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TAIL GATE
by Rita Mae Brown
Bantam, May 2015
334 pages
$26.00
ISBN: 0553392360


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Mrs. Murphy, Pewter and Tee Tucker return in their twenty-fourth book to help "Harry" Haristeen solve a most puzzling case. A well-known history professor from the University of Virginia is found murdered on the golf course. At first glance, the crime seems unthinkable. Why would anyone want to do in a well- liked professor? Just when Harry and her animal friends start investigating, another alum whose life has literally tumbled into the gutter confesses to the murder. Seemingly the most unlikely of murderers, people are stunned.

I have read most of the twenty-five books penned by Brown and her tiger cat Sneaky Pie. (In addition to the twenty-three books in the Harry Haristeen series, Sneaky Pie also made a run for president in a book slipped in between series books and helped Brown write a cookbook.) For many people, it is hard to take a series seriously when nearly half of the main characters are animals. People with that mind set might be quite surprised at what Brown accomplishes within these books. Yes, there are a lot of animals who manage to communicate with each other, track down clues and one way or another nudge their humans towards those clues. And over the course of the series, the number of both animals and species present has increased considerably. But Brown traces her ancestry to the First Families of Virginia and her knowledge of the history of Virginia, the surrounding area and of the Revolutionary War is extensive. She uses that knowledge in this book that is set in both modern day and the Revolutionary War era.

The book is a tale told from two very different times. The present day story recounts the murder of the professor and includes considerable material about football and golf. The historical tale revolves around a landowner with two daughters, three of his slaves, plus an American captain in the Revolutionary War, a British lieutenant and some of his soldiers who are captured with him and held in an American prison camp. The story slides back and forth with ease leading readers to an understanding of how history can play out in lives a couple of hundred years later. It is worth noting, in the book the prison camp is located near Charlotte, Virginia but a note from the author at the end of the book places the actual camp in York County, Pennsylvania.

While there are some animal antics in this and other books in this series, this is also a well written book containing a major thread based during the Revolutionary War era. The author makes both the modern and the historical settings come alive for readers. Fans of the series should be pleased with TAIL GAIT. People who have not read any of the previous books should be able to enjoy the book without feeling lost because of the lack of the back story. One might wonder why all of the animals are included, but just go along with it and enjoy.

§ Caryn St.Clair resides in University City, Missouri and is a former elementary school media specialist, President of the Parks Commission and a docent at the St.Louis Zoo.

Reviewed by Caryn St Clair, May 2015

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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