Mailbox Monday - March 5th

Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house recently, but here's a warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

 Created by Marcia at The Printed Page, Mailbox Monday, now has its own blog. Hosting duties are rotated every month.  March is being hosted by Anna at Diary of an Eccentric.  Be sure to stop by and discover a new and wondrous (for me anyway) addition to your blog roll and take a look at everyone's Mailbox lists.

 Even though I've been gone for the past week or so, Mr. Tutu has done a terrific job of picking up the mail and letting me know what treasures await me when I get home later this week:

Calico Joe
by John Grisham


 This one by John Grisham promises to be a real winner, and we will be fighting over who gets to read it first.  It is such a special deal because Doubleday not only sent a review copy, but they've authorized me to have a giveaway for two more copies.  Stay tuned for more on this one later this week.  It should be a welcome read as spring training gets into full swing.
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Then I also received a book from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program--a special edition of

The Big Cat Nap

by Rita Mae Brown 

and Sneaky Pie Brown

To celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the beloved Mrs. Murphy mystery series, Rita Mae Brown and her intrepid feline co-author Sneaky Pie Brown return with a charming claw-biting tale starring Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen. Of course prowling faithfully at Harry’s side are the sleuthing cats Mrs. Murphy, ever wise, and Pewter, reliably cranky and always primed with a razor-sharp quip. Fiercely loyal and on the alert, corgi Tee Tucker is also never far behind. This time, Harry and her menagerie throw a wrench into the gears of a killer of grease monkeys.

It’s mid-May, and Crozet, Virginia, is heating up fast, or so it seems to Harry. The town’s beloved ex–post mistress is never idle, dividing her time between raising this year’s bounty of crops; taking care of her veterinarian husband, Fair; indulging her passion for classic cars; and adding further to her reputation as a nosy neighbor. It starts when Harry’s dear friend Miranda Hogendobber takes her on a leisurely drive that ends in a narrow drainage ditch. The chaos continues when the Very Reverend Herbert Jones’s Chevy pick-up also abruptly goes kaput. But these vehicular mishaps are nothing compared to the much more distressing state of a mechanic discovered by Harry in a local repair shop: His head’s been bashed in.

Despite numerous warnings from her much-loved coterie of friends, human and otherwise, Harry rather quickly surmises that the time has come to pop the hood and conduct her own investigation. Her animal companions see disaster fast approaching but can do little except try their best to protect their foolishly intrepid human. Harry’s race to the truth leads straight to powerful forces determined to avoid scrutiny at any cost—even if it means running Harry Haristeen off the road for good.

  This is one of my favorite series.  I'm an animal lover, and the cats and the corgi in these books never fail to amuse and delight me.  I'm looking forward to an afternoon with my favorite cast.  Many thanks to Random House for making this review copy available.