Hounded to Death: A Novel - Hardcover

Brown, Rita Mae

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0345490266 ISBN 13: 9780345490261

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 2008

Synopsis

From New York Times bestselling author Rita Mae Brown comes the latest novel in her enthralling series of foxhunting mysteries. Richly imagined and utterly engaging, Hounded to Death reveals the cutthroat world of competitive hound shows as both humans and animals alike try to solve a series of bizarre deaths.

“Sister” Jane Arnold, esteemed master of the Jefferson Hunt Club, has traveled to Kentucky for one of the biggest events of the season: the Mid-South Hound Show, where foxhounds, bassets, and beagles gather to strut their champion bloodline stuff. But the fun is squelched when, immediately after the competition, one of the contestants, Mo Schneider, turns up dead–facedown, stripped to the waist, and peppered with birdshot. Universally detested by his peers, Mo had no shortage of enemies, making the list of suspects as long as the line for homemade pecan pie at a church bake sale.

Two weeks later, back in Virginia, Sister is rocked when her friend the popular veterinarian Hope Rogers dies from what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Sister refuses to believe that Hope killed herself and vows to sniff out the truth. But before she can make real headway, a wealthy pet food manufacturer vanishes during the granddaddy of all canine exhibitions, the Virginia Hound Show.

Ever reliant on her “horse sense,” Sister can’t help but connect the three incidents. And what she uncovers will make her blood run colder than the bodies that keep turning up in unexpected places.

Thrilling adventures with horses and hounds, breathtaking vistas, furry friends, familiar faces–including Shaker Crown and the girls from Custis Hall–Rita Mae Brown weaves all these elements into a dazzling novel of suspense.

About this title

About the Author

Rita Mae Brown is the bestselling author of a series of foxhunting novels–Outfoxed, Hotspur, Full Cry, The Hunt Ball, The Hounds and the Fury, and The Tell-Tale Horse–as well as the Sneaky Pie Brown mysteries and Rubyfruit Jungle, In Her Day, Six of One, and The Sand Castle, among many other novels. An Emmy-nominated screenwriter and a poet, Brown lives in Afton, Virginia, where she is also master of foxhounds of Oak Ridge Hunt Club.

From Booklist

Lusty, lively Sister Jane, Master of the Hunt and amateur detective, is back in her seventh book. No one other than Sister is worried when a thoroughly nasty hound breeder is killed, but Sister’s suspicions really kick into high gear when the local (and world-renowned) equine vet is found dead in her surgery, with one of Sister’s horses. Typical of this series (and the author’s Sneaky Pie Brown books), the countryside of central Virginia is as important a character as any of the large cast, and this time that lush landscape is explored by Sister and her fellow hunters as they prepare for the new hunting season. The slower pace of the investigation is offset by the character development and interaction between human, hounds, and horses; clever and snappy dialogue between humans and animals is interspersed with more philosophical discussions on the value of human and animal life. Hounded to Death, a solid and enjoyably entry in this popular series, will be snapped up by fans and draw in new readers. Anyone interested in rural sleuths, animals, Virginia, hunting, or horses will enjoy the engaging story, its countryside and its characters, all wrapped up in a high-quality modern cozy mystery. --Jessica Moyer

Edition details

• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0345490266
• ISBN 13: 9780345490261
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 304