “Harry”
Haristeen, the curious cat detectives Mrs. Murphy and
Pewter, and Tee Tucker, the valiant crime-solving corgi.
Halloween arrives early this year to rural central Virginia,
when a twisted killer will stop at nothing to protect a
multimillion-dollar scheme.
THE LITTER OF THE LAW
Autumn has descended and crops are being harvested all over
Crozet, Virginia, ideal conditions for a scenic drive for
Harry and husband Fair. Bucolic views are all well and good,
but Harry’s nose for trouble leads her straight to a
cornfield’s macabre scarecrow—an all too real murder victim
that frightens all but the noisy crows.
This accountant’s gruesome death is only the first of many
disturbing events in this normally pastoral corner of the
world. While Harry tends her beloved grapes and sunflowers,
a killer edges closer—as does Harry’s protective menagerie
of animals.
Halloween’s approach brings with it bona fide terror and a
beloved local tradition that threatens to become fatal.
Rooting out the guilty in the treacherous center of a
lucrative conspiracy requires Harry’s farmer’s wisdom—along
with the quick wits and extraordinary senses of Sneaky Pie,
Pewter, and Tucker. A vicious murderer may know the lay of
the land far better than Harry does, but that’s about to
change. It’s up to her vigilant four-footed companions to
make sure that the unearthing of this plot is not Harry’s
last act.
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