Wish You Were Here: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery
About Wish You Were Here: A Mrs. Murphy Mystery
Curiosity just might be the death of Mrs. Murphy--and her human companion, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen. Small towns are like families: Everyone lives very close together.
.and everyone keeps secrets. Crozet, Virginia, is a typical small town-until its secrets explode into murder.
Crozet's thirty-something post-mistress, Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen, has a tiger cat (Mrs. Murphy) and a Welsh Corgi (Tucker), a pending divorce, and a bad habit of reading postcards not addressed to her. When Crozet's citizens start turning up murdered, Harry remembers that each received a card with a tombstone on the front and the message "Wish you were here" on the back.
Intent on protecting their human friend, Mrs. Murphy and Tucker begin to scent out clues. Meanwhile, Harry is conducting her own investigation, unaware her pets are one step ahead of her.
If only Mrs. Murphy could alert her somehow, Harry could uncover the culprit before the murder occurs--and before Harry finds herself on the killer's mailing list.
What readers say
Murders in Crozet are foreshadowed by postcards passing through Harry's post office, and readers enjoy the clever hook, the funny animal characters and the small-town setting. Critics mention a large cast to track, a slow middle, a rushed ending, profanity and gore, and opinions voiced by the pets that some readers find off-putting. Recent reviews are mostly positive with the same caveats.
Best for: Readers who want a pet-narrated cozy and don't mind some salty language.
Summary of public reader reviews, updated October 2026.
