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Read Murder On The Prowl (1999)

Murder on the Prowl (1999)

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Genre
Series
Rating
3.92 of 5 Votes: 2
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ISBN
0553575406 (ISBN13: 9780553575408)
Language
English
Publisher
bantam books

Murder On The Prowl (1999) - Plot & Excerpts

This is the first Mrs. Murphy mystery I have read and it was really fun! I think you can start at any book in the series as they seem mostly self contained and any items that carry over are introduced in the plot. But because of that you might get some spoilers for previous books.The novel centers on a smallish town in Virginia with the main character being the postmistress Mary Minor Harristeen, called Harry. One day an obituary appears in the town paper for the headmaster of the prestigious St. Elizabeth's school but he isn't dead. A few days later another false obituary appears in the paper, this time for a friend of the headmaster. Everyone laughs it off until one of the men ends up dead. Who did it? Who's next? Those are the questions Mrs. Murphy, Pewter and Tucker, Harry's pets, try to answer.I picked this book up on a whim while at the library and I'm really glad I did. The writing was engaging and quick. I felt like each sentence was used to advance the plot, either the plot of the novel or that of the overall series, which I appreciated. The chapters were also not very long so it was good for bedtime reading when I only wanted to read a few pages.The use of the animals didn't feel gimmicky at all. I liked that all of the pets had distinct voices and personalities. Rita Mae Brown also does a nice job of keeping the fact that they are animals in perspective for the book - they constantly have to think of clever ways to tell the humans what they are thinking.I also really liked all of the human characters. There are quite a few chapters that aren't focused on Harry so you get to see some of the personality quirks of the other characters which I liked. And the characters had a little more going on than just the plot of the novel which was nice too.I did have a hard time keeping track of all the different characters though. Conveniently there is a character list at the beginning of the novel but it was unfortunate that I had to keep turning back to it. I think if I had read some of the other books first, as this is the sixth one, I might be more familiar with them (as I think a lot of characters appear in the other books).The ending felt very quick. Suddenly they had narrowed down it two suspects and then they caught the person who did it. I also didn't get much closure from the novel. The last three pages or so detail why the person did what they did but it felt like quick exposition as opposed to a thought out ending.All in all, this was a light, quick read with lovely characters (of the human and animal variety) so I am definitely going to check out the others in the series.

When I want a little mindless mystery filled with cozy characters and an intelligent mystery-solving animal (and human) cast I come to Mrs. Murphy series. There is no real thinking involved, I figured out the whodunit before they finished doing everything they did (and less than halfway through the book). So while not the most elaborate mystery it is still a fun read. I say this mostly because of Mrs. Murphy, Tucker and Pewter - the animal cast. Implausible though they are, I love 'em. Their interactions are just charming to me. The people - they develop slowly. Like, really slowly (I mean over the course of books slow - and still not really seeing much of a change in Harry - but she's a pretty steadfast character and sometimes that's what you want). But if you keep reading you get to know them. tIn this particular book there is trouble going on at St. Elizabeth's, involving obituaries that come out (before the person mentioned is actually dead), students, a convolution of whose sleeping with who (a fairly common theme in these books is that apparently everyone is a "cheater"), and of course what's going on at St. Elizabeths school causing all this. The main "villain" is fairly obvious as the book unfolds, but there are more that are revealed towards the end (also rather expected). I would've liked a bit more development of the villain - I mean what made them tick - why were they such a sociopathic psychopath? Their choices weren't really explained - was it really as simple as materialistic greed and then revenge? But to be honest - I didn't like that character when they first appeared and by the end of the book I would've happily seen them shot or fed to a bobcat. tThe mystery did take a while to get started and isn't the most elaborate, so if that's what you're looking for I'd suggest another book. If you're tired and not wanting to think too much and just want something light this fits the bill.

What do You think about Murder On The Prowl (1999)?

What I wrote at the time:I still want to know where the cat learned Latin & Greek.Too long, weak mystery, obviously copped the idea from the headlines (teenage criminal). These get weaker as the series drags on (and I get less tolerant), which is saying a great deal. Ms. Brown has too large a list of regular characters to keep their interactions straight between titles. And why does she think she knows what cats and dogs say to each other? I have come to the conclusion that Ms. Brown was a two hit wonder. She should break up the band and retire.
—Deena

Ok, I'm going to do a standard review for the rest of the Mrs. Murphy books I read, because I really can't think of something smart to say about every single one of them. Actually, it's hard to come up with something smart to say about any one of them, because they are not really smart books. Though, no, that's not true. They aren't trivial as such, they aren't too easy - or, in other words, they don't hurt my brain while I read them. But I think we can all agree that they are also not "great literature", and certainly not intellectually challenging, and as such, they are a bit of a guilty pleasure for me. (that and the talking animals, of course)But they are pretty straight-forward crime stories, not overly complicated, but also never boring. They live from the interaction of the characters and the settings, both of which Brown handles brilliantly. That she also manages to make the reader fall in love with the characters, not only the familiar ones, but also the new ones she adds in each book, shows what a master she really is. And so I have no problem admitting that I have read and loved every single one of the Mrs. Murphy books, and I'm convinced that I'll continue to love them for as long as she continues to write them, which I hope will be until forever.
—Oceana2602

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