This is a comfortable cozy mystery centered around the world of fox hunting and while there are times that Rita Mae Brown explains the art and science behind fox hunting a little more than most people might be interested, none the less, it was a good mystery and a fun read."Sister" Jane, the 72-year-ld master of the foxhounds has more than her usual duties in this book. She has finally named her co-master and gotten one of her wealthier members named president (a better position for him that co-master) of the club, but the squabbling doesn't stop there. One of the members has hired the alcoholic brother of another to take care of his horses. The man, Sam, has been through detox and it seems to have worked but there are still hard feelings between the former drunk and one of the other members. Meanwhile, two of Sam's former associates end up dead -- and it appears to be murder. The hounds track their foxes while Jane goes after the human predator or predators in an intricate weave of greed, jealousy and violence. A good story with many twists and turns.
Out of the 3 Rita Mae Brown books I've read, I think I liked this one the best. Though she started out a little preachy (as usual), she seemed to let up towards the end and let the story tell it itself instead of forcing agendas into every nook and cranny. The publisher's description of the book is just wrong. Sam Lorillard is not killed in the book. There are 3 murders, and he isn't one of them. That kind of threw me off for a long time because I kept expecting him to die and he never did, plus one of the books I've read supposedly took place after this and he was alive in that book. So I thought Brown had screwed up and forgot she killed him off.
Do You like book Full Cry (2004)?
For some reason this book felt 100 pages longer than the previous one, probably because there was less about the mystery & more soap opera. As much as I love the VA fox hunting scene & the wonderful way Brown describes it, there was too much preaching & I'm in the choir. If you want to know what real fox hunting is like, Brown does describe that well.It was the realism of the actual murder mystery bits that really hurt this novel for me. The end fight, the reason & setup for it were particularly weak. (view spoiler)[If Clay was scared & wanted to get away, why would he ride up & grab hold of Sister's horse & then fight her? Wouldn't he do just what the other two did & ride off? What did Sam saying something to X have to do with Sister? (hide spoiler)]
—Jim
