I am a Rita Mae Brown fan and enjoy all of her mysteries-although the last few have incorporated the alternate time lines which I find difficult to enjoy I hope she returns to the former format.

The 2019 mystery was what I was expecting from Rita Mae Brown. She gives just enough clues to keep reader actively trying to figure out “who done” it without making it too easy.
The two plot lines left me confused. I kept looking for clues and trying to figure out what the 1789 storyline worked into the 2019 storyline. I tried making the connection to the skeletons found and kept waiting for the correlation in the 2019 storyline. As the animals would smell old skin and I would keep reading through the 1789 storyline for mentions of the manuscripts and how it related back to the 2019 storyline. As I finished reading, I still had many questions about events that happened in 1789. The story felt unfinished.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Rita Mae Brown and Bantam Books for my ARC of Claws for Alarm: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery.

Again, Rita Mae Brown has melded two historical mysteries into one. I always learn new snippets of our history along with reading a fun mystery with interesting characters. Being from the West it is interesting to see what makes Southerners who they are. Keep the books coming, please.

Haristeen gets some assistance from her veterinarian spouse to solve the murder of a young equine vet whose death may be linked to his new clinic in this interesting mystery

I really do enjoy the slow amble of this series; the pets are always fun and the mysteries are intriguing. I really love the past narrative woven in and am always sad to jump back to present time. Additionally, I like getting that bit of history. Although, while I appreciate the new characters, I do miss the older ones like Miranda, Jones, and The Mims. And Harry’s other ex and Boom Boom!

Always a great read. The characters represented in the past have become my new favorite. They could stand their own series.

Another great mystery from Rita Mae Brown I have loved the Mrs. Murphy series from the beginning and it just gets better and better.

I was so excited to read Claws for Alarm early as have read and loved all of Rita Mae Brown's books in this series. This book did not disappoint. I have enjoyed the main human/ animal characters throughout the series and the introduction of the new ones in this story. I love the two periods of time and learning how they lived in the past. The story line kept me guessing who the murderer was until the end. I look forward to reading the next of this series when it comes out.

Thank you NetGalley and Bantam Books for This ARC.

You gotta love Rita Mae Brown's characters, especially the animals. The fact that you learn something about the history of Virginia is not bad either. Another mystery solved by the Crozet animals.

Rita Mae Brown returns with another cozy mystery including a tale from the historic past as well as a current murder of a veterinarian, followed in rapid order by another man and a leading citizen who curated a fantastic family collection of documents and letters.

Fair Haristeen, Harry's husband, finds that his supply of ketamine is missing from his veterinary truck. Other places, including a murder scene, are mysteriously missing their ketamine. Ketamine has a number of uses, and for veterinarians, it's a tranquilizer, but for humans, it is a date rape drug, and in large quantities, a murder weapon.

Candida Perez is found dead at her desk, having knocked over two boxes of documents as she passed away, apparently naturally. Harry is asked to assist in setting the documents to rights, organizing the letters by date, and watching for things that might not be as they should be.

Her devoted pets are also helping out, including a newcomer, Pirate, a wolfhound puppy. They note that some historic prints on various subjects smell strangely, but don't know how to convey this to their owner. It has to be solved soon, as a valuable historic home and its collections are part of a large estate left by Candida, and her children are fighting over it.

Who wanted it bad enough to murder their mother?

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

This is a new to me author but it will not be the last. Everything about this was screaming cozy and comfy and I loved every word.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Fair who is a veterinarian is asked to assist with a case where another vet was killed. He learned that medicine went missing from the deceased office. I liked the different characters in the book.

This story has a parallel structure of two plot lines, one in the present day of 2019 and another one in 1789. At the end of the book Rita Mae Brown lets the reader know that the eighteenth-century storyline is only tied into the present day by the fact that Percy Ballard is an ancestor to the twenty-first century Ballards. It would have been nice to know since the reader continually looks for a relationship to the present-day plot and never finds one.

Both story lines seemed somewhat underdeveloped, especially the one in 1789. There were hints of intrigue behind the scenes that was not clearly explained and several plot lines involving the slaves was left unfinished at the end.

The story begins with the murder of a young vet named Benjamin Wagner and progresses to the death of Candida Perez of apparently natural causes. At this point the first death takes a back seat to the 1789 scenes and the scenes with Candida’s children. Story scenes with favorite Crozet characters are minimal but Mrs. Murphy and the gang are ever present for the series’ fans.

Rita Mae Brown continues her writing style of an omniscient and distant third person POV for the people and a closer third person for the present-day animals. I would have liked to see more interactions with Harry and her husband Fair. They seemed more like place holders to bring the animals into the storyline. I missed the same level of personal interaction with the animals from the past with Piglet, Reynaldo, Sweet Potato, and others. This probably is a result of the eighteenth-century plot line leaning toward a political description of that time period and less a personal one..

The present-day plot does come to a satisfactory conclusion with several well-placed clues as to who the killer may be. I would have preferred that the present-day story be a standalone without the eighteenth-century storyline which deserved to be developed further and be a separate book.

Some fans may be disappointed in not seeing much of their favorite characters. The illustrations by Michael Gellatly are charming. I enjoyed reading this Mrs. Murphy Mystery and rate it a strong 3 stars out of 5.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bantam Books for my ARC of Claws for Alarm: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery by Rita Mae Brown.

In the past, I have read many of the books in the Mrs. Murphy series. (At least the first 12) Having attended college in Virginia, I felt a connection to the story which carried a special southern charm. It was very nice to reconnect with Harry, Mrs. Murphy, Tucker and all the book regulars.

I think the mystery was fitting to what I would expect in the series, however, I wished Harry was in the story more centrally. I did not enjoy the dual time line and felt that I would have appreciated more time being spend on our main characters and the investigation. I love how the dogs and cats work to get these mysteries solved and would have enjoyed spending more time with them as well. Sadly I felt some of the charm missing this time around. Having spent so many books away, I would have benefited from some more descriptions and explorations of Crozet. That part felt so rushed while the veterinarian details felt too elaborate.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bantam for the arc. I have given my honest opinion.

I received an advance copy of, Claws for Alarm, by Rita Mae Brown. I found this book to be quite interesting, I really liked the pictures in the book too. A good mystery.