Tall Tail: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery

At the start of bestseller Brown’s disjointed 24th Mrs. Murphy mystery (after 2015’s Tail Gait), farm owner Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen is nearly run off the road by nurse Barbara Leader, the caregiver for ailing 96-year-old Samuel Holloway, a former Virginia governor. Barbara’s car comes to a halt, but Harry finds her dead behind the wheel. The subsequent discovery of a lethal drug in Barbara’s system intensifies concern about the former governor’s safety for Susan Tucker, Harry’s friend and Holloway’s granddaughter. The political ambitions of Holloway’s state senator grandson, Edward Cunningham, who’s Susan’s cousin, complicate matters. Flashbacks to the 18th century illustrate episodes of abuse and cruelty that may have significance in the present, where a break-in at a website developer deepens the puzzle. Though readers may be enraptured by an 18th-century corgi named Piglet, poor construction relegates vital details to an afterword instead of incorporating them into the narrative. Agent: Wendy Weil, Wendy Weil Agency. (May)