Wish You Were Here

Mrs. Murphy's Mysteries: 1

ISBN: 0-553-28753-2 Order from: Amazon.com

A mystery that combines a likeable heroine, small-town manners, anthropomorphic pets, mild humor and suspense.

Reviewed by David on October 03, 1998

Genre: Mystery (Amateur Sleuth, Suspense, Cat)

Synopsis: Harry, a 33-year-old postmistress in a small Virginia town decides to investigate a series of highly premeditated murders when she starts having doubts about the competence of the local sheriff. Her pets, including 2 cats and a dog assist her in this endeavor.

Full Review: The first in a series of Mrs. Murphy's Mysteries, this novel is purportedly co-written by Rita Mae Brown and her cat Sneaky Pie.

Mrs. Murphy is Harry's cat, whose efforts to get to the bottom of the mystery and safeguard her keeper's life are aided by a dog and a neighbor's cat. Being a postmistress, Harry is privy to much that happens in the tiny town of Crozet, Virginia. That makes her in a good position to poke her nose into people's business, which she generally avoids until the victims start to multiply while the town sheriff is stymied. Harry's life is complicated by her divorce proceedings from her charming but egotistical husband, who seems to have the town's sympathies on his side.

This is as much a novel of manners in a small town as a murder investigation, and Harry's efforts to disentangle her own relationships as well as to help others form a pleasing backdrop to the mounting tension of unsolved crimes.

The pet conversation chapters add humor at the cost of unreality. The animals' thoughts and actions are much too anthropomorphic, but serve as satiric viewpoints for the idiosyncrasies of their two-legged companions.

On the whole, Wish You Were Here a pleasant, well-structured diversion. It is followed by Rest in Pieces, the second in the Mrs. Murphy series.

Overall: 6; Plot: 5; Characters: 6; Style: 6; World-building: 6; Originality: 5;

ISBN: 0-553-28753-2 Order from: Amazon.com