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
