Helpful Score: 1
I absolutely love this series!! However, that being said, I was a tad disappointed with this book. The conversations between the characters were very contrived and didn't seem realistic. I realize that Virginia still honors and embodies Southern hospitality, but hardly anybody talks like this anymore. The plot was very short and very predictable. By the 4th chapter I had already figured out who did it. Also, I was a little disheartened by the way that Tucker and Mrs. Murphy treated Pewter, who I know can be "a pill", but the other books portrayed a deeper bond between the animals than the "tolerant" feelings the others had of her. The conversations between the animals are usually hilarious (I can envision my own cats thinking something along the same lines), but this book hardly portrays the animal banter I have come to know and love (and the main reason I started reading them). I would give this book a 2.5 out of 5. The first 20 books were better. :)
