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Curiosity just might be the death of Mrs. Murphy--and her human companion, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen. Small towns are like families: everyone lives very close together ... and everyone keeps secrets. Crozet, Virginia, is a typical small town-until its secrets explode into murder. Crozet's thirty-something post-mistress, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, has a tiger cat (Mrs. Murphy) and a Welsh Corgi (Tucker), a pending divorce, and a bad habit of reading postcards not addressed to her. When Crozet's citizens start turning up murdered, Harry remembers that each received a card with a tombstone on the front and the message "Wish you were here" on the back. Intent on protecting their human friend, Mrs. Murphy and Tucker begin to scent out clues. Meanwhile, Harry is conducting her own investigation, unaware her pets are one step ahead of her. If only Mrs. Murphy could alert her somehow, Harry could uncover the culprit before the murder occurs--and before Harry finds herself on the killer's mailing list.… (more)
User reviews
Wish You Were Here
Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown
Another great Mrs. Murphy-Pewter-Tee Tucker mystery. Harry is so oblivious to the animals’ sleuthing skills that you just want to shake her. They bark (Tee), meow, scratch and paw frantically to try and communicate with her, and
This time, nasty little secrets in the tiny town begin to explode, and people are turning up dead. Harry just happens to notice, as Crozet’s postmistress, that right before each death, the person received a strange postcard in the mail with a tombstone on the front and “Wish You Were Here” message inside. The silky little antiques dealer in town is not quite who he seems to be, though that’s really giving away too much.
Only one pet peeve I have about Harry: she still uses her ex-husband’s last name. I really have a thing about that, and I even sent Rita Mae Brown an e-mail about it. Harry’s a strong, independent woman and she should drop the Haristeen name AND that stupid nickname “Harry”. I mean, she does have her own name: Mary Minor. Is her entire identity wrapped up in her ex?
I still love the animals, though.
The one big problem with this book is that every time I read the title, I get Pink Floyd stuck in my head.
And, of course, such a work needs a gimmick. Herbs, dogs, recipes, quilts... The gimmick in this one is just way too cutesy for me. Brown gives her own cat, Sneaky Pie, a byline, and we get dialogue and the point of view of the cat (and dog) of the town postmistress--Mrs Murphy, a tabby. The book even has illustrations. And of course the cat believes she owns the human, that God is a cat, etc. I was irritated and rolling my eyes even before the book got intrusive and preachy in a out of place rant against the "right-wing" and I decided to part ways. If I want fiction with talking animals, I'd rather go to the fantasy section.
Harry, the local postmistress (runs the post office) in the small town of Crozet, Virginia, is going through a divorce. Mrs. Murphy is her cat and Tucker, her dog. When two people turn up murdered (in separate instances), Harry discovers something that came through the mail that might link
I liked it. I loved that the animals could all talk amongst themselves, but the clueless humans had no idea what they were trying to tell them. There were also some cute illustrations scattered throughout the book, I believe all of them of Mrs. Murphy and/or Tucker. I seemed to enjoy it a bit more towards the end, as I got to know the characters a bit better, as well. Initially, I wasn't sure if I'd continue the series, but since I started to enjoy it more toward the end, I've decided to read at least one more.
Two gruesome murders / mutilations have the residents of Crozet, Virginia in a tizzy. Postmistress Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen has the only clue – a day or two before they were killed, each of the victims received a postcard of a famous cemetery or tomb with a “Wish you were here”
When it comes to the central murder mystery, there really are very few clues other than the postcards and the use of cyanide. More of the book is spent on dissecting Harry’s failing marriage and her soon-to-be-ex-husband’s affair with an old high school flame. And then we have the animals and their role in the case. As if anthropomorphizing the animals weren’t enough, Brown also goes off on tangents about the environment, politics, feminism, racism, etc. And some of these tangents are voiced by the animals. PUH LEEZE … The final solution is rushed – set-up and resolved in the last ten pages.
On the plus side, it’s a fairly fast read and Harry is an interesting character. While she’s suffering the hurts of a broken relationship, she is generally a strong, independent woman and I appreciate that. But it IS supposed to be a murder mystery, so I’d like more mystery and less social commentary.