| Outfoxed | | | | Outfoxed ludicrous. |
| | | | Me? I liked the core of the story which concerned |
| Category: Fiction / Mystery | | | | the Jefferson Hunt Club and its master, Jane |
| 409 pages; ISBN: 0345428188 | | | | "Sister" Arnold, trying to stay alive financially |
| I first heard about Outfoxed on the Rita Mae | | | | through the next century. Though still spry and |
| Brown Yahoo! Club list, how for the first time | | | | cognizant when it comes to matters of the hunt, |
| ever she had written a mystery story that did | | | | the septuagenarian Sister realizes that a |
| not incorporate her famous feline detective, Mrs. | | | | successor must be chosen to eventually replace |
| Murphy. Truthfully, I was elated, and not because | | | | her. Problem is, the two candidates are 1) a |
| I don`t like the Mrs. Murphy series (I do like the | | | | coke-snorting womanizer; and 2) an egotistical |
| books), but I thought it would nice for once to | | | | jerk who thinks he can buy his way into the |
| read something different from Ms. Brown, and I | | | | position (not only that, but he`s - gasp - a |
| admit I found the fox hunting tack appealing. Since | | | | Yankee!). |
| I live in the Tidewater area of Virginia, about two | | | | When one of these two is murdered, Sister takes |
| to three hours east of where the novel is set, I | | | | it upon herself to track the killer, not only to |
| believed that would appeal to me as well. | | | | preserve the dignity of the club and its members |
| Mrs. Murphy is nowhere to be found in this story; | | | | but to settle her own score with the criminal. |
| however, we are treated instead to a chorus of | | | | Seems a being of the four-footed variety is also |
| dialogues between foxhounds, foxes, | | | | a victim in this crime, and Sister does not take |
| domesticated animals, two-foot high owls, crows | | | | too kindly that, either. |
| with bad attitudes, and horses struggling under the | | | | As far as the mystery goes, it happens late and |
| girth of heavyset fox hunters. The woodsy area | | | | is wrapped up rather quickly for my tastes. The |
| surrounding the Jefferson Hunt Club, in Ms. | | | | key to enjoying Outfoxed lies in being patient and |
| Brown`s interpretation, sounds like an enchanted | | | | enjoying the detailed descriptions of the hunt as |
| forest from a Disney film. Therefore, I`ll tell you | | | | commandeered by Sister Arnold, a true, strong |
| right away that if you found the Mrs. Murphy | | | | character typical of Brown`s pen. |
| books silly because of this device, you`ll think | | | | |