Mrs. Murphy Mysteries

Mrs. Murphy Mysteries is a long-running book series by Rita Mae Brown. The stories focus on a postmistress named Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, and her pets tiger cat named Mrs. Murphy, a corgi named Tee Tucker, and a fat grey cat named Pewter, who actually originally belonged to the local market owner during the first seven books. All of the stories involve a series of murders occurring, usually when newcomers start appearing in the town of Crozet, Virginia. Harry usually tries to solve the mystery of the murders herself, despite warnings from friends and the local police. Her pets are usually one step ahead of her in solving the mystery.

Tropes used in Mrs. Murphy Mysteries include:

• Always Murder: Although other crimes are involved as well.
• Animal Talk
• Ascended Extra: Pewter, was a very minor character in the first three or four books. Not becoming as involved in the stories as Mrs. Murphy and Tucker until Book 5, "Murder, She Meowed", in which she actually starts living with the main characters.
• Aesop Amnesia: Harry never learns to just mind her own business, and not venture into strange places where a killer is known to lurk. Amazing she's even still alive by the 3rd book.
• Asshole Victim: At least one of victims is not a very nice person.
• The Beautiful Elite: All of the recurring characters in this series are beautiful, fit and appealing to members of the opposite sex. Even if they didn't start out that way.
• Berserk Button: Murphy and Tucker do not like being left home alone, especially if they had planned to do some undercover work. If Harry leaves her pets by themselves, she's sure to return home and find her home ransacked.
• Big Eater: Pewter
• Big Fancy House: The wealthier citizens of Crozet have huge, beautiful houses, and there are a lot of wealthy people living there.
• Butt Monkey: Pewter. Of the human characters, Harry's ex-husband, Fair, tends to be the butt of many insulting comments. Little Marilyn is also rarely respected by her political parents.
• Cats Are Superior: Mrs. Murphy and Pewter certainly think so. As does the supposed co-authoress, Sneaky Pie.
• Comic Book Time: Four books equal one year, and each book represents a season.
  • Which leads to Fridge Logic, as the series began in 1990, and theoretically the most recent books should take place around 1993 or so. Yet the most recent books make reference to things such as "economy troubles", and movies that came out in the late 90s/early 00s.
  • This can be explained by some things in the 4th Pay Dirt (1995) and 5th Murder, She Meowed (1996) books - one of the biggest being that Rita Brown makes references to current events of the mid-90's and with no actual calendar dates in most of the books aside for the months and days and season it could be possible the books are actually set in the mid/late 90's and thus the 15th Puss n' Cahoots (2007) and 16th The Purrfect Murder (2008) books could be taking place in the early 2000's, when the economy began a down turn in the world, depending on how you read them.
• Comic Trio: Murphy, Tucker and Pewter.
• Detective Animal: Mrs. Murphy.
• Exposition Victim: Harry almost becomes one during the very first book.
• Heroic Dog: Tucker has saved Harry's life time and time again by bravely attacking her assailants. Actually, come to think of it, the cats tend to do the exact same thing. In one book the murderer actually incapacitates Tucker and ends up being attacked when she goes to kill Harry in her barn anyway because she ignored the cats.
• Holier Than Thou: Harry's neighbor Mrs. Hoggendobber starts out this way in the first few books, but then mellows down.
• Hollywood Pudgy: Pewter is supposed to be an obese cat. The book illustrations depict her as being only slightly larger than Mrs. Murphy, however.
• Les Yay: Occasionally, Murphy and Tucker act this way, despite being a cat and dog respectfully. Of the human characters, Harry and her best friend, Susan, might qualify. Hell, Harry tends to spend more time with Susan than with Fair (talking about after they re-married).
• Long Runner: This series began in 1990, and is still going.
• Mystery Magnet: With the crime rate what it is, why would anyone move to Crozet?
• Never One Murder: Ever, ever, ever.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: "Boom-Boom" is almost always identified or addressed as such. Her real name is Olivia Craycroft. Then you have the lead character Mary Minor Haristeen, who is always called "Harry". Haristeen is actually her married name, and Fair's surname. It's obvious when and how she got the nickname.
• Put on a Bus: Mrs. Hoggendobber
• Retcon: As the series has progressed from the first novel, some of the explanations for things have mutated, including the reason for the divorce, the remarriage, and the way she obtained Mrs. Murphy.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: Harry
• Southern-Fried Genius: Almost everyone is very intelligent as well as beautiful.
• Take That, Audience!: Rita Mae Brown, writing as her cat Sneaky Pie Brown, usually writes intros and closings to each story, often mocking humans for their obliviousness and stupidity.
• Well Done Daughter Girl: "Little Marilyn" Sanburne is this way with her parents, who are the joint mayors of Crozet.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Harry really doesn't think sometimes when she plays Murder, She Wrote / Nancy Drew