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Read Whisker Of Evil (2004)

Whisker of Evil (2004)

Online Book

Genre
Series
Rating
3.87 of 5 Votes: 1
Your rating
ISBN
0553801619 (ISBN13: 9780553801613)
Language
English
Publisher
bantam books

Whisker Of Evil (2004) - Plot & Excerpts

This was not for me.It may be due to the fact that I read this book on its own, I didn't know it was part of a series. But still there were too many things to dislike about this book.1. The plot was slow and predictable. Too many uninteresting details about horses. I get it, it needed to be explained since the crime concerned horsetrade, but first of all, that should not be clear from the start, and second, a good writer would work those facts in in a more natural and less pedantic style.2. The animals were totally lame. Since I did not read the earlier book, it was not clear to me whether their talking was understood or if they were just chatting among themselves (the last, as it turnes out). But really, what cats would say things like Framing goes fast. Even got the roof joists up. Now, Mom had to buy those, you know. It's easier to buy them than make them. By tomorrow night, weather permitting, they'll have the siding up, T-111.orWell, she has a wonderful face and the best body. Not an ounce of fat on her, and if she wanted to wear expensive clothes she'd look better than anyone else.Really? Cats discussing building a shed and a corgi commenting on fat and fashion? It has no function, it is uninteresting, and it isn't even funny (although she is obviously trying).3. Okay, so living the country life is great and Virginians are God's gift to earth. If you want to convince your readers that a certain lifestyle is great, well, use your skill and paint the picture. If the scene doesn't come to life, no amount of preaching will lead me to believe you.4. Quoting Scripture. No problem with that, or with characters doing it. Surely there exist people who quote Scripture and name the verse in real life. But here, it functions as the only recognizable feat of this woman. And even worse, she doesn't name the verse after quoting it. The narrator does. It only adds to the annoying, conceited tone of the book. 5. Too many characters who were so papery thin that they never came to life, despite grotesque features such as nicknames, Hollywood careers, and exotic accents. I thought it was me, but apparently the author noticed it too, since she kept reminding the reader how people were connected to each other up to page 300.

I think it may be a time to take a nice, long break from the adventures of Harry, Mrs. Murphy, Tee Tucker and Pewter. For one, they're getting a little preachy of the "country life is the only life worth living" opinion. I get it. It's great. Now back off! Don't shove it down my throat! This installment finds Harry and the gang happening upon a man who is drawing his dying breath after having had his throat ripped out by an animal? A person? And he tested positive for rabies?! After a legnthy textbook explaination (given by three different people in a conversation), Rita Mae Brown attempts to dispell many popular myths about rabies, an explainating as to why there should be no embargo of Cuba (and the love of Cuban cigars) and why city folk just don't know what life is.In a way, I do sort of want to read the next one as this book found Harry falling back into love with her philandering husband and resigning from her beloved post office job. What could possibly be next? Don't even get me started on Blair and Little Mim....I am done with Rita Mae ans Sneaky Pie....at least for the near future.

What do You think about Whisker Of Evil (2004)?

I actually like cozies, you know? And as befits any reader who cut her teeth on Valdemar, talking horsies (and kitties, and doggies) don't annoy me. I also sympathize with any author whose series goes on for longer than she may have originally planned or ever dares to hope.This one was actually pretty good. Better than Tail of the Tip Off, for damn sure. /shudderWhere this one really loses its fourth star and barely clung to its third for me was the constant, CONSTANT political whining about how the guv'mint just don't care 'bout no country people. Yes, yes, regulations are frustrating and we'd all be better off if everyone could just hand their (well-known) neighbors their mail instead of having to remember their post box keys. But the other complaints are largely the kinds of complaints people have when they don't quite understand how roads are maintained and policemen are paid. Also, Book 12 in a series is the damndest point for an author to forget about the fact that _no mystery reader ever_ cares about the percentage of bats with rabies, no matter how fascinated the author was when she encountered the fact. Nearly every character (and Brown's characters are wonderfully conceived and developed at this point) is forced to parrot some fascinating bit of Google-gleaned data, and such is the power of Brown's characterization that you pity them and want to tell them that you know they didn't really want to spout off those OTB statistics.
—Sanya Weathers

This book was a gift from my boyfriend, as advised by his mother, and I really wanted to like it, but this book is just overall disappointing.It has a very old-lady-esque feel to it... The animals being a part of the mystery solving has charm, I suppose, but the slow pace, drinking tea, dislike of city folk, and general cat lady-ness makes me believe that only lonely old ladies would find this book enjoyable.Plot-wise, the story was unimpressive. There were so many characters, it was impossible to keep track of them all. And the author seemed insistent upon calling each character by gender neutral or gender opposite names. It was very confusing. Granted, this is a book in the middle of a long series, but it's generally bad practice.I don't want to give any spoilers, but I also hate when mysteries choose the murderer seemingly at random, without much consideration to the underlying psychology of murder. I thought it was a sloppy resolution.All that said, I did finish the book, so it doesn't deserve one star. And I did find it enjoyable in a lazy Sunday, tea with Grandma kind of way. I just wouldn't recommend it to anyone under the age of 60.
—Christine

I checked this audiobook out several months ago to listen to on my way to/from work. However, I soon discovered that I am way too sleepy (mornings) or brain dead (evenings) to listen to audio books most days. I managed to make it about halfway through the book before I had to return it. (Someone else had requested it.) So, then I checked out a paper copy of the book, and finished the rest.This book was an interesting read/listen. There are LOTS of characters, and it was difficult for me to keep them all straight, especially when lots of time lapsed between times when I listened to the book. The main characters (and mystery solvers) in the book are supposed to be a couple of cats and a dog, but it really seemed like the animals just lay around for most of the book and did very little. By the time the audiobook was due, I was hooked enough that I wanted to know who the "bad guy" was, but I don't think I will be reading many more books by this author. (Note: the illustrations are very cute!)
—Ruth

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