• Murder at Monticello

  • A Mrs. Murphy Mystery
  • By: Rita Mae Brown
  • Narrated by: Kate Forbes
  • Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (258 ratings)

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Murder at Monticello

By: Rita Mae Brown
Narrated by: Kate Forbes
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Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author Rita Mae Brown partners with her feline coauthor Sneaky Pie to give listeners a rollicking mystery in Murder at Monticello.

The citizens of quiet Crozet, Virginia, are about to have their small town turned upside down by a shocking discovery. After an archaeological dig reveals a skeleton under Thomas Jefferson's Monticello home, forgotten passions and bitter controversies are re-ignited. When a modern day killer adds another body to the already tangled web of deceit, suddenly there are two murders to solve - and Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen goes hunting for the truth. Her friends Mrs.Murphy the tiger cat and Tee Tucker the corgi are on the hunt too - for a killer who's out to keep Harry quiet.

Solve another case with Mrs. Murphy.
©1994 American Artists, Inc. (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

What listeners say about Murder at Monticello

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Interesting take on slavery

What would have made Murder at Monticello better?

This series is only OK. The characters are ok and the plots are worse. I was interested in what would happen to the characters as the books progress but I'm not going to read anymore since I found Ms. Brown comments on slavery to be disturbing.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

MORE ENJOYMENT

I LOVED THIS STORY. I AM TRYING TO FIND EARLY BOOKS.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

I did not come here to buy a polemic

I want to start by saying Kate Forbes remains an excellent voice actor. She clearly tries to give different characters distinct voices. In a book filled with talking animals and humans with various accents that is not easy. She knows how to narrate and voice act and she remains an excellent actor.

That said this book did not match the quality of her work. This was not a good mystery or a good novel. Sometimes a murder mystery must meander a bit to set up important plot threads and characters. I was willing to read the entire book to see if the pieces came together. They did not and the book is filled with boring digressions that do not fit the plot. Yes it is good to acquaint readers with Thomas Jefferson and his biography since Monticello is a major set piece and he is an influential person upon these characters as well as in real life. However, nearly two hours of this book is taken up quoting, discussing, and detailing his family tree and life; almost none of it has much to do with the actual plot. Characters spend huge swaths of time talking about Jefferson, T Tucker and Mrs. Murphy included, and in the end it felt utterly pointless. Often it was distracting from far more interesting character discussions like Mim's choice to change her behavior or how Simon is still living in the barn. Blair, a major character from book 2, is written off with a sentence, but we must not lose any time discussing Thomas Jefferson. If I want to read another biography or book about Thomas Jefferson I will go find one by a reputable historian not to a fiction author who obviously felt the need to write strawmen arguments about Sally Hemmings.

I firmly believe an author should be able to express their views in their works. I believe most authors do that in general even if that is not their intention. Rite Mae Brown has made her philosophical and political views plain from the first book and that is fine. However, if I am buying a fictional murder mystery and instead getting a screed from the author about their opinions of Jefferson (where the book ends with them fabricating a letter that justifies their opinions) then I feel taken advantage of and I think that strains my good will.

This book commits the sin of being boring, uninterested in its own plot, and spending a lot more time with the author giving her views on Sally Hemmings and Thomas Jefferson then in telling a story. To say nothing of the point that the author seem to be bending over backwards to excuse Jefferson owning and using slave labor to support his lifestyle. Other reviewers can be fine with that, I am not. It is clear a lot of people agree this book takes a lot of digressions that do not serve the plot.

I am honestly surprised the editors did not push back at the very least with how bloated this book is, but I don't think I'll be reading anything else by Rita Mae Brown if she is this contemptuous of her readers.

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2 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Stilted and amateurish

The narrator read the best she could with the poorly written material. Example: wasted fillers include the animals arguing about Thomas Jefferson’s treatment of his “servants”.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Dissertation on Jefferson's life, weakly disguised as a mystery

I've read several of these books. I'm not expecting high literature but this was a poorly written book. The author wanders all over Jefferson's life to the detriment of telling her own story. In addition, there is a LOT of thinly disguised justifications for slavery - not just in the past but made by the present-day characters. All in all, one of the worst of the series. Kate Forbes, as usual, is an excellent narrator.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

fun originally, still fun in 2022

like how Harry and the others are learning to pay attention to Mrs Murphy and Tucker and the others. good mystery. learn some Virginia and USA history too. and horses. good to read and to listen.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

new cozy series fan

drifted through parts of story but liked the premises and Cats, history setting, archeological nature too.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

wonderful story

looking for fun in a mystery? This is the one! fun characters, laughter, and action! Love it!

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Not interesting

Could not finish - boring, and did not hold my interest. Will not read another one of this series.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Sunny

Stupid book. Trying to make T Jefferson into a good person. He kept his own children as slaves. No way to whitewash that. Couldn’t finish it

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