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Gran Leon Books - Santa Clawed (Thorndike Press Large Print Basic Series)
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List Price: $33.95
Our Price: $27.16
Your Save: $ 6.79 ( 20% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Thorndike Press
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781410409294
Format: Large Print
ISBN: 1410409295
Label: Thorndike Press
Manufacturer: Thorndike Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 323
Publication Date: 2008-11-04
Publisher: Thorndike Press
Studio: Thorndike Press
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Editorial Reviews:
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New York Times bestselling authors Rita Mae Brown and her feline partner, Sneaky Pie Brown, are back for the holidays in a new mystery featuring Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen, the sleuthing cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and corgi Tee Tucker. Can they save the season from a killjoy who’s decided to gift the festive little town…with murder?
As Harry well knows, there’s hardly a place on earth cozier than Crozet, Virginia, at Christmastime. The snowflakes drifting lazily down, the soft glow of the winter light, the sound of old carols in the streets…even cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter get into the spirit batting ornaments and climbing the holiday tree. In fact, it’s this year’s tree that Harry and her husband, Fair, have gone to fetch when they find the one they’ve chosen grimly decorated with a dead body.
The tree farm is run by The Brothers of Love, a semimonastic organization that tends to AIDS patients. The brothers live in a monastery atop the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains. Harry is surprised to find an old high-school friend associated with The Brothers of Love. Christopher Hewitt wasn’t a bad man, but good works weren’t exactly one of his priorities. But then, if even Scrooge could turn over a new leaf, certainly Chris could. And after the scandal that all but destroyed his life, there were probably few in Crozet who needed the gift of a second chance more.
Harry knows she shouldn’t take it personally, but it was her tree that someone left the corpse under. Now, as the season grows merrier, a murderer is growing bolder. One by one, prominent men of Crozet are being crossed off Christmas shopping lists and added to the morgue. And if Harry and her four-legged helpers aren’t very good—and very careful—this Christmas may be her last.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating: 
Summary: Too predictable
Comment: I thought this one was way too predictable. I could see the ending coming a mile away. I'm glad the author did a better job of keeping her opinions to herself in this book. I hope the next book is a little more "mysterious"! I still like the characters and the rural setting but the ending was just too obvious.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Santa Clawed
Comment: I always enjoy the Sneaky Pie Brown books. They're a fun read and the characters are like family. I've recommended the series to many people and pass my books around.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Finally something like she used to write!
Comment: I have liked Rita Mae Brown's Mrs. Murphy series from the beginning but her last few books have left me hugely disappointed and almost ready to give up on her, but this book has reedeemed her. I love holiday books and since Christmas mysteries seem to be the current trend it doesn't surprise me that Brown has jumped on the bandwagon. While this is not the best of the holiday cat mysteries (I prefer Shirley Murphy's Cat Deck the Halls) it is certainly one I will read on a yearly basis.
The plot in short leaves the religious organization, Brothers of Love, short several members during the holiday season as they appear to be targeted by a murderer in their midst. What I really liked about this books is that I never guessed whodunit. Usually I am quite sleuthy and can figure it out, but Brown caught me completely off guard with this one. Our beloved main character, Harry, cannot keep her amateur nose out of the case and winds up a little worse for wear as she assists her friend, Sheriff Deputy Cooper in solving the mystery.
I liked that Brown made the book center more around the animals, as they have seemed to go by the wayside in her two previous books. I also liked the fact that she has stopped using her books as political forums, as that got very old very fast. However, most of the other usual cast of characters have disappeared. Miranada Hogendobber, a favorite of mine, has a very small part in this book as does Big Mim, who as the Queen of Crozet usually plays up quite prominently in the book.
I realize as this review goes on it sounds like I didn't really like the book. I did because as I mentioned before, Brown did not make this book like a political forum as she has done in the previous two novels. However, for the price of the book it reads very quickly. I hope that Brown continues to write more books like this (though a bit longer might be nice) and brings the Mrs. Murphy series back to the quality it used to have.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Christmas mystery!
Comment: I loved her latest book. Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tucker once again save their mom and help solve the mystery. It is a great story just in time for Christmas--she makes you feel like you are sharing the season with Harry and her family. Rita's descriptions of the snow fall is so fun and real. We live in the mountains of New Mexico, with weather similar to Harry's weather--the snow was falling here as it was in the story. It is a great mystery for the holidays, with the dates accurate for 2008, which made it so realistic. All cat mystery lovers should grab this book and read it!
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Christmas time read
Comment: I haven't read one of the Mrs. Murphy mysteries in a while and once I read this book it took me right back into the love I have for this mystery series. It is a great, easy read for the mystery lover who also loves animals and the relationships they have with the humans they love. A wonderful Christmas time flair built in. The use of characters is, as usual, brings you right into the book and makes you not want to put it down. As always, with Ms. Brown's books, a delight to read.
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