Hotspur

By: Rita Mae Brown

Narrated by: Rita Mae Brown

In her well-received novel Outfoxed, Rita Mae Brown vividly and deftly brought to life the genteel world of foxhunting, where hunters, horses, hounds, and foxes form a tightly knit community amid old money and simmering conflicts. With Hotspur, we return to the Southern chase - and to a hunt on the trail of a murderer.

Jane "Sister" Arnold may be in her 70s, but she shows no signs of losing her love for the hunt. As Master of the prestigious Jefferson Hunt Club in a well-heeled Virginia Blue Ridge Mountain town, she is the most powerful and revered woman in the county. She can assess the true merits of a man or a horse with uncanny skill. In short, Sister Jane is not easily duped.

When the skeleton of Nola Bancroft, still wearing an exquisite sapphire ring on her finger, is unearthed, it brings back a 21-year-old mystery. Beautiful Nola was a girl who had more male admirers than her family had money, which was certainly quite a feat. In a world where a woman's ability to ride was considered one of her most important social graces, Nola was queen of the stable. She had a weakness for men, and her tastes often ventured toward the inappropriate, like the sheriff's striking son, Guy Ramy. But even Guy couldn't keep her eyes from wandering.

When Nola and Guy disappeared on the Hunt's ceremonial first day of cubbing more than two decades ago, everyone assumed one of two things: Guy and Nola eloped to escape her family's disapproval, or Guy killed Nola in a jealous rage and vanished. But Sister Jane had never bought either of those theories.

Sister knows all the players are probably still in place, the old feuds haven't died, and the sparks that led to a long-ago murder could flare up at any time.

Hotspur brings all of Rita Mae Brown's storytelling gifts to the fore. It's a tale of Southern small-town manners and rituals, a compelling and intricate murder mystery, and a look at the human/animal relationship in all its complexity and charm.

©2002 American Artists Inc. (P)2018 Recorded Books

Read by the Author

She’s not a professional voice actor as many readers have pointed out. However, her inflections are as the author intended. She knows the characters’ intent as no one else. I love to be read to. Rita Mae Brown can read to my any day.

was a great read.

good plot nice character development the conversations the animals have are an added bonus that is highly entertaining and for anybody who has a love for horses foxes nature or just a good story this is a great read

The fox hunting stories!

I really like the author narrating her own stories. I like her sense of humor.

Love RMB!

Mysteries for real horse people, about horse people! Revisiting this series in audible after having read the hardbacks thru the years.

A page turner

A fun whodunnit, enjoyed the various animal characters, observations of the natural world, VA country life. Love the foxhunting.

Could not even finish

I love Rita Mae Brown but she did a terrible job narrating this book. Could not finish because it was read so badly.