Whiskers in the Dark

Death stalks the Blue Ridge Mountains as a centuries-old mystery resurfaces and murder mars the lead-up to an annual beagle competition,in a thrilling new tale from Rita Mae Brown and her feline co-author Sneaky Pie Brown. ΓÇ£As feline collaborators goyou couldnΓÇÖt ask for better than Sneaky Pie Brown.ΓÇ¥ΓÇöThe New York Times Book Review A massive norΓÇÖeaster has hit northern Virginiawhere Mary Minor ΓÇ£HarryΓÇ¥ Harristeen joins groundskeeping efforts at the National Beagle Club at Aldie as the date for its springtime Hounds for Heroes veteransΓÇÖ benefit approaches. HarryΓÇÖs fellow volunteersincluding her oldest friendSusan Tuckercomprise a spirited group of hunting enthusiastssome former service members themselves. But things take a sinister turn whenafter a routine tree cleanup along the ClubΓÇÖs hunting trailsretired foreign services officer Jason Holzknect is found deadthroat slit from ear to ear. Soon enoughanother murder in their midst jolts the preparationsconvincing Harry that the killer is familiar with the ClubΓÇöand must be close bymasked in plain sight. The intrigue extends to the grounds of HarryΓÇÖs beloved local churchwhere the identity of an eighteenth-century skeleton wearing precious pearls remains a mystery. The anonymous womanΓÇÖs neck had been snappedand marks on the grave where her body was secreted indicate that someone recently tried to remove itleading Harry to question how well she really knows those around her. As alwaysHarryΓÇÖs crime-solving cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewterand Tee Tucker the Corgi share her determination to sniff out the foes among friendseven those long buried. Harry will need her four-legged companionsΓÇÖ help more than ever: a ghostly beagle only they can see may hold the key to the culprit.