Tall Tail: A Mrs. Murphy MysteryIn this fast-paced mystery by Rita Mae Brown and her feline co-author Sneaky Pie Brown, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen and her animal friends seek to solve a whodunit rooted in eighteenth-century Virginia--uncovering a shocking secret that refuses to stay buried. TALL TAIL At any moment a perfect summer day in Crozet, Virginia--nestled within the Blue Ridge Mountains--might turn stormy and tempestuous, as Harry knows too well when a squall suddenly sweeps in. In a blink, Harry's pickup nearly collides with a careening red car that then swerves into a ditch. Harry recognizes the dead driver slumped over the vehicle's steering wheel: Barbara Leader was nurse and confidante to former Virginia governor Sam Holloway. Though Barbara's death is ruled a heart attack, dissenting opinions abound. After all, she was the picture of health, which gives Harry and her four-legged companions pause. A baffling break-in at a local business leads Harry to further suspect that a person with malevolent intent lurks just out of sight: Something evil is afoot. As it happens, Barbara died in the shadow of the local cemetery's statue of the Avenging Angel. Just below that imposing funereal monument lie the remains of one Francisco Selisse, brutally murdered in 1784. Harry's present-day sleuthing draws her back to Virginia's slave-holding past and the hunt for Selisse's killer. Now it's up to Harry and her furry detectives--Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tee Tucker--to expose the bitter truth, even if it means staring into the unforgiving eyes of history and cornering a callous killer poised to pounce. Praise for the Mrs. Murphy Mysteries by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown "As feline collaborators go, you couldn't ask for better than Sneaky Pie Brown."--The New York Times Book Review "Mrs. Murphy mysteries are fun, sweet, and beautifully adventurous."--Bustle "Brown [is] the queen of the talking animal cozy."--Publishers Weekly |
Contents
Section 1 | 3 |
Section 2 | 11 |
Section 3 | 18 |
Section 4 | 24 |
Section 5 | 31 |
Section 6 | 41 |
Section 7 | 49 |
Section 8 | 52 |
Section 23 | 169 |
Section 24 | 177 |
Section 25 | 181 |
Section 26 | 187 |
Section 27 | 195 |
Section 28 | 203 |
Section 29 | 209 |
Section 30 | 215 |
Section 9 | 60 |
Section 10 | 64 |
Section 11 | 72 |
Section 12 | 80 |
Section 13 | 86 |
Section 14 | 93 |
Section 15 | 104 |
Section 16 | 115 |
Section 17 | 130 |
Section 18 | 136 |
Section 19 | 144 |
Section 20 | 151 |
Section 21 | 158 |
Section 22 | 166 |
Section 31 | 226 |
Section 32 | 236 |
Section 33 | 243 |
Section 34 | 250 |
Section 35 | 258 |
Section 36 | 265 |
Section 37 | 272 |
Section 38 | 278 |
Section 39 | 284 |
Section 40 | 291 |
Section 41 | 298 |
Section 42 | 312 |
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Common terms and phrases
Ailee Ailee's Albemarle County asked baby Barbara Leader barn barn swallows Bartholomew beautiful Bettina Big Rawly Blue Ridge Mountains Catherine cats Cooper Crozet Dennis Deon door DoRe Eddie Eddie's Ewing Garth eyes farm Father Gabe Francisco front G-Mom G-Pop grandfather hand Harry Harry's head heard Hiram Holloway horses husband Jeddie John Karl Ix keep kill kitchen knew laughed leukemia looked loved Lutheran mare Maureen Selisse McComb Mignon Millicent Miss Catherine Missus Moses Moses's mother murder Murphy never nodded opened Penny Pewter Piglet prisoner-of-war camp pulled Rachel replied RITA MAE BROWN road Ruth Serena Serenissima Sheba sickle-cell sickle-cell anemia side slave smiled someone stood Susan talk tell thallium there's thing thought took Tucker turned Virginia voice wagon walked wife woman women wonder Yancy Grant young