Murder at Monticello: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery

by Rita Mae Brown

Ebook, 2004

Status

Available

Call number

813.54

Series

Mrs. Murphy Mysteries (3)

Genres

Publication

Crimeline (2004), 320 pages

Description

Fiction. Literature. Mystery. HTML:Mrs. Murphy digs into Virginia history�??and gets her paws on a killer. The most popular citizen of Virginia has been dead for nearly 170 years. That hasn't stopped the good people of tiny Crozet, Virginia, from taking pride in every aspect of Thomas Jefferson's life. But when an archaeological dig of the slave quarters at Jefferson's home, Monticello, uncovers a shocking secret, emotions in Crozet run high�??dangerously high. The stunning discovery at Monticello hints a hidden passions and age-old scandals. As postmistress Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen and some of Crozet's Very Best People try to learn the identity of a centuries-old skeleton�??and the reason behind the murder�??Harry's tiger cat, Mrs. Murphy, and her canine and feline friends attempt to sniff out a modern-day killer. Mrs. Murphy and corgi Tee Tucker will stick their paws into the darker mysteries of human nature to solve murders old and new�??before c… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Darrol
For most of this book I did not like it. I am not fond of alternative history, even the mild form taken here. But there are some good thoughts on riches, social status and racism.
3 more
LibraryThing member miyurose
My second disappointing book in a row! What a bummer. I liked learning a little bit about Monticello and Thomas Jefferson, but the book was a little too focused on it. I read this series for the personal danger that faces the citizens of Crozet and how they come together to deal with it, and a
Show More
 mystery from 1803 didn’t do it for me. You do get that sense of danger eventually, but it’s past the halfway point of the book. And while I don’t normally mind the commentary offered by Mrs. Murphy, Tucker, and Pewter, the pages of them waxing rhapsodic about American history kinda crossed the line for me. I can buy them observing and making comments about human nature (you know, as much as I can buy that animals talk to each other in this way), but I can’t credit them with an extensive knowledge of historical fact. I’m sure I’ll read more of the books in this series, but I’m hoping we get back to the usual mysteries.
Show Less
LibraryThing member LibraryCin
This is the third book in this series. The pets in the series understand the humans and provide commentary amongst themselves, though the humans are unable to understand the pets. In this one, a skeleton is found, dating back to 1803, and it appears that the person was hit with something on the
Show More
 back of the head and murdered, so the townspeople are digging through history to see if they can figure out what happened. Part-way through the book, one of the current-day characters is also murdered.

I’m surprised I came up with a coherent summary, but I think it’s fairly accurate. That being said, I just wasn’t interested in what was happening in the book; when I lose interest, I skim and miss much of the goings-on. I assume both murders were cleared up at the end, but I couldn’t say for sure. The animals are somewhat cute/amusing, but even then, not always. I will not be continuing the series.
Show Less
LibraryThing member psalva
This is the third book in the Mrs. Murphy series and I find myself disliking it more as I go forward. This one, which centers around a historic victim found in a slave quarters at Monticello, is the hardest to like so far. Characters with sanitized/racist views of slavery in the U.S? Check. Trying
Show More
 to depict a nuanced view but being tone deaf? Check. I want to like this series but it’s been a downhill ride so far.
Show Less

Subjects

Language

English

Original publication date

1994

ISBN

9780553898637

Barcode

13571

More

Amazon.comLibraryThing
Page: 0.1032 seconds