Tall Tail - Mrs. Murphy, Bk 25 Author:Rita Mae Brown, Sneaky Pie Brown At any moment a perfect summer day in Crozet, Virginia nestled within the Blue Ridge Mountains might turn stormy and tempestuous, as Harry knows too well when a squall suddenly sweeps in. In a blink, Harry s pickup nearly collides with a careening red car that then swerves into a ditch. Harry recognizes the dead driver slumped over the vehicle s... more » steering wheel: Barbara Leader was nurse and confidante to former Virginia governor Sam Holloway.
Though Barbara s death is ruled a heart attack, dissenting opinions abound. After all, she was the picture of health, which gives Harry and her four-legged companions pause. A baffling break-in at a local business leads Harry to further suspect that a person with malevolent intent lurks just out of sight: Something evil is afoot.
As it happens, Barbara died in the shadow of the local cemetery s statue of the Avenging Angel. Just below that imposing funereal monument lie the remains of one Francisco Selisse, brutally murdered in 1784. Harry s present-day sleuthing draws her back to Virginia s slave-holding past and the hunt for Selisse s killer. Now it s up to Harry and her furry detectives Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tee Tucker to expose the bitter truth, even if it means staring into the unforgiving eyes of history and cornering a callous killer poised to pounce.« less