This 16th book in the Sister Jane mystery series is yet another wonderful study in the finer points of humane fox hunting. The reader is proffered historic detail, descriptions of hunt practices, roles and manners of participants - all of which lays out the landscape of the fox hunt. One quickly discovers that there is a tremendous amount of effort and planning which goes into each hunt. The descriptions of the actual hunts are so beautifully detailed that one imagines that they're flying over fence and post alongside other riders. Add a a couple murders to the mix and you've got yourself a fun cozy mystery while hanging out with the hunting set. Kudos to Ms. Brown. If you are a fan of the traditional fox hunt, then this just might be the book for you.

I am grateful to author Rita Me Brown and publisher Ballantine Books for having provided a free copy of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, did not influence this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Publisher:‎ Bantam
Publication Date: November 12, 2024
Number of Pages:‎ 304
ISBN-13:‎ 978-0593873823

Another fun Sister mystery to add to the Rita Mae Brown collection! Set in the beautiful mountains of Virginia in fox hunting country, the latest book is full of hunting etiquette mixed with murder. Always an engaging read, the Sister books provide great entertainment plus an insight into another aspect of Southern culture.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Time Will Tell is an addition to the Rita Mae Brown Sister Jane Foxhunting series. I enjoyed it, like visiting with friends, and there is plenty of action as law enforcement, with the help of Sister, Aunt Daniella, Betty and other foxhunters, tries to unravel a mystery. There are a lot of clues from found items to three dead bodies but do any of them fit together to complete the puzzle? Surrounding the mystery we have the ongoing foxhunts and comments from the dogs and foxes. The main foxhunters all are speculating about what’s happening but no one really has a clue. The criminals are doing a wonderful job of staying under everyone’s radar. What will it take to bring them out? Are there only one or two of them or is this a widespread operation? More questions than answers right to the end.
I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Sister Jane Arnold is back again with another mystery to solve. This mystery includes stolen jewelry, an abandoned truck with blood inside and multiple dead people. Sister and her friends, human and animal have really stepped into a whirlwind of a mystery within a mystery.

Here is what I like about the Sister Jane books, the friendship of all the characters, the details included about fox hunting, and the conversations between the animals, hounds, horses and foxes. The author also included in this story some fascinating history about the area, the historic old homes and how the landscape of the area is changing fox hunting. Rita Mae Brown does an excellent job of telling a story, unraveling the mystery in a deliberate flow, clues unfold and the groundwork is revealed in a cunning manner. Smart, well-written, characters with depth, another thoroughly enjoyable read.

My sister told me about this author and I am very happy about that.

Full of wonderfully drawn characters and settings. I did not understand the hunt terms at all. But that did not stop me from enjoying the writing and the characters. Human and animal.

The words flow so well and I was captivated by all of it!


NetGalley/ RHPG November 12,2024

Another intriguing mystery that falls right into the lap of “Sister” Jane Arnold, when she unexpectedly finds an expensive watch out in an overgrown field. If you have read any of the other books by this author, you’ll know that “Sister” cannot ignore anything that is remotely resembles a mystery – even a lost watch. Soon thereafter, a dead body is found, and “Sister” is determined to solve the mystery of not only the abandoned watch but also the dead body.
There are numerous characters, as well as animals involved in this fast-paced, intriguing story. So many that at times I wasn’t able to keep track of everyone and the role they played in the story.
Although I have read one other of these books by this author, I forgot that fox hunting is a huge part of the story. I don’t know anything about this sport, or the terminology, so that was difficulty to follow. This will be the perfect book for anyone who is interested or participates in fox hunting. The sport is expertly weaved into part of the story.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.

American-civil-war, American-fox-hunting, amateur-sleuth, anthropomorphic, animals, humor, cozy-mystery, suspense, friends, friendship, pets, investigations, Virginia-history, historical-places-events, historical-research, small-town, rural, social-changes, social-issues, drugs-issues, human-trafficking, thefts, criminal-network, animal-narratives, vocational-training, reconstruction, unputdownable*****

Not an unbiased review because I love all the regional history, animal narratives, interesting characters, and solid investigation plot lines characteristic of this author.
November 2023. Set in Virginia where the state sport is Fox Hunting, and the state dog is Foxhound. Fortunately, there is an explanatory cast of characters at the beginning because there are so many verbal animals as well as humans! Another positive aspect of this author's writing is that it stresses the importance of caring for wild animals as well as the household variety.
The first sign that there is something wrong is the discovery of a $42,000 watch just off a side road. Then come the bodies and the multifaceted investigations into a variety of felonies probably not accomplished by area residents. The animals have a lot to say about things and are instrumental in finding clues and even saving a life or two.
I requested and received a temporary e-copy from Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Bantam via NetGalley. Thank you! Avail Nov 12, 2024
#SisterJaneBk16 #CrimeNovel #AmericanFoxHunting

Sister Jane continues in her country life with the characters that we have come to know and love over many books. This time starts out with the hunt experiencing wintry conditions on their outing, while we enjoy interacting with the animal characters, Aunt Nettie and Uncle Yancey, two red foxes. A coyote has taken the hunt on a rambling chase and come awfully close to Nettie's den, but she stays hidden and safe. Nettie has decorated her den for comfort and perhaps even a little instinct for decor. The idea of Nettie trotting through the countryside dragging home old clothes from donation bins is amusing.

When Sister Jane and Betty decide to switch to walking instead of riding, they head down a treacherous trail to support the huntsman while their horses are taken back to the barn by other riders. Sister Jane slips hard and finds she's just tripped over a watch, lying in the trail. It's a Rolex Submariner, a pricey model, and it's strange to find it in such a remote location.

Later, a young man is found dead. Is he connected to the watch? Whose watch is it? What's going on in the region now? It's no stranger to crime, as theft has been an ongoing problem, and of course, in every book, there's a death, sometimes a murder. What's come to the country now?

Time Will Tell is a cozy mystery set in fox hunting country. When a Rolex watch is the prelude to a body found on the side of the road, Sister is intent on solving the case.

It took me a while to find my groove into the story of this book. There were so many characters and so much was going on. This was my first adventure with Sister, and it seems it’s not the only book she has made an appearance in. I think had I read some of the other books before this one, I’d have been less confused throughout. There is a helpful guide to the characters in the beginning which I found was a helpful reference.

I’d like to thank Random House and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I hate to admit I’ve never read Rita Mae Brown’s mysteries and she has been on my to-read list forever. When NetGalley gave me a freebie of Time Will Tell I jumped at the chance. Sadly, not for me, but could definitely be for you.

The settings, characters and dialogue all felt authentic…something that isn’t the case for a lot of cozyish mystery series. I loved the way she incorporated animals into the story. I was much more interested in the characters than I was the actual mystery.

Ultimately, the world of fox hunting just wasn’t for me. I didn’t understand a lot of the hunt terminology and the hunt scenes kept pulling me out of the story. Totally a this reader thing, I can see why lots of other folks would love these books.

I have always loved Rita Mae Brown's work and this was no exception. Ms. Brown is a consumate storyteller and brings her characters to life easily and gracefully. Her descriptions of Virginia and the world of horses is stunning. I highly recommend her work.

As usual a great read by Rita Mae Brown. Fox hunting fun along with a who done it. We can always count on Sister and the gang for a rollicking good time

I love this series so much. Brown has a great way of story telling in a way that keeps me engaged throughout the book. I love the world that is created and the characters that pop up in the novel. I also can't help but praise the covers because each other is so great. I think this is a great book because of the lyrical writing and the way the story is constructed, paced, and told through Brown's writing. I highly recommend this one and to check out the others in the series.

Time Will Tell is another great book in the Sister Jane Arnold series. I have read both of the author's series (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries) and love both of them. There is really two parts of this book with the fox hunting and then the murders. I fox hunted when younger and so enjoy her descriptions of the hunts. Brings back many wonderful memories. The dialog between the hounds and the foxes just adds to the story.

The story opens with Adrianna Waddy, Master of Foxhounds, of the Bull Run Hunt and Sister Jane Arnold (MFH) of the Jefferson Hunt trying to set-up a joint meeting. It is decided that they would get together in December. Sister Jane, Betty Franklin, her best friend and whipper in, Weevil, huntsman, Tootsie Harris, other whipper-in are walking up Hangman's Ridge with some of the hounds. They come across Clytemn (Cly) a very large and mean cow and her large son, Oretes owned by Cindy Chandler of Foxglove Farm. They have escaped their pasture. They started to back up but the cows followed them. It was decided that Betty and Weevil would take the hounds back to the farm and Sister and Tootsie would try to get the cows to follow them back to Foxglove Farm. Sister had the hunting horn which Cly knew and blew it to get the cows to follow her. Betty called Cindy to let her know about her cows and to meet Sister with some grain which she did. and got the cows back into the barn, On the way sister stubbled and fell and found a men's Rolex which she put into her pocket and later took home with her.. What was it doing on the north side of Hangsman Ridge? While waiting for Betty to pick her up, Cindy invited them in for some tea. When home, Sister showed the watch to her husband, Gray Lorillard.. retired from Washington, D.C.'s most prestigious accounting firm. He is still called in for consultations. Sister is still trying to figure out how the watch got there.

Trevor Goodall is found dead on the side of the road on I-64. He had been shot in the head. Trevor came from a good country family but was the black sheep and his father, Harrison Yoder disowned him. His grandmother, Birdie Goodall, took care of him. Ben Sidell, police chief went to tell her about Trevor's death. He was puzzled why it happened. Walter Lungrum, M,D,,the other MFH for Jefferson. and Sister went to pay their respect to Birdie,

Wolverhampton Estate has just been bought by two sisters, Veronica and Shelia. Veronica has rented the apartment behind Katherine's store so she can oversee the restoration, Veronica, who hunts with Bull Run decides to go out with Jefferson, After the hunt breakfast sister meets Veronica who tells sister that she can hunt on her land,

While hunting, the hounds come across human blood and follow it to an old truck. Weevil calls the dogs back and goes to check and sees that there is a lot of blood. The hunt goes back to their trailers and call Ben to go and check it out. Ben finds that the truck had been stolen two weeks ago and had been reported. He spoke to the owner, who lived in Orange, He used the truck for short deliveries.

Birdie calls Ben and asks him to come to see her. She received a box filled with money ($48,000) with a note. Ben took the money and would return it back to her.

Yvonne Harris, Tootsie's mom, owns Beveridge Hundred, She is walking with her daughter in the cemetary behind her place. They find what looks like a new grave and calls Ben who comes but the ground is too hard to be a be a new grave. While out hunting Betty finds a body of a woman. She has Katherine contact Ben.

Betty and Sister are walking on Sister's property when they come to the bridge and find a bag with an Omega watch inside. The letter, "J" is inside of bag. They take the bag and plan to give to Ben. Peter, the cororner, tells Ben that the third body found is the same MO as Trevor. His name is Jocelyn Janvis. He is the man who bailed out the three men who attacked his two officers.

There is talk that Veronica and her sister might be planning to sell Wolverhampton as Veronica is not sure she wants to stay because of the murders. Sister, Betty, Tootsie, Yvonne, Freddie and Alida go to Wolverhampton for a tour, Betty while there sees a book on foxhunting and decides to take it to read. When she opens it she finds that the inside had been cut out where watches or jewelry could go. She shows it to Sister.
Sister can't believe she took the book,

At the Bull Run Hunt meet Betsy takes the book and puts it back into Veronica's truck. When Veronica sees it she realizes that someone knows about the smuggling, She knows it has to be one of the ladies who were at her house. While having a good run, Sister's horse, Madador looses his shoe so she has to go back to the trailers. Veronica says she will go back with her. When they get out of sight of the hunt Veronica pulls a gun on Sister and tells her to go into the woods. In the meantime Katherine and Danielle Laprade (Gray's 94 year old aunt) have decided to come back to the farm as they didn't want to get lost driving around with the hunt. Sheila is driving the car. They see that Veronica is trying to kill Sister by hitting her horse so that he runs and she almost hits a tree branch, She falls off her horse and tries to get up. Veronica goes after her. Aunt Danielle pulls out her gun and shoots Veronica who dies. She also shoots Sheila who drives away, Sister has broken her ribs in the fall. Katherine and Aunt Danielle almost get back to the trailer. The hunt has returned to the trailer and see the three woman on the hill. They realize that something is wrong and go to help them, Sister is taken back to the Walter's trailer and he bandages her up. With all of the excitement, Sister forgets to tell Adrianna about Veronica. She and Lynn go out and find her as well as the horse is still standing there.

the book ends with everyone back home and at Aunt Daniella's house. Ben tells them that Sheila has been caught and arrested. She has a lawyer and upon hearing about her sister's death, she admits to the smuggling but said she did not have anything to do with the 3 deaths.. Sister believes that Veronica was the killer. Sister decides to take Veronica's horse and give it a good home.

I totally enjoyed the book and the reader will also with all the twists and turns to the exciting ending. There was so much going on it was hard to put all on paper. All the characters that make up the Jefferson Hunt club become a family to you. I look forward to the next book in Sister Jane series as well as Mrs. Murphy.

Thank you NetGalley and Bantam Books for this ARC.