PUSS 'N CAHOOTS

Murder at a horse show is catnip for feline sleuths Mrs. Murphy and Pewter and their canine sidekick, Tee Tucker.

While Harry Haristeen, her veterinarian husband Fair and their pets (Sour Puss, March 2006, etc.) are enjoying the prestigious Shelbyville, Ky., Saddlebred show with their friends Joan and Larry of Kalarama Farm, Joan’s valuable diamond pin vanishes, and their groom is found with his throat cut. Movie star Renata DeCarlo, the unlucky gal who finds the body, seems more upset that her mare’s gone missing during a move from trainer Charly Truckwell’s barn to Kalarama. But Harry suspects the mare’s disappearance is a publicity stunt cooked up with help from trainers like Booty Pollard, a 40-ish dandy with a penchant for snakes and a pet monkey named Miss Nasty, and the hungry young up-and-comer Ward Findley. When the INS raids the show in search of illegals, Ward’s truck is blown up, causing confusion and acrimony among the fiercely competitive trainers. In the meantime, the canny cats and the brave Corgi, following a running battle with Miss Nasty, have sniffed out the groom’s killer. The glitzy five-gaited open-stake event provides thrills, another death, and finally the answers to Harry’s many questions.

Not the Browns’ best mystery, but fans of the cunning animal sleuths will enjoy their antics and the spot-on descriptions of the horse-show circuit.