Claws and Effect - (Mrs. Murphy) by Rita Mae Brown (Paperback)

About the Book

Winter in Crozet, Virginia, has postmistress Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen embroiled in a twisted mystery after the director of the hospital turns up dead. Tigercat Mrs. Murphy, roaming the underworld of the hospital, sniffs out a secret dating back to the Underground Railroad--and it's up to her to solve this crime before Harry becomes the next victim.

Book Synopsis

CLAWS AND EFFECT

Winter puts tiny Crozet, Virginia, in a deep freeze and everyone seems to be suffering from the winter blahs, including postmistress Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen. So all are ripe for the juicy gossip coming out of Crozet Hospital-until the main source of that gossip turns up dead. It's not like Harry to resist a mystery, and she soon finds the hospital a hotbed of ego, jealousy, and illicit love.

But it's tiger cat Mrs. Murphy, roaming the netherworld of Crozet Hospital, who sniffs out a secret that dates back to the Underground Railroad. Then Harry is attacked and a doctor is executed in cold blood.

Soon only a quick-witted cat and her animal pals feline Pewter and corgi Tee Tucker stand between Harry and a coldly calculating killer with a prescription for murder.

Review Quotes

"As feline collaborators go, you couldn't ask for better than Sneaky Pie Brown."--The New York Times Book Review

"Mrs. Murphy is [a] cat who detects her way into our hearts."--San Francisco Chronicle Book Review

About the Author

Rita Mae Brown is the bestselling author of the Sneaky Pie Brown series; the Sister Jane series; A Nose for Justice and Murder Unleashed; Rubyfruit Jungle; In Her Day; and Six of One, as well as several other novels. An Emmy-nominated screenwriter and a poet, Brown lives in Afton, Virginia.

Sneaky Pie Brown, a tiger cat born somewhere in Albemarle County, Virginia, was discovered by Rita Mae Brown at her local SPCA. They have collaborated on numerous Mrs. Murphy mysteries--in addition to Sneaky Pie's Cookbook for Mystery Lovers and Sneaky Pie for President.