From Publishers Weekly
The 12th novel in this bestselling cozy series from Brown and her feline collaborator (after 2004's
Whisker of Evil) offers the usual irresistible mix of talking animals and a baffling murder or two. After she decides to quit her job as the Crozet, Va., postmistress because her animal companions--cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter and corgi Tee Tucker--are no longer permitted to accompany her to work, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen and best friend Susan Tucker retreat to a Blue Ridge Mountains monastery, where a statue of the Virgin Mary suddenly begins to bleed from the eyes. This curiosity, which attracts national media attention after a local reporter, Nordy Elliott, files a short piece on it, becomes more of a concern when Susan's beloved great-uncle, a monk, turns up dead at the foot of the statue. While Harry, her two cats and her dog investigate, Elliott becomes the next murder victim, in a symbolic manner linked to the supposed miracle. Though the culprit's identity is fairly obvious and some exposition borders on the simplistic ("If a person's last name began with 'A,' their large package would go on the 'A' section," we learn as Susan sorts packages at the PO), the animals' wry observations on human nature and beliefs amuse as ever. Michael Gellatly's charming illustrations perfectly complement the text.
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Kate Forbes did an effective job reading several Jessica Fletcher MURDER, SHE WROTE audiobooks. Here she doesn't need to mimic the inflections of a familiar TV voice, though her deliberate vocal pacing is the same. The story features another set of incisive women coping with several murders, this time involving a remote monastery in the Virginia hills and a statue of Mary. There's a great deal of banter about food and men in the dialogue, which is marked by shaded characterizations. The cats and dogs indulge in similar chatter, understandable only to them (the conceit of this series). It's often cutesy--but the story also offers a charming setting and an unusual plot. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine--
Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
