Puss 'N Cahoots

Don’t forget to give to your local animal shelter.
    Yours in Catitude,

    Sneaky Pie

    Dear Reader,

    There’s no point in responding to Sneaky’s gargantuan ego. I actually do some of the work around here.

    Ever and Always,

About the Authors
    RITA MAE BROWN is a bestselling author, an Emmy-nominated screenwriter, and a poet. She lives in Afton, Virginia. Her website is www.ritamaebrown.com .
             
    SNEAKY PIE BROWN, a tiger cat born somewhere in Albemarle County, Virginia, was discovered by Rita Mae Brown at her local SPCA. They have collaborated on fourteen previous Mrs. Murphy mysteries:
Sour Puss; Wish You Were Here; Rest in Pieces; Murder at Monticello; Pay Dirt; Murder, She Meowed; Murder on the Prowl; Cat on the Scent; Pawing Through the Past; Claws and Effect; Catch as Cat Can; The Tail of the Tip-Off; Whisker of Evil;
and
Cat’s Eyewitness,
in addition to
Sneaky Pie’s Cookbook for Mystery Lovers
. She uses the above website, although she threatens to develop her own since she is much more exciting than her human.

Books by Rita Mae Brown with Sneaky Pie Brown
    WISH YOU WERE HERE
    REST IN PIECES
    MURDER AT MONTICELLO
    PAY DIRT
    MURDER, SHE MEOWED
    MURDER ON THE PROWL
    CAT ON THE SCENT
    SNEAKY PIE’S COOKBOOK FOR MYSTERY LOVERS
    PAWING THROUGH THE PAST
    CLAWS AND EFFECT
    CATCH AS CAT CAN
    THE TAIL OF THE TIP-OFF
    WHISKER OF EVIL
    CAT’S EYEWITNESS
    SOUR PUSS
    Books by Rita Mae Brown
    THE HAND THAT CRADLES THE ROCK
    SONGS TO A HANDSOME WOMAN
    THE PLAIN BROWN RAPPER
    RUBYFRUIT JUNGLE
    IN HER DAY
    SIX OF ONE
    SOUTHERN DISCOMFORT
    SUDDEN DEATH
    HIGH HEARTS
    STARTING FROM SCRATCH: A DIFFERENT KIND OF WRITERS’ MANUAL
    BINGO
    VENUS ENVY
    DOLLEY: A NOVEL OF DOLLEY MADISON IN LOVE AND WAR
    RIDING SHOTGUN
    RITA WILL: A MEMOIR OF A LITERARY RABBLE-ROUSER
    LOOSE LIPS
    OUTFOXED
    HOTSPUR
    FULL CRY
    THE HUNT BALL
    THE HOUNDS AND THE FURY

PUSS ’N CAHOOTS
    A Bantam Book / March 2007
             
    Published by Bantam Dell
    A Division of Random House, Inc.
    New York, New York
             
    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
             
    All rights reserved.
    Copyright © 2007 by American Artists, Inc.
    Illustrations copyright © 2007 by Michael Gellatly
             
    Bantam Books is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc., and the colophon is a trademark of Random House, Inc.
             
    Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
    Brown, Rita Mae.
    Puss ’n cahoots : a Mrs. Murphy mystery / Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown ;
    Illustrations by Michael Gellatly.
    p. cm.
    1. Haristeen, Harry (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Murphy, Mrs. (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 3. Women postal service employees—Fiction. 4. Women detectives—Kentucky—Fiction. 5. Horse shows—Kentucky—Shelbyville. 6. Women cat owners—Fiction. 7. Cats—Fiction. I. Title.
             
    PS3552.R698P87 2007
    813'.54—dc22
    2006037253
             
    www.bantamdell.com
             
    eISBN: 978-0-553-90349-2
    v3.0