Fox Tracks by Rita Mae Brown, 2013, Ballantine Books, $15.00, softbound, 293 pages. Cover: good. Category/Genre: Mystery. Where we got it: publisher. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
'Sister' Jane Arnold becomes embroiled in another murder mystery when she befriends a man who is later shot; the man, a tobacco shop owner, is found by Sister and her friend Tootie, with a pack of American Smokes on his chest. The shooting repeats itself in Boston, sparking Sister's curiosity and causing her to investigate the matter.
Meanwhile, Sister's nemesis, Crawford, is making even more of a nuisance of himself than usual. He's luring landowners to his side by offering them much-needed services they could not otherwise pay for. If this keeps up, Sister and the rest of the Jefferson Hunt foxhunters will have nowhere they are allowed to hunt.
An intriguing mystery with well-loved characters and a surprising ending. Fans of Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown's Mrs Murphy mysteries will enjoy the dialogue among the animals in this series.
If you like this one, try: Outfoxed, by Rita Mae Brown; and Wish You Were Here, by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown.
Rita Mae Brown can be found at Rita Mae Brown Books, Facebook, and in this Time article.
Nine Lives to Die by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown, 2014, Bantam Books, $26.00, hardbound, 253 pages. Cover: like it. Category/Genre: Mystery. Where we got it: publisher. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
Combine mystery with Virginia flavour and add likable characters (both human and animal), and you have a Mrs Murphy story.
This particular tale has the intrepid tabby trying to help solve an old murder. When Mrs Murphy, Pewter, and Tee Tucker come across a gold bracelet, they don't think much about the fact that it was recently wrapped around the wrist of a skeleton. But before long, the animals find out their human, Harry Haristeen, has a stake in solving the mystery of just how that skeleton came to be on her property.
There's also a fresh murder, with the victim missing two fingers. Until the fingers show up in a pencil holder at Harry's church . . .
The barbs between Tee Tucker, a corgi, and Pewter, a grey cat, do get a bit rough -- so if you want to read about animals who get on, this may not be the series for you.
Note: strong language.
If you like this one, try: Sneaky Pie for President, by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown.
Rita Mae Brown can be found at Rita Mae Brown Books, BrainyQuote, and Facebook.
Sneaky Pie Brown can be found at CatPrez.com, Twitter, and Facebook.
Police Procedure and Investigation by Lee Lofland, 2007, Writer's Digest Books, $19.99, softbound, 368 pages. Cover: pretty cool. Where we got it: bought it. Where you can get it: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million.
This is a guide for crime writers, and it's excellent. There's all sorts of information, from an overview of law enforcement in America, to courts and the legal process, to autopsy, to arrest and search procedures.
Lofland lists courses recruits have to take in the police academy, gives diagrams of different law enforcement hierarchies (police department, sheriff's office, and so on), gives readers an idea of what it's like to be a detective (he was one himself), and tells what prisons and jails are like.
If you're at all interested in writing about law enforcement, this is the book to have.
If you like this one, try: Armed and Dangerous: A Writer's Guide to Weapons, by Michael Newton; Code Blue: A Writer's Guide to Hospitals, including the ER, OR, and ICU; and Private Eyes: A Writer's Guide to Private Investigators, by Hal Blythe, Charlie Sweet, and John Landreth.
You can find Lee Lofland online here: The Graveyard Shift, Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, WritersPoliceAcademy.com, and CriminalJusticePrograms.com.
