Probable Claws

Written by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown

Narrated by Kate Forbes

Rita Mae Brown and her feline co-author Sneaky Pie Brown return with this twenty-seventh book in their bestselling Mrs. Murphy series, in which mysteries of past and present Albemarle County, Virgina continue to converge. "Harry" Haristeen and her friends and animal companions pursue the threads of a mystery dating back to Virginia's post-Revolutionary past, introduced in A Hiss Before Dying, while their 18th century predecessors continue to struggle with the challenges of the fledgling country. Harry's new friendship with Marvella Lawson, doyenne of the Richmond art establishment, will lead her back to her own artistic and academic interests, providing both personal pleasure and creative fulfillment-and new clues to current crimes!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 29, 2018
• ISBN: 9781501994722

Reviews for Probable Claws

[bbofje · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received a copy of Probable Claws by Rita Mae Brown from the LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program. I've read several other novels in the Sneaky Pie Brown series and this latest one didn't disappoint. I love how her petstale care of her.

[liscarey · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Let's start by saying that Mrs. Murphy (tiger cat), Tucker (corgi), and even new recruit Pirate (Irish wolfhound puppy) are amazingly patient with Pewter (fat gray cat). Just saying!

Harry Haristeen is working with architect Gary Gardner on improvements to her barn and workspace, and all seems as peaceful as it ever is around Harry. Then the illusion of peace is shattered as Harry, Gary, and Deputy Cynthia Cooper are standing outside Gary's office. A motorcyclist, completely obscured in bike leathers and an opaque helmet drives up, shoots Gary fatally, and drives away.

Cooper's sincere plea to Harry that she stay out of the investigation really just means Harry has to be more careful. And, really, the deputies would probably never have paid really close attention to Gary's stolen and recovered paper copies of the building codes for every jurisdiction he's worked in going back to his days at Rankin Construction...right?

But Gary's death is not the last--or, it turns out, the first. On Rankin's current construction site, a new building replacing one Rankin built--and Gary worked on--in the 80s, a body is found, dead from a very precise bullet, just as Gary was killed. Handwritten notes and dates in Gary's code books coincide with that death, and an earlier one that appeared to be just an early and unexpected heart attack.

Harry may be a little too eager to investigate herself rather than let the Crozet police do their jobs, and it's not always safe, but she is smart, observant, and attentive to detail. She also has her animals, whose noses and lower-to-the-ground view of the world pick up details she misses. And if usually they can't really tell her, they do sometimes manage to alert her to something crucial.

I really enjoyed this, even the bits set in 1786 and 1787, that don't directly bear on this story, they may have present-day repercussions in later Mrs. Murphy mysteries. All in all, this is an enjoyable mystery, and an enjoyable new entry in an ongoing series.

Recommended.

I borrowed this book from the local library.

[eawsmom · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was an okay entry in the "Harry" Haristeen series, although I found it harder to follow given that the story jumped back and forth between 1787 and 2017 without much connection. There were also some hints to the solution of the mystery which were never explained, which was confusing and frustrating.While I had figured out the method by which one of the victims was murdered, I felt the revelation and capture of the murderer came about very abruptly and almost as a letdown after many chapters of building up the mystery. The animals, as always, were key players in saving Harry's life and capturing the murderer, and I look forward to reading more about Pirate. I would recommend this book for long-time readers of the series, but it wouldn't be a good choice for a first-time reader. I received this book through the Library Thing Early Reviewers giveaway but that in no way influenced my opinion of it.

[ollie1976 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Having read several of these books in the series, I did not like the additional story and waiting for it to make sense. The antics of the animals continue to make me chuckle. The today story was interesting and had enough questions to make it a good mystery.

[squeex_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very quick read even with two stories going on through the book. I haven't read this series before, so don't know if this is normal for the series. It takes place in present time with "Harry" Haristeen and her pets who also have dialogue throughout the book. There is also a story going on in the later 1700's. Same area in Virginia. The mystery only seems to be going in present time. I am not sure what actually ties the two stories together, but maybe it doesn't need to. I think I enjoyed the past story a bit better. Having the two storylines going on spreads the book out as well as the mystery being solved. The mystery doesn't really have as big of an impact as is usual in cozy mysteries. I found I didn't mind it that much. I liked the characters, though the animal discussions was a bit disrupting at times. I will see about going back to the beginning of the series and see how that goes. This is obviously a well-loved series since this is book #27. I believe I can recommend this book and author. I will get back to you on the series as a whole.

[libri_amor · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I've always enjoyed the Mrs. Murphy Mysteries, and while a series, the books were standalone. When reference were made to the past, there was always a brief explanation. When I first read this book, I was confused by the two separate plot lines, with the only link being Harry's friend Susan's mother's pug chewed on a huge bone that had been in the family for generations. While the secondary, historical, plot was interesting it didn't tie into the main plot except for location. Imagine my surprise when I read the afterward by the author that I found out that this book was the second of an incomplete trilogy. All this being said, I enjoyed the overall book. I read many series, and while they all tie together in some way, most don't leave one of two entire plot lines hanging. Harry wrapped up the murders as usual with help from the 'kids'. Unless someone wants to go back and buy the previous book and wait for the next one to find out the outcome of the historical plot which will probably tie the characters to the modern day characters, similarly to the revelation of the origin of the pug's large bone, I wouldn't recommend this book as a standalone read.

[chazzifrazz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received this through the Early Reviewers giveaway.I've read a number of Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown mysteries and I thoroughly enjoy them. This one was a bit different as it was two separate stories progressing side by side under one cover, but in different eras.In the current day, "Harry" is working with Gary, a local architect, on designing a new work shed. It is just before the New Year and the area is picture perfect. That is until Gary is shot dead walking out of his office with "Harry." There is no obvious reason and the whole community is shocked. "Harry" becomes determined to find out who and why Gary is shot, and starts to dig through her friend's past, his records and past deaths that have occurred that just might be related.It is a good thing that she has her posse of pets to help and to keep an eye out, as "Harry" is out for results and is not paying attention to those who are watching what she is doing and have no scruples of stopping her in any way possible.The second story takes place in the post-Revolutionary Virginia. It seems that it could stand on its own. There is greed and deception in this story line, tying into the greed and deception in the current era story. I did enjoy reading this story line, but felt that there may be more to it. Reading an afterwards by the author, I found that is the second part to a possible three part. That the previous book was the beginning and that the next book will continue the story. Guess that means that I'll need to get those two books!

[delphimo_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

As a cat lover, I adore this series, but I do have a beef. Brown has too many animals and people, and too much conversation among the animals. The animals seem to act as a Greek chorus in explaining what is happening. Brown does use italics when the animals are speaking, but this disrupts the flow of the story. As usual, Rita Mae Brown utilizes her expertise is filling the book with lengthy and tedious information concerning some aspect of the story. The discussion of building and architecture went on and on, and lead to very little pertinent data. I enjoyed the jump back into 1787 and learning about the financial woes of the new country.

[draak_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

While I admit that this is my first Rita Mae Brown book I can say that it will be my last. Too many characters and the bouncing between the present and then the 18th century is just not my cup of tea. I was excited to read a book where the animals were present in the whole sleuthing but that was not the case in this book. All in all I did not enjoy this book. I received this from LibraryThing Early Reviewers for an honest review.

[thornton37814 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

"Harry" and Deputy Cynthia Cooper watch a motorcyclist gun down architect Gary Gardner. With little to go on besides the fact the motorcyclist wore a black jacket, the police are grateful for any clues--even those provided by Harry's pets. Gary kept building codes for each year, but the 1984 file seems to be missing, and when a skull halts construction at a building site, it dates back to that period. Eventually another murder occurs. The cats, of course, assist in capturing the guilty party.A late eighteenth century story line is also present. It depicts slavery, including ill-treatment by some, escape for some, and freedom for others. Much of this story line shows the attitudes of the plantation owners and their families toward the Constitutional Convention and what it might do to class distinctions. Two non-related story lines in different time periods does not work for me. I think I would have enjoyed either story on its own, but I simply saw no need for the eighteenth century story, which took up less space (about one-third of the book). The main story would "just get going good" when the older story interrupted its flow. I received this through LibraryThing Early Reviewers program with the expectation of an honest review. I have not kept current with this series, and I suspect the alternating story lines are why I made them low priority. While I will probably go back and try to read earlier missed installments, mainly because I love the cats, I will not rush to do so.

[sallylou61 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A local architect, Gary Gardner, is shot to death in the presence of Deputy Cynthia Cooper and “Harry” Haristeen by a masked motorcyclist. “Harry,” a central character in the Mrs. Murphy Mystery series, against the orders of the police, endangers herself by becoming involved in solving the murder with the help of her pets -- cats, Mrs. Murphy and Pewter and dog, Tee Tucker. Once again the story is located in the small town of Crozet, Virginia, although some scenes take place in Richmond. Although this is a work of fiction, a real person, Anne de Vault and her small Crozet business, Over the Moon bookstore are featured fictitiously. I checked with Ms. de Vault, and she knew ahead of time that she and her bookstore would be portrayed in the novel.Probably Claws includes stories from two different time periods, late December 2016 through late February 2017 and November 1786 through June 1787. As typical with the Mrs. Murphy series, the main characters, both human and animal, are listed at the beginning of the book. This is especially useful for this novel since there are numerous characters, particularly with the 18th century story concerning two plantations with free whites and black slaves on each. I often had to refer back to the list.The 18th century characters were apparently featured in the preceding novel in the series, A Hiss before Dying and will appear again in the book following this one. Thus, some readers may have already met those characters, and would not experience such an overload of characters as I did.I was a bit frustrated reading the book since in an exciting place in the current story, Ms. Brown shifts to the earlier story. 31 of the 46 short chapters tell the current story. Each story was interesting in itself, but I would have preferred to have only the current story told; it was whole in itself and not strongly connected with the earlier one. I continue to enjoy reading these Mrs. Murphy mysteries, especially since they are set in Crozet near where I live.

[bidwell9glaze · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was just about to stop reading Rita Mae Brown's Sneaky Pie Brown series. In his book, however, she finally got the alternating chapters between centuries to work, in my opinion. In previous books, I had found i necessary to read each century's story individually, and often struggle to find the connections. In this book, I don't care if there is a connection, as each stry feeds into the other based on emotional mood, even if the answers to one story's questions did not lie in the past century.

[koalamom_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Harry is meeting with her architect who is going to build her a new shed when he gets shot and off she goes to try and figure out why and who. As usual more havoc happens and she is determined to figure that out as well. Meanwhile we learn more the Garth family in 18th century Crozet.

[joannefm2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

"Harry" Harristeen lives in Crozet, Virginia with her veternarian husband Fair and her assortment of animals, including her felines Pewter and Mrs. Murphy and her Corgi Tucker. She has decided to build a new work shed and she's hired architect Gary Gardner, a good friend, to build it. But when she's standing outside his shop along with Gary and Deputy Cynthia Cooper, a motorcyclist stops and shoots Gary once then drives away. The bullet is perfectly aimed and he quickly dies from the wound.But who would want Gary dead? And why? When Harry - cautioned by Coop not to interfere - starts a little investigation on her own anyway, she's having trouble putting the pieces together. It isn't until another murder that she's finally able to figure it out, and even with the help of her faithful companions Pewter, Mrs. Murphy, Tucker, it may very well cost her her own life if she's not careful...This is the latest book in the Mrs. Murphy series, and as such, does not disappoint. Ms. Brown has a real talent for weaving the past and the present together without losing her readers in the process. The stories - one taking place in the present and the other in the 1700's - are seamlessly merged; and both tales are interesting enough that while reading of one century, you long to go back to the other.The tale in the 1700's tells of the original landowners in the area and how their families fared during that time; and often it connects with the present-day tale; but this time out we are going farther back - back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and how it still affects us in the present day.It is always interesting to see how far greed will take people, and the lengths they are willing to go to in order to acquire wealth. That can be said for both eras in the stories told; yet while the tales do not mirror each other, each is fascinating in its own way.The mystery was extremely well done, and the murderer was unexpected as well. There were several suspects, but if you watch the clues, it leads in but one direction. The characters are well-drawn, the scenery is highly descriptive, and I absolutely adore Harry, who is not your run-of-the-mill protagonist, but a woman who is not only smart, but strong, brave, and self-sufficient. It is easy to see why her husband Fair is enamored of her; this is a woman who can think on her feet (much like Catherine Garth) and stays calm in the face of danger.While we know Harry could not have solved anything without the help of the delightful (and egotistical) Pewter (as I feel I must give credit where credit is due), I have to say that I truly enjoyed reading this book as much as I have the others, and I look forward to the next in the series. Highly recommended.