Wish You Were Here

 Shirley J.               Adult Fiction Murder Mystery                   Murder solving cat and canine

Wish You Were Here by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown   242 pages

Finally!   I lucked into the 1st book of a series!  This is book 1 of the Mrs. Murphy series which I will now be glad to check out more of.  Mrs. Murphy is a female tiger cat (a Ginger) and one of two beloved pets, the other a female Welsh corgi dog named, "Tucker," belonging to Mary Minor Haristeen, nickname, "Harry," living in Crozet, Virginia.  Lots of great characters here, Harry and her furry kids being my favorites.   Harry is going through a divorce with her philandering husband, but, at least it isn't ugly, just unfortunate.  Harry is a good soul, among other things the local postmistress of her small town who loves to read the postcards she sorts into locals' mail slots.   When postcards with famous people's gravesites start showing up, Harry notices they all say, "Wish you were here,"  then, oddly enough the recipients of said postcards end up murdered.   Too good a mystery not to speculate on and with a bent for amateur sleuthing and a pal in the local Sheriff, it is game on for Harry.   Her pets are already 3 steps ahead of her in their own investigation of things and with enhanced sensibilities of smell, they are one up on her and all the cops in town.   Mrs. Murphy, Tucker and their overweight neighbor cat, Pewter investigate murder sites and follow scent trails and more in their discovery of who done it.   Fun story.   I'm hooked.   Mrs. Murphy and Tucker are my new Stephanie and Lula.   On to book 2!   I recommend this one to murder mystery fans of all ages.   An enjoyable read with laugh out loud moments.