Overview
As Master of a prestigious hunt club, Jane Arnold, known as Sister, is the most revered citizen in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountain town where a rigid code of social conduct and deep-seated tradition carries more weight than money. Nearing seventy, Sister now must select a joint master to ensure the club's future. It is an honor of the highest order--and one that any serious social climber would covet like the Holy Grail.When the competition flares up between two determined candidates, Southern gentility flies out the window. Soon the entire town is pulled into a rivalry that is spiraling dangerously out of control. Even the animals have strong opinions. But when opening hunt day ends in murder, Sister is stunned. Now, with the help of a few clever foxes and hounds, she must lay the trap to catch the killer.
A murder mystery among the fox hunting set in Virginia. The victim is one of two candidates for the post of master of the foxhounds. The post is being vacated by the present master, 70-year-old Jane Arnold, and it is she who nabs the killer.
Synopsis
From the bestselling author of the landmark work Rubyfruit Jungle comes an engaging, original new novel that only Rita Mae Brown could have written. In the pristine world of Virginia foxhunting, hunters, horses, hounds, and foxes form a lively community of conflicting loyalties, where the thrill of the chase and the intricacies of human-animal relationships are experienced firsthand--and murder exposes a proud Southern community's unsavory secrets. . . .
As Master of the prestigious Jefferson Hunt Club, Jane Arnold, known as Sister, is the most revered citizen in the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountain town where a rigid code of social conduct and deep-seated tradition carry more weight than money. Nearing seventy, Sister now must select a joint master to ensure a smooth transition of leadership after her death. It is an honor of the highest order--and one that any serious social climber would covet like the Holy Grail.
Virginian to the bone with a solid foxhunting history, Fontaine Buruss is an obvious candidate, but his penchant for philandering and squandering money has earned him a less than sparkling reputation. And not even Sister knows about his latest tawdry scandal. Then there is Crawford Howard, a Yankee in a small town where Rebel bloodlines are sacred. Still, Crawford has money--lots of it--and as Sister is well aware, maintaining a first-class hunt club is far from cheap.
With the competition flaring up, Southern gentility flies out the window. Fontaine and Crawford will stop at nothing to discredit each other. Soon the entire town is pulled into a rivalry that is spiraling dangerously out of control. Even the animals have strong opinions, and only Sister isable to maintain objectivity. But when opening hunt day ends in murder, she, too, is stunned.
Who was bold and skilled enough to commit murder on the field? It could only be someone who knew both the territory and the complex nature of the hunt inside out. Sister knows of three people who qualify--and only she, with the help of a few clever foxes and hounds, can lay the trap to catch the killer.
A colorful foray into an intriguing world, Outfoxed features a captivating cast of Southerners and their unforgettable animal counterparts. Rita Mae Brown has written a masterful novel that surprises, delights, and enchants.
From the Hardcover edition.
Romantic Times - Toby Bromberg
Rita Mae Brown, an experienced fox hunter, paints an entrancing, informative picture of the Virginia sporting life in Outfoxed. As with her Mrs. Murphy stories, there are many animals in this one, and hounds, foxes, and horses all take a hand at crime solving. The book does have a flaw in that it takes more than half the story to get to the crime and this may cause readers to put the book down without finding out what went wrong with the hunt.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Hunt for a Killer FoxIn her latest, Rita Mae Brown takes us into a realm few of us can imagine, that of the deeply embedded traditions and rigid rules of conduct that thrive in the prestigious Jefferson Hunt Club. Jane "Sister" Arnold, an expert hunter who understands animals as well as she understands people, has been master of the hunt club for decades and has earned the respect and loyalty of the small Virginia community.Now in her 70s, she knows she must plan for the hunt club's future and nominate a joint-master -- a position of the highest honor in hunting society. One some would kill for.
Sister, along with a few other humans and animals, has caught a glimpse of what appears to be the grim reaper lurking about the fields, and whether the sighting was a hallucination or a sign that he's coming for someone -- maybe her -- she knows she has to decide on a joint-master soon. Her two top choices are as different as night and day. Fontaine Buruss comes from a strong Virginia bloodline and was raised in the tradition of foxhunting, but his reputation for keeping mistresses -- while not keeping an eye on his finances -- could jeopardize the image of the club. Crawford Howard, a successful Yankee businessman more interested in what the club's prestige could do for his career and societal standing than in foxhunting itself, offers another element any successful club needs -- a whole lot of money.
The anxiously awaited decision has ignited a conflict throughout the membership, unearthing old grudges, family ties, betrayals, and the dark underside of the history -- as well as the recent past -- that haunts the seemingly pristine club. And while the decision ultimately rests with Sister's good judgment, the opinions on the future leadership of the club run deep. Nobody knew just how deep until the opening day of the hunt season leaves one member dead, with another unknown member the killer. Still, no one is more sly than Sister, who, with the help of the foxes and a pack of hounds, is determined to expose the murderer and set things right at Jefferson Hunt Club.
More than just a top-notch murder mystery, Outfoxed is a fascinating jaunt through a society rich with tradition, a world where honor and social position are not determined solely by money but also by adherence to a code of conduct and family loyalty. The complex structure of this realm is something few writers could describe with any authority, much less make the backbone of a gripping mystery novel. But if anyone could do it, it's Rita Mae Brown, herself a world-class foxhunter who rides with a prestigious Virginia hunt near her home in Charlottesville. With painstaking detail, Brown has crafted a mesmerizing world that is centuries old in its traditions but brought face to face with the modern world of drugs, money, sex, and power.
Although in Outfoxed Rita Mae Brown takes a break from the Mrs. Murphy mysteries she coauthors with her tiger cat, Sneaky Pie, we can guarantee feline fans that you'll like it. As always, her glimpses of the world through the eyes of animal characters make her tale even more compelling -- and this book has so many animals to choose from, you can't lose! Brown enthralls the reader with her ability to show how the ins and outs of hunting society are understood by the hunters and animals alike -- all the way down to the crow who tips off the hounds on where to find the fox. But more important, her animals give us humans a second look at ourselves, revealing Rita Mae Brown's keen understanding of human nature. Clearly, that understanding is what makes her novels so unforgettable, and Outfoxed is no exception.
—Elise Vogel
Toby Bromberg
Rita Mae Brown, an experienced fox hunter, paints an entrancing, informative picture of the Virginia sporting life in Outfoxed. As with her Mrs. Murphy stories, there are many animals in this one, and hounds, foxes, and horses all take a hand at crime solving. The book does have a flaw in that it takes more than half the story to get to the crime and this may cause readers to put the book down without finding out what went wrong with the hunt.— Romantic Times
Publishers Weekly
Set in Virginia's foxhunting country, Brown's latest, anthropomorphic mystery will appeal mainly to devoted fans of her animal-centric Sneaky Pie novels (Cat on the Scent, etc.). Jane Arnold, septuagenarian master of the venerable Jefferson Hunt, is preoccupied, Lear-like, with the question of succession. Whom should she train as joint-master of the foxhunting club: the philandering lightweight Fontaine Buruss, or the philistine Yankee millionaire Crawford Howard, who promises to save the club from financial ruin? While the two unworthy candidates vie shamelessly for the post, Jane (known locally as Sister, despite her matriarchal stature) must also cope with the personal travails of other club members, especially the Franklins, whose two beautiful daughters have become "coke whores." Then, in the middle of the season's opening hunt, Fontaine is found murdered, a fate that rattles Sister not half so much as the simultaneous discovery of a murdered red fox. As the foxes note appreciatively in their subterranean parallel universe, "Sister is one of us"; they also pontificate on human nature, the environment and other species ("Groundhogs have no sense of aesthetics"). Horses, foxhounds and Sister's pet cat Golliwog also hold forth for chapters at a time (Golliwog on why she reads Sister's books: "It's the best way to enjoy an uninterrupted conversation with the best human minds from any century"). Brown, herself a dedicated Virginia foxhunter, clearly knows her fascinating terrain, as well as her steely, charismatic protagonist. But few grown-up readers will buy her depiction of the animal kingdom as a benign world in which furry critters chatter philosophically, while bumbling humans commit savage acts. Author tour. (Jan.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.Library Journal
Best-selling author Brown (Rubyfruit Jungle; Venus Envy) places her newest intrigue in the middle of Virginia fox-hunting country. When 70-year-old Jane Arnold, master of the prestigious Jefferson Hunt Club, sees the grim reaper crossing a field, she knows that it's time to choose a joint-master to secure the future of the club. The two rivals for the position are Crawford Howard, a crude Yankee outsider with money greatly needed by the club, and Fontaine Buruss, a popular local with good Southern manners and a taste for women and cocaine. On opening day, one of these candidates is murdered, and Jane realizes that the culprit is a club member. Though the plot moves somewhat slowly, anyone interested in fox hunting will be pleased with the clarifications of hunting terms and the descriptions of the hunters themselves, who range from nature lovers to social climbers. Brown fans and animal lovers will also enjoy. For all public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/99.]--Patsy E. Gray, Huntsville P.L., AL Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.From the Publisher
"COMPELLING . . . ENGAGING."--People
"A rich, atmospheric murder mystery steeped in the world of Virginia foxhunting . . . Rife with love, scandal, anger, transgression, redemption, greed and nobility, all of which make good reading."
--San Jose Mercury News
"A SNAPPY MYSTERY. . . . [BROWN] DOES A MASTERLY JOB OF PUTTING YOU IN THE SADDLE."
--The Baltimore Sun
From the Paperback edition.