HOUNDED TO DEATH

TITLE: HOUNDED TO DEATH
AUTHOR: RITA MAE BROWN
Pages: 276
Date: 08/08/2009
Grade: 4
Details: no. 7 Outfoxed series
Own

This was the book I was reading when this weekends Mystery Read-a-Thon started.
For me it was the first book in this series. For some reason books by Rita Mae Brown are hard to find in Ireland. When I saw this book in Amsterdam last May and remembered how much I had enjoyed the few "Sneaky Pie Brown" books I read years ago, I just couldn't resist.
And, I don't regret buying and reading the book at all. I do think though that I might have enjoyed the read more if I had read the previous books.
The main character in this series and book is "Sister" Jane Arnold, master of the hunt in Virginia. She has travelled to Kentucky for a dog show when one of the contestants is murdered. The victim was universally despised, and his murder goes unmourned.
That is different when a few weeks later, back in Virginia, a very popular vet is found dead. The signs appear to indicate suicide, but Sister is sure the vet was murdered and intents to investigate the matter.
Then a wealthy pet food manufacturer disappears and Sister is convinced that the three cases are somehow connected. Getting to the bottom of things means that Sister will have to face some ugly truths about the victims and about other people she thought she knew and liked.
I liked this mystery and the characters in it, and should I find other books in this series, I will bring them home with me to read.
Some people might not like the way Brown puts her political views into this story, but it doesn't bother me at all, and it doesn't happen too often.