Rating: 
Summary: A Primer to Replace "Riding to Hounds in America"
Review: I think my background as a former foxhunter, horse and hound (both foxhounds and bassets) owner, increased my enjoyment of this book. Origionally a "hunting to ride" participant, I evolved into a "riding to hunt" person. Consequently, the dialogue of the hounds, foxes, and horses seemed very reasonable and natural. The politics, egos, plus good and bad manners and horsemanship of the characters were true to my experiences. At times I paid more attention to the dialog and actions than to the mystery to be solved. It was nice not to have someone killed within the first 30 pages. Instead there was ample time for the story's geographic, social, and technical settings to be painted for the reader. Since one pleasure of reading I enjoy is the chance to learn about new things, I recommend this book as an outstanding introduction to foxhunting.
Rating:
Summary: Outfoxed - a refreshing change of pace
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the book - I couldn't wait to find time to read. Outfoxed is light yet intelligent with a fascinating glimpse at the communication between animals and their role in solving the crime. As an animal lover and avid reader, I highly recommend this book. As a recent mystery convert, I am hooked and cannot wait to read the second book in the series (Hotspur).
Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Outfoxed - a refreshing change of pace
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the book - I couldn't wait to find time to read. Outfoxed is light yet intelligent with a fascinating glimpse at the communication between animals and their role in solving the crime. As an animal lover and avid reader, I highly recommend this book. As a recent mystery convert, I am hooked and cannot wait to read the second book in the series (Hotspur).
Enjoy!
Rating: 
Summary: She gets the hunt scene right.
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As a longtime horse person, passionate foxhunter, and honorary whipper-in, I am always looking for a good horsey read. The good ones are few and far between, because so often the writer isn't writing what they know, and they get the facts so very wrong. Happily, that is not the case here. The author is accurate in portraying the politics and the every day responsiblities of a modern hunt club and kennel. The few inaccuracies I found were more differences of opinion than blatant misrepresentation of the facts (i.e. I disagree with some of her description of hunts that chase coyote. Many foxhunters whose usual quarry is fox think that coyote run in straight lines, and obviously the author is of that school. But the vast majority of foxhunters who chase coyote will tell you that they run circles just like foxes, but they are much bigger circles over much more country.) These sort of debates are common among foxhunters. I appreciated the research and descriptive writing that went into this novel. I learned a thing or two about the sport's history in this country. The foxhunting and equestrian and country life aspect of the novel get 5 stars from me.The mystery aspect of the book, however, is weaker than the horsey thread, and really only rates 3 stars. So I gave the overall review 4 stars. I'm recommending this to my horsey friends. Thanks, Rita Mae, for writing something so fun to read! Please bring us more in this vein.
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Summary: Loved it! Best book about the foxhunting milieu around
Review: I'm from Western Pennsylvania, home of the Rolling Rock Hunt Club, which I was around although not a member. I had a 16'2" thoroughbred hunter, whipped-in with the Beagling pack on exercise runs a few times (beagles are to rabbits as hounds are to foxes)and the vivid descriptions brought back memories of the beautiful countryside & that whole hunt club milieu. I *loved* this book & its characters. The mystery was incidental, in fact, I'd have preferred straight fiction, forget the murder. I want more about the characters and their continuing lives! Though, mysteries sell better and the murder slowly emerged after lots of character development, a huge plus. I was loaned this book by my friend the librarian who enjoyed it but clearly not as much as I did (I could hardly sleep after the description of the opening hunt, it was so exciting). We agree that it's one of those books where equine-aphiles (is that a word?) will be in love with the book and the rest of the world will like it a little less. I just hope that there are enough of us, or that Ms. Brown has enough of a compelling itch to write about hunts, that the series continues. (Let's face it, it's a pretty small world compared to the world of cat and dog lovers that she taps into with the Sneaky Pie books.) Sign me up as one of those devoted-to-the-series readers. Please continue with this as a series!
Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable
Review: If you are looking for another Sneaky Pie Brown "type" book, this is and it isn't one of those. Yes, the animals talk, but it's mainly a "people" book. It's also just as interesting a read as her other fiction books, and the information about fox hunting was fascinating---if you like to learn about things while you read, this is a good book for that. I never realized there was so much tradition involved with this sport. The main character, Sister, is a wonderful woman. I enjoyed meeting her and seeing life through her eyes as an older woman who has lived most of her life already. Would love to hear more about her and the rest of the characters in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable
Review: If you are looking for another Sneaky Pie Brown "type" book, this is and it isn't one of those. Yes, the animals talk, but it's mainly a "people" book. It's also just as interesting a read as her other fiction books, and the information about fox hunting was fascinating---if you like to learn about things while you read, this is a good book for that. I never realized there was so much tradition involved with this sport. The main character, Sister, is a wonderful woman. I enjoyed meeting her and seeing life through her eyes as an older woman who has lived most of her life already. Would love to hear more about her and the rest of the characters in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great book for the foxhunting enthusiast
Review: Interesting murder mystery set in Virginia hunt country. Hunting lore and tradition woven into the story is accurate and educational. Even though the animals talk in this book I would not recomend it for young teens due to mild adult situations.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't waste your time.
Review: Mind-numbingly dull. The only mystery about this book was how it got published in the first place. Unlike other reviewers, I found the characters to be completely one-dimensional and pedantic. The plot was more predictable than a rerun of "Murder She Wrote." And please, the talking animals were as absurd as they were annoying. There were such strong echo's of Disney's The Fox and the Hound, I thought I might be stranded in Orlando. Really, this book had no redeeming qualities. If your reading level is over that of a 10 to 12 year old, don't waste your time.
Rating:
Summary: Outfoxed
Review: Ms. Brown's accounting of hunt politics, terminology and rides through hunt country, brought back memories of my fox hunting days. If you're unfamiliar with fox hunting, this book entertainingly,walks you through the basics. If you are a fox hunter, you'll relate to all aspects of the sport and find yourself shaking your head in agreement, as you enjoy the ride.
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