Mrs. Murphy is Harry's extraordinary cat. Or is that the other way around? Does Harry belong to Mrs. Murphy? When a mystery abounds, it is usually the animals with the clear train of thought as to who the guilty party is and why.

Harry expects to mix business with pleasure when she attends the Saddlebred Show at the fairgrounds of Shelbyville, Kentucky. The entertainment isn't provided just by the horses. Renata DeCarlo, a beautiful actor whose career is fading, is performing on Queen Esther. Returning from the practice ring, Renata's performance on Queen Esther nearly matches the very public and vocal display when she breaks up with her boyfriend Charles Trackwell.

The fun is quickly leached when Joan Hamilton, Harry's friend, loses her grandmother's lucky ruby and sapphire pin. The secure clasp made it impossible that the piece of jewelry simply fell off, leaving the group of friends with only one possibility. They have a thief at the event.

That night Harry writes a quick note to Fair, her husband. She drives to the stables. The next time she sees these equines, depending upon how they stand in the competition, may be out of her market price. Jorge, the night watchman, is there. During their lively discussion a truck arrives. It seems a strange time, but Harry accepts Jorge's explanation that it is a feed delivery. The next day he denies to Joan that any delivery at all was made.

Renata's prized horse is stolen. With Queen Esther, Renata would have been taken as a serious contestant. Who would hate her that much? Charly, her ex, a man used to getting his own way? It seemed unlikely. And, how does somebody steal a well known three gaited horse in front of hundreds of witnesses? Before a proper investigation can begin, the event has a deathly turn. Renata finds Jorge's lifeless corpse in the hospitality room. Murdered.

In the backdrop of the horse show and the surrounding neighborhood, Mrs. Murphy and her team guide her bungling owners through the clues to find the answers to more than one mystery, more than one crime, and more than one criminal.

PUSS N'CAHOOTS by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown was a fun read. It fed my belief that our pets are more intelligent than we give them credit for. They, like Mrs. Murphy, may be able to communicate between species. The writers described details that quickly brought me into the scene. If you haven't read this series before, please, do not follow my example. Use the index of characters at the beginning. This is my first Mrs. Murphy mystery, and I cheated. I was so excited by the premise that I dived into reading the book. Imagine my surprise when Fair ended up being a human, not an animal, and a male. If however you're no better than me, you might get lost, you might get a little chuckle over your confusion, but you definitely won't regret reading the book.

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