Book 112, 2016

Yesterday, I finished reading Wish You Were Here. It's the first book in the "Mrs Murphy" mystery series by authors Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown. I am ashamed to admit that I have perhaps a dozen of these books, and apparently, I hadn't read any of them.

*wallows in shame*

Mary Minor Harristeen, "Harry" to her friends, is the postmistress in the small town of Crozet. She enjoys her job, and she takes advantage of it to read other people's postcards. When two people in town are murdered in grisly fashion, Harry recalls that each of them received postcards, depicting tombstones, with the phrase "Wish you were here" on them. She's convinced it's a clue, but the police aren't so sure.

In the meantime, Harry's cat, Mrs Murphy, and her Corgi, Tee Tucker, are concerned for her welfare. They take it upon themselves to sniff out some clues on their own.

Interspersed with the murder mystery was a glut of small town politics, religion, and social class. Harry's pending divorce is a source of gossip, as is the upcoming wedding of the mayor's daughter. I enjoyed meeting Harry, her pets, and the other citizens of the town. They were a fun and lively bunch! Even other pets were well-characterized. Made me want to visit.

Favorite line:"'That government governs best which governs least', and this one has its tentacles into every aspect of life, every aspect. Terrifying. Why, they even want to tell us what to do in bed."
Considering this book was written a quarter of a century ago, this is frighteningly accurate!

Wonderful characters, fast-paced action, lots of intrigue and humor...and cats! Loved it!

Five stars:

*****

Book 113, 2016

I started an ebook last night, and I finished it this evening. It was A Prickly Predicament by Constance Barker. The story is listed as the first in the author's "Mad River" mystery series, but apparently there is a prequel I haven't read yet. That didn't affect this story, but it did contain spoilers for the prequel. Oh, well.

Shelby is a young woman living in Mad River with her sister Harriet, in the home they inherited from their mother. Shelby can see and communicate with the multitude of ghosts that call Mad River home, most of them from the Civil War era. When a pair of ghost hunters come to town, Shelby's spectral friends are understandably nervous, but when one of the ghost hunters is killed in an accident, things get really tense. The other ghost hunter claims a ghost killed his friend, and now the townspeople are clamoring for an exorcism. Shelby and her ghostly friends begin searching for clues as to what really happened, and they are aided by the ghost of the ghost hunter. Ha ha!

Fun, light story. Shelby's character was portrayed well enough, although others were a bit two-dimensional. Still, this was a novella, and it's early in the series, so I have hope that we'll learn more about the other characters in future installments.

Favorite line: I was as frustrated as Lee at Appomattox...

Better than average, four stars:

****