Whisker of Evil

Rita Mae Brown · Sneaky Pie Brown

Jan 2008 · Recorded Books · Narrated by Kate Forbes

About this audiobook

A mysterious death in a Virginia farm town has the locals scratching their heads-while frisky feline Mrs. Murphy and her friends, fat-cat Pewter and corgi Tee Tucker, uncover clues as they curl their way around a cold-blooded killer. This balmy summer in Crozet, Virginia, postmistress Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen has a lot to think about. Things have been pretty cozy between her and her ex-husband, Fair and her beloved old post office is in danger of being replaced with a modern building-and modern rules. Harry's thoughtful contemplation is shattered the day she stumbles over a dead body near Potlicker Creek. Barry Monteith, the handsome local horse breeder, has been savagely murdered. A true ladies' man, Barry was known to have left a string of broken hearts behind him. But could a spurned lover be responsible for his untimely demise? The plot only thickens when an autopsy reveals that Barry was infected with rabies weeks before he was killed. As usual, Harry can't resist doing a little digging-with Mrs. Murphy close by to warn of approaching danger. Harry makes a remarkable discovery in the creek-the class ring of Mary Pat Reines, a local woman who disappeared thirty years earlier along with her prized Thoroughbred stallion. Like Barry, Mary Pat was a successful horse breeder-and now all of Crozet is wondering if the two cases are linked. As the police struggle with the evidence, the pressure gets hotter than a June afternoon-especially when another person is found dead of less-than-natural causes. As usual, Mrs. Murphy and her crew are the first to sniff out the truth. But if they don't find a way to help Harry piece together the puzzle, she could become the killer's next target-and even Mrs. Murphy's slinkiest moves won't be able to save her.

About the author

Rita Mae Brown was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania, on November 28, 1944. She received an associate's degree from Broward Junior College in 1965, a B.A. in English and classics from New York University in 1968, a Cinematography Degree from the School of the Visual Arts in 1968, and a Ph.D. in English and political science from the Institute for Policy Studies in 1976. She was the writer-in-residence at the Women's Writing Center of Cazenovi College and a visiting instructor teaching fiction writing at the University of Virginia. After publishing two books of poetry, she published her first novel, Rubyfruit Jungle, in 1973. Her works include The Hand that Cradles the Rock, Sudden Death, Venus Envy, Loose Lips, and Rita Will: Memoir of a Literary Rabble-Rouser. She writes the Mrs. Murphy Mystery series and Foxhunting Mysteries series. She also writes screenplays and teleplays including Sweet Surrender, Room to Move, Table Dancing, and The Long Hot Summer. Her work on TV earned several Emmy nominations and she received the Writers Guild of America Award for Best Variety Show in 1982 for I Love Liberty.