Furmidable Foes
Spring arrives in northern Virginia, and as the ground thaws and the peonies begin to bloom a bright magenta, the women of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church prepare for a Homecoming celebration like no other. Harry, Susan Tucker, and their friends are busy planting flowers and trimming hedges to get the church grounds in shape for the big day.
But a note of a menace mars the beautiful spring: The brewery owned by Janice Childs and Mags Nielsen, two members of the gardening committee, gets robbed, with hundreds of dollars in merchandise taken off their delivery trucks in the dead of night. Is this the work of a random thief? Or is something more sinister afoot?
When Jeannie Cordle drops dead at a charity auction, poisoned by a fatal weed, Harry’s worst suspicions are confirmed: a killer lurks in their midst, one with a keen understanding of poisonous plants. Although she can’t yet prove it, Harry knows the murder is related to the thefts at Bottom’s Up Brewery.
With help from her feline sidekicks, Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, as well as Tee Tucker the corgi and sweet puppy Pirate, Harry sets out to find the weed in St. Luke’s garden—and stop a killer before they can strike again.
Series: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery – Book #29
Author: Rita Mae Brown
Genre: Cozy Mystery/ Pets
Publisher: Bantam/Random House
Page Count: 304
Rating: 
The 29th installment in the “A Mrs. Murphy Mystery” pet series from acclaimed author Rita Mae Brown comes Furmidable Foes. Published by Bantam/Random House.
First off, I would like to say that I would have given this book a higher rating if it had contained a few things I felt were missing. Characters in this series, Harry and friends, as well as the talking pets, are well established. And that in and of itself is one of the problems. They may be so well established that a new reader will not be able to understand the different personalities and habits. Unfortunately, there is no background given for this book. Unless the reader has read the other 28 books in the series, they are unlikely to become vested in the characters, location, or the mystery.
I enjoy a story within a story, and I found the story of the slaves set in 1787, Virginia, very enjoyable. However, I did not feel that their story was resolved well enough. I would have been happier reading a book based solely on the slave mystery far more than the story of the modern murder. I found the talking pets entertaining but would have liked them to have more involvement throughout the book. I did not feel there was any real police investigation or evidence, red herrings, or genuine twists. I thought the killer was fairly obvious and the motive as old as the Virginia hills.
When a series has run as long as this one has, it is easy to forget that the audience has grown older, and new readers have come aboard. It’s easy to write beloved characters without a thought as to who will be reading the story. After all, writers get to know their characters so well that they think of them in everyday terms, and as such, they forget that readers may not have a clue who these people are. A list of characters at the beginning of a book is no excuse for not devoting at least a chapter to describing who the returning characters are in relationship to the story. Unfortunately, I feel that this series has become stale. Avid fans will, no doubt, love this book. However, a new audience may find it too overwhelming, filled with references they don’t understand, and with nothing to spark their interest. Unless it is all the talking pets, animal lovers will relate to this aspect more than anything else.
A little more effort in educating the audience would go a long way to making this book far more interesting. When I read the book, the term “phoning it in” came to mind, and that is something I will never like in any publication. Furmidable Foes could have been quite enjoyable, characters and pets are quirky and spunky. The garden sounded lovely and was described beautifully. I wish I could go back and read the other books in the series just so I could better understand what was going on in this addition, but… who has time to read 28 books just to catch up? Even in quarantine, I don’t have that kind of time!
Other enjoyable cozy series readers may want to pick up include Erica Ruth Neubauer’s historical adventure “A Jane Wunderly Mystery” or perhaps Gin Jones’ delightful debut in the “A Garlic Farm Mystery” series.
About the Author:
Rita Mae Brown is a New York Times bestselling author, activist, and screenwriter. A writer of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry, Brown is the author of over 50 books that have been translated into eight languages. With razor-sharp wit, Brown gives entertaining and enlightening talks about her writing and advocacy throughout the years.
Since her debut, Brown has continued to write literary fiction while also venturing into other genres. She is the recipient of two Emmy nominations and the Writer’s Guild of America Award for best television variety show. Brown is also the author of numerous mystery novels, including the New York Times-bestselling Mrs. Murphy series, which she writes with her feline co-author, Sneaky Pie Brown, and the beloved Sister Jane fox-hunting novels, which most recently featured the new title Crazy Like a Fox. She has also written poetry and nonfiction.
An animal-lover and humane hunter, Brown is a Master and Huntsmen of Oak Ridge Foxhunt Club (where she does not kill foxes) and has hunted with the Waldingfield Beagles, the oldest beagle pack in America. She lives in Afton, Virginia, on a farm with her pet cats, hounds, horses, and big red foxes.
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