As an avid fan of the Mrs. Murphy series I am very disappointed in this book. I normally cannot put these books down when a new one comes out, but I find myself struggling to finish this one. There are too many conversations concerning the woes of the world and the new characters introduced are not nearly as entertaining as some of the original characters who seem to have disappeared from Crozet. Also there is hardly any input from Mrs. Murphy, Tucker, or Pewter and really no detective work going on by the animals. For the first time its like they are only bystanders in the story instead of main characters. This book lacks the small-town charm of the earlier ones and Harry's character is nowhere near as dynamic as she used to be. I just hope Ms. Brown can get back to the original Mrs. Murphy style in her next book.