[Mrs. Murphy 13] • Cat's Eyewitness

**The Barnes & Noble Review**

Feline fanciers and mystery mavens alike will be glad to hear that bestselling author Rita Mae Brown has teamed up with her feline coauthor, Sneaky Pie, for another cunningly plotted, pet-assisted investigation. In this 13th Mrs. Murphy Mystery, miracles and malice are entwined with local legend.

Under a lot of stress this Thanksgiving, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen desperately needs some time to think. The new no-pets mandate at work has forced her into leaving her beloved job as postmistress. And she can't quite decide what to do about her straying ex-husband's request to forgive him and take him back. She loves the man, and she's promised him an answer by Christmas -- but should she risk her heart again?

Much in need of perspective and the peace of private prayer, she and her animal companions (Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tee Tucke) drive through an escalating winter storm to the Blue Ridge Mountains, site of a famous statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary that overlooks the Shenandoah Valley above a small monastery. Local legend has it that the statue has shed tears to herald great crises -- once in 1914 and again after the attack on Pearl Harbor. So Harry is understandably chilled by more than wind and sleet when she sees tears of blood marking the Blessed Virgin's face!

But those tears are only the first enigma. As the monks strive to keep news of this would-be miracle under wraps, a report leaks out, unleashing speculation, spite, and scandal. And when an elderly monk is found dead at the statue's feet, Harry and Mrs. Murphy are caught up in the most mysterious investigation of their lives. *Sue Stone*