Homeward Hound

September 24, 2018
A serial killer may be loose in Virginia hunt country in bestseller Brown’s intriguing 11th mystery featuring Jane “Sister” Arnold, Master of Hounds of the Jefferson Hunt Club (after 2017’s Crazy Like a Fox). Joining the club’s traditional Christmas hunt is Gregory Luckham, the president of a giant energy company based in Richmond, which has plans to run a pipeline though the pristine countryside. When a blinding blizzard arises, Luckham disappears in whiteout conditions right off the back of his horse. A search is undertaken, and a body is discovered in the snow. Surprisingly, it isn’t Luckham. Then another rich and powerful man disappears. Weeks later, pieces of Luckham begin showing up in hunt territory. Sister Jane and her compatriots, including the foxes, hounds, and horses, do what they can to catch the culprit, as long as nothing stands in the way of the hunt. The killer’s motive may be unconvincing, but readers will be charmed by Brown’s endearing characters, animal and human, all of whom are given to philosophizing on the state of the world. Agent: Wendy Weil, Wendy Weil Agency.

November 1, 2018

Despite a blizzard threat, "Sister" Jane Arnold, Master of the Jefferson Hunt in Virginia, won't call off the annual Christmas hunt. The presence of Gregory Luckham won't stop it either. Luckham's energy company has proposed running a pipeline straight through the heart of foxhunting country. And although there's opposition from local property owners wealthy enough to sue the company, Luckham is welcomed to ride with the others. When the snowstorm hits unexpectedly, everyone except Luckham returns to their trailers. A search is mounted, but instead of Luckham, it's a local man who's found murdered. With the help of her friends, Sister and the town sheriff try to track down the killer. However, the most knowledgeable among the group suspect the murderer may be a member of their hunt. The list of characters in the front of the book is essential for keeping straight the names of hunters, horses, hounds, and foxes in this latest "Sister Jane" entry from best-selling author Brown (Crazy like a Fox). VERDICT Only fans of Sister and the series will care enough to pick up this mystery. [See Prepub Alert, 4/19/18.]{amp}mdash;Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN

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November 1, 2018
A fox hunting-focused community's search for a missing energy company head leads to a surprising discovery and further mystery.Shifting this series (Crazy Like a Fox, 2017, etc.) from mysteries with a fox-hunting background to celebrations of fox hunting that include a mystery, Brown begins her latest with a Cast of Characters that includes almost 30 humans; American foxhounds; horses; foxes: red; foxes: gray; birds; and pets; with an additional five pages of Some Useful Terms of fox hunting lingo. This litmus test will help readers decide in advance whether they'll love or loathe the story, which shows members of the Jefferson Hunt unraveling the mystery of a guest who's disappeared from their Christmas Day outing. Jane Arnold, the 70-something Master of Foxhounds for the Blue Ridge group, is surprised when her friend Ronnie, the club treasurer, mentions that he's bringing Gregory Luckham on their latest hunt. Luckham has been a controversial figure as the head of Soliden, an energy firm building a pipeline that will be environmentally iffy and will also affect local property values--two big no-nos with most of the hunt crowd. The horse Luckham's been riding shows up solo when it's time to load up, but with snow-blind conditions, there's no way to look for the rider. When the others regroup to search for him, they can't believe what they find: no sign of Luckham but the murdered body of someone else. What follows is a mix of fox hunting and looking for Luckham, though the possibility that he's alive becomes less likely with each passing hunt. The characters are developed through hunt members' commentary on newer member Tootsie's potential romance and through the bickering between animals less interested in mystery than their own cunning and sass. The biggest mystery may be the climax, which skims over the wrongdoer's denial of a second crime in a wasted opportunity for a twist.The mix of well-established characters from previous series entries combined with a focus on the pomp and circumstance of fox hunting may not win many new readers; this is aimed at those in the fox-hunting and adjacent horse-fancying worlds who can appreciate Brown's eye for accurate details throughout.

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