Cat on the Scent - Rita Mae Brown

In Crozet, Virginia, a group of townsfolk is opposed to suburban sprawl and a new reservoir. At the same time, a Civil War re-enactment sheds real blood. Mrs. Murphy must prowl for clues to a case of fat cats, big money, and warring egos. \nIt takes a cat to write the purr-fect mystery. \nThings have been pretty exciting lately in Crozet, Virginia--a little too exciting if you ask resident feline investigator Mrs. Murphy. Just as the town starts to buzz over its Civil War reenactment, a popular local man disappears. No one's seen Tommy Van Allen's single-engine plane, either--except for Mrs. Murphy, who spotted it during a foggy evening's mousing. \n \nEven Mrs. Murphy's favorite human, postmistress Mary Minor Harry Haristeen, can sense that something is amiss. But things really take an ugly turn when the town reenacts the battle of Oak Ridge--and a participant ends up with three very real bullets in his back. While the clever tiger cat and her friends sift through clues that just don't fit together, more than a few locals fear that the scandal will force well-hidden town secrets into the harsh light of day. And when Mrs. Murphy's relentless tracking places loved ones in danger, it takes more than a canny kitty and her team of animal sleuths to set things right again....\n