To celebrate the twentiethanniversary of the beloved Mrs.Murphy mystery series, Rita MaeBrown and her intrepid felineco-author Sneaky Pie Brownreturn with a charming claw- biting tale starring Mary Minor“Harry” Haristeen. Of courseprowling faithfully at Harry’sside are the sleuthing cats Mrs.Murphy, ever wise, and Pewter,reliably cranky and always primed with a razor-sharp quip.Fiercely loyal and on the alert,corgi Tee Tucker is also never farbehind. This time, Harry and hermenagerie throw a wrench intothe gears of a killer of grease monkeys.It’s mid-May, and Crozet,Virginia, is heating up fast, or soit seems to Harry. The town’sbeloved ex–post mistress isnever idle, dividing her time between raising this year’sbounty of crops; taking care ofher veterinarian husband, Fair;indulging her passion for classiccars; and adding further to herreputation as a nosy neighbor. It starts when Harry’s dearfriend Miranda Hogendobbertakes her on a leisurely drivethat ends in a narrow drainageditch. The chaos continues whenthe Very Reverend Herbert Jones’s Chevy pick-up alsoabruptly goes kaput. But thesevehicular mishaps are nothingcompared to the much moredistressing state of a mechanicdiscovered by Harry in a local repair shop: His head’s beenbashed in.Despite numerous warningsfrom her much-loved coterie offriends, human and otherwise,Harry rather quickly surmises that the time has come to popthe hood and conduct her owninvestigation. Her animalcompanions see disaster fastapproaching but can do littleexcept try their best to protect their foolishly intrepid human.Harry’s race to the truth leadsstraight to powerful forcesdetermined to avoid scrutiny atany cost—even if it meansrunning Harry Haristeen off the road for good.