Sour Puss - Rita Mae Brown

Rita Mae Brown and her feline partner-in-crime-detection,
Sneaky Pie Brown, return to the scene of their bestselling crimes-picturesque Crozet,
Virginia. Love is in the air as spring comes to the small town, but no sooner has
Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen remarried than she is rudely interrupted-by murder.
And no sooner does the trouble start than curious cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, along
with corgi Tee Tucker, sink their claws into the case.

After an unexpected rekindling
of their romance, Harry and her veterinarian ex-husband, Fair Haristeen, have happily
remarried. But the excitement of their nuptials is quickly overshadowed by the murder
of Professor Vincent Forland, a world-famous grape and fungal expert who was in town
visiting the local vineyards.

Within days of giving a lecture on how distilled fungus
and cattle diseases are the current basis of chemical warfare, Forland's decapitated
body is discovered.
After their initial fright, the residents of Crozet believe
that this was a political murder and settle back into their routines-until a local
is also found dead, killed in the same gruesome manner as Professor Forland. Now
residents can't help wondering, is this really the work of anoutsider-or one of
their own?


No longer working in the post office, Harry had just planted a quarter
acre of grapes, which fuels her natural curiosity over just what the two murder victims
knew and had in common.
Once the warmth of spring arrives, the grapevines blossom
and Harry's furry entourage discovers the first critical clue. But how can they show
the humans what they've learned? And how can they-or anyone-stop the killing?