Book 22, 2023

[chez_jae]

Santa Clawed by Rita Mae Brown

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



We're in the midst of an ice storm, which is not a nice storm. LOL! Boss texted this morning to tell me to stay home if I didn't feel safe driving in. I replied I'd put in at least a half day, and that's what I did. Since I had the afternoon off I was able to finish reading Santa Clawed, which is the 17th book in Rita Mae Brown's "Mrs Murphy" series. I wish I'd read it in December, but I sure wasn't going to wait until next Christmas to pick it up.

Mary "Harry" Harristeen loves the holidays, but this Christmas is much less jolly when she and her husband, Fair, go to pick up a live tree sold by the monks of the Brothers of Love and find one of the order has been murdered. While the police try to determine if someone in Brother Christopher's past would be seeking revenge, another brother is murdered in the same fashion. Harry can't help but be curious, even though Fair and the local police tell her to leave well enough alone. When her pets lead her to a mysterious box filled with money, Harry gets knocked cold by an unseen assailant. Now she's right in the thick of things, and just in time for Christmas.

I powered through this book. It was one of the shorter ones in the series, but it was quite gripping. Nothing was making sense, which just escalated the tension. I enjoy the series, and the characters are so three-dimensional that it's like visiting old friends each time I read one of the books. The pets and various livestock and wildlife are fully realized as well, adding a whimsical touch to the stories.

Favorite lines:
♦ "We have thousands of years of evidence from every civilization this world has produced that no form of restraint, no punishment, can really alter the fact that people are going to have sex, whether with a socially approved partner or not."
♦ "At this point, you'd screw up a two-car funeral."

Engaging and thought-provoking--five stars!

Comments

[wpadmirer]

I've read some of her mysteries and enjoyed them. She's a good writer.

[chez_jae]

I've only read her books in this series, but I enjoy them immensely.