Sign in with FacebookDrebbles's Reviews > The Big Cat Nap: The 20th Anniversary Mrs. Murphy Mystery
The Big Cat Nap: The 20th Anniversary Mrs. Murphy Mystery
by Rita Mae Brown
by Rita Mae Brown
When several of Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen’s friends have minor car accidents that end up with their cars needing major repairs, Harry becomes more than a little suspicious about the repair shop. Harry, being Harry, starts asking questions but before she can learn much, one of the mechanics is murdered. Soon the bodies start piling up and Harry is determined to find out what is going on. However, she needs to be careful or her curiosity may get her killed.
I used to read Rita Mae Brown’s Mrs. Murphy mystery books and enjoyed them, but I drifted away from the series several years ago, tired of the preachiness in the books. I won this copy of “The Big Cat Nap” and decided to see if the series had improved. Unfortunately, it really hasn’t. In this case it wasn’t the political issues that bothered me – although they do exist – Brown’s major target in this book is the auto repair industry (as well as her usual thoughts about farming). For me the problem with the book is that is just seemed lightweight. It was obvious early on who the bad guys were, even before the bodies started piling up. The writing is sloppy – too many times Brown explains things instead of showing them – for example, how many times do we have to be told that Harry is a motorhead? (Brown eventually did attempt to show that a little but by that point it just didn’t work for me). A car accident that is an important part of the plot is thrown in there thoughtlessly – almost as if it doesn’t matter to the plot – a scene with the terrified driver would have worked much better. At times Harry is far too trusting. Too often Brown seems to underestimate the intelligence of her readers by explaining something that readers can easily figure out on their own. Finally, while the animals, Mrs. Murphy, Tucker, and Pewter are usually the strong points of this series, they, outside of an incident in the cemetery, don’t really play an important part in this book. Instead, it seems like all they did was fight.
“The Big Cat Nap” is an okay book in what was once a good series.
I used to read Rita Mae Brown’s Mrs. Murphy mystery books and enjoyed them, but I drifted away from the series several years ago, tired of the preachiness in the books. I won this copy of “The Big Cat Nap” and decided to see if the series had improved. Unfortunately, it really hasn’t. In this case it wasn’t the political issues that bothered me – although they do exist – Brown’s major target in this book is the auto repair industry (as well as her usual thoughts about farming). For me the problem with the book is that is just seemed lightweight. It was obvious early on who the bad guys were, even before the bodies started piling up. The writing is sloppy – too many times Brown explains things instead of showing them – for example, how many times do we have to be told that Harry is a motorhead? (Brown eventually did attempt to show that a little but by that point it just didn’t work for me). A car accident that is an important part of the plot is thrown in there thoughtlessly – almost as if it doesn’t matter to the plot – a scene with the terrified driver would have worked much better. At times Harry is far too trusting. Too often Brown seems to underestimate the intelligence of her readers by explaining something that readers can easily figure out on their own. Finally, while the animals, Mrs. Murphy, Tucker, and Pewter are usually the strong points of this series, they, outside of an incident in the cemetery, don’t really play an important part in this book. Instead, it seems like all they did was fight.
“The Big Cat Nap” is an okay book in what was once a good series.
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read The Big Cat Nap.
sign in »
