Book 13 of Brown's "Sister" Jane series is more pastoral than usual. Gone are the long discourses on politics. Instead Brown offers us an in depth look at the joys of fox hunting. By offering the POV of the MFH and the fox, the event becomes exceptionally true to life. While some may argue that this sport is cruel, I am one who says contact sports cause more damage in today's world.

The mystery almost appears off camera. Art theft, where the paintings are by the same artist, (Munnings) pose a puzzle. Is this a subtle way to protest fox hunting? How are the thieves able to over come security systems? Why would some one kill for a painting? Will "Sister" Jane solve the problem before someone else is killed?

Days after finishing Out of Hounds, I am still drawn to the wonderful romance between Sister and her heart companion. It is not often that senior relationships are featured. I am glad that Brown now has the freedom to write stories that feature both nature and love.

Full disclosure: I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for this opportunity.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I have not read any of Ms. Brown' books in over a decade and was not familiar with this series.

The story is written vividly- you can smell the country grass and feel the warm breezes. If you are not familiar with horse country, this book will make you want a horse to ride to hounds.

The characters are fully developed and most are likable. The ones that are not, well, just bless their hearts.

Mystery, friendships, flirtation, gorgeous animals - a great weekend read.

While this is part of a well established series, Out of Hounds can be read as a stand alone.

I have gone back and started the series with the first book to see how the story evolved over time.

I like this series more for the mystery and not as much for the fox hunting. Having said that, I do learn a lot in each book beyond the who done it and the why done it. My problem in almost all of Rita Mae Brown's mysteries is too many characters to keep straight - people and animals all have names and that is a bit hard to deal with when reading on a Kindle. It's not a deal breaker and I make lots of notes.
Here we are with the 13th in the series starring "Sister" Jane Arnold and it's almost Spring and the end of the season for foxhunting. Soon theft and murder enter their lives when various members of the hunt have paintings of women riding sidesaddle, all painted by real life artist Sir Alfred Munnings and one such theft leaves one of their own dead. Sister Jane has been a force to be reckoned with as the Master of Foxhounds for forty years so solving thefts and murder won't get the better of her.
The theme of art history and the various bits of Colonial Virginia history were perfectly blended into the mystery. The reader comes away with an understanding of the history of foxhunting, too. With a setting of early 2020, Covid is a feature, too. Overall a very enjoyable mystery.
My thanks to the publisher, Ballantine Books and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rita Mae Brown is one of my favorite authors and this new book is another wonderful addition to the series.

This is my first Rita Mae Brown book and what a treat it was! The book starts with a list of all the characters in the book, animals as well as the humans. It is written in recent times of early 2020. Having never been exposed to fox hunting, I knew little about it. However, the descriptions were very vivid and the scenes were well imagined. The theft of fox hunting art is the mystery. While Sister is trying to figure out who is guilty, coronavirus is appearing in the country. A little romance is included for enjoyment. I enjoyed this story and learning about this sport.
I received an advance copy of this book from the author, publisher and NetGalley. I voluntarily wrote an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.

If you’re a fan of fox hunting, Rita Mae Brown’s Out of Hounds may be just the ticket! Unfortunately, it doesn’t really grab me, and a little bit goes a long way. I do enjoy a good mystery, and this mystery isn’t bad, but the book seems to be more about the hunt for foxes than for an art thief and killer.

It’s the 13th book in the “Sister” Jane Arnold series. Sister is a Master of Foxhounds, which means that she is the individual who runs the hunt. She is an intelligent woman, respected by all. The hunts seem to be where a lot of socializing takes place, both among the humans and the animals, including hounds, horses, and fox, both gray and red. This is one of the author’s trademarks; she names all her critters and gives them voices, which the humans cannot understand, of course. Despite the Cast of Characters at the beginning of the book, I had quite a difficult time keeping track of everyone. Part of the problem was that my Kindle search feature did not include the Cast.

After the first painting went missing, and then a body is found, things began to get interesting. I always learn a thing or two about Virginia and the surrounding area, its history and geography. In this instance, the artwork that is stolen is by a real artist, Alfred Munnings, an English painter. I confess that I did learn a thing or two about fox hunting as well.

Ms Brown throws in a bit of politics and current events, as the characters must cope with the initial days of the Covid-19 pandemic. There is also a touch of romance here and there. All in all, I’d rate this one three stars.

My thanks to NetGalley, Ballantine Books, and the creative Rita Mae Brown for this advance copy in exchange for my unbiased review.

3 stars

In this 13th book in the 'Sister Jane' cozy mystery series, the amateur sleuth investigates art theft and murder. The book can be read as a standalone.

*****

Jane Arnold, called "Sister", has been Master of Foxhounds (MFH) of the Jefferson Hunt - a foxhunting club in Jefferson County, Virginia - for over forty years. As MFH Sister hires and fires personnel; makes arrangements with landowners; develops the pack of hounds; organizes the hunts; and so on. The foxhunts are very popular, and Sister is aided by an array of personnel who command the hounds and make sure things run smoothly.

As the story opens, it's February 2020 - foxhunting season - and Sister is overseeing a morning hunt. After the hunt there's a breakfast with hot food, hot drinks, and a full bar where participants - most of whom are wealthy - socialize. Foxhunters like Carter Nicewonder, who sells expensive vintage jewelry, and Kathleen Sixt Dunbar, who sells high-end antiques also take the opportunity to solicit business from their affluent acquaintances.

As the story unfolds valuable artworks that feature women riding sidesaddle, painted by Sir Alfred Munnings, are being stolen from the homes of rich people associated with foxhunting and/or horse breeding. The thievery is soon followed by murders, the deceased being ex-convicts as well as a woman called Delores Buckingham, whose painting was stolen from her residence.

Sister and her friends, who greatly admire Munnings work, are distressed by the burglaries and fear the artworks will end up with rich collectors overseas. Thus the amateur sleuths embark on their own investigation, which largely consists of contacting museums and collectors that own Munnings' work, to see if anyone has been sniffing around, asking questions, etc. This ends up putting Sister in danger, when the perpetrator(s) fear she's getting too close.

The 'Sister' cozies by Rita Mae Brown are much more about foxhunting than solving a mystery, and the story features one foxhunt after another, each of which is described in detail. The hunts are seen not only from the POVs of the humans, but also of the dogs, horses, and foxes involved. There's also chatter from pet dogs and cats, all of which adds a fun element to the novel.

Like all hunting sports, foxhunting has its detractors, and protestors stage demonstrations, distribute fliers, and put up signs accusing foxhunters of being cruel and elitist. Sister carefully explains that foxhunting is the state sport of Virginia, the foxes are chased but not killed, foxhunters are nature lovers and environmentalists, and the activity generates a billion dollars in revenue.

As usual in Rita Mae Brown books, the author takes the opportunity to share her interest in history, politics, and social issues in the guise of conversations among the characters. Thus Sister and her compatriots talk about changes in foxhunting over the years; the evolution of equine art; old money manners and breeding vs. new money superficiality and showiness; religion; marriage; social media; alcoholism; the coronavirus (origin in China; social distancing, masks, economic hardship, and profiteering); and more.

I'd recommend the book to fans of Rita Mae Brown and people interested in foxhunting.

Thanks to Netgalley, Rita Mae Brown, and Ballantine Books for a copy of the book.

I fell in love with this whimsical mystery. I loved the fox hunting and the hounds. All of this authors stories are quite good and I enjoyed each and every one of them.

Rita Mae Brown's Out of Hounds is a contemporary mystery that I think has a certain appeal to the fox hunt community. There are multiple characters both human and animal and at times you almost need a list to track who is who. The mystery plot was good but there were too many other characters for me to keep track of.

Sister loves to foxhunt. She goes out with the group and rides hard and fast. Usually the fox wins. They have safe places they've created dens in and they go to ground. It's not until they get back to their homes they find there was a burglary done. It was a picture by a noted painter of a woman riding side saddle. There are very few of those pictures in what he painted so it could be worth millions to the right buyer. Who took it?

Ballatine Books and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It will be published the 19th of January.

Then people start showing up dead. At first it's the fellows out of prison working for one man. Then an older lady was killed. Sister thinks the cons were killed because they were part of the plot but she doesn't understand why the woman was killed.

Soon more paintings are missing. All with sidesaddle women riders. The whole fox hunting group is asking questions and watching for the paintings to come up for sale.

Then sister thinks she may know who the killer is. It's while they are on a hunt that she gets a gun put to her head. Will she and her lover survive?

Out of Hounds by Rita Mae Brown is the latest book in the Sister Jane series. Sister, as she is fondly known, is still foxhunting as much as she can in all types of weather along with getting involved in local mysteries. In this book someone is stealing artwork depicting women riding sidesaddle by one particular artist. As with many crimes one leads to another and this one leads to murder. Is it someone in the community that they all trust or has an outsider managed to find out where all the expensive artwork is?
I have read all the books in this series and this one is no disappointment. Whether the characters are fox hunting or trying to solve the mystery there is plenty of action and the story line draws the reader in and keeps them reading. So hard for me to put down one of her books once I start reading. The main characters feel like old friends who have come to visit. The newer characters are becoming friends quickly. The animal characters add to story with their own thoughts and ideas that the humans often miss. I give this book a solid 5 of 5 stars and believe it will appeal to a wide audience of readers. I also want readers to know that you can read each of these books as a stand alone also but I think once you read one you will want to read all of them.
I received an advance copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Not as many dogs and horses talking, but a right smart mystery nonetheless. All the characters are extremeley believable, and the villain is who you probably least expect.

Someone is stealing paintings from fox hunters, which seems annoying but not dangerous until Delores is found strangled. Sister Jane, the Master of the Hunt, and her friends (especially her animal friends) are on the case! I admit to being a fan of this series, which I also admit isn't for everyone for the very reason I like it- the animals who periodically pipe up with their views. Bronwn lists the various characters and their eccentricities up front (it might be easier in hard copy to flip back and forth) and then you're off. You'll learn a lot about fox hunting and horses while reading a rather gentle mystery. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Great fun.

I received this book through Net Galley before release and voluntarily give an honest review.
Another of Rita Mae Brown’s excellent mysteries. This is part of the Sister Jane series in which Jane Arnold is the Master of Jefferson Hunt. She is one intelligent woman given to speaking her mind within the manners of her generation. This particular book tells of high stakes thievery; paintings of women who rode side-saddle painted by a well-known equine artist. The fox hunters are besieged by people who think fox hunting is cruel and for the rich. Not true, but that is part of this story. The author brings awareness of the past history of art, foxhunting, relationships, and the character of people up to the present time. I especially found this book to be packed with action of the investigation and foxhunting type. Where there are hounds and foxes, there is adventure, humor, and bravery. Oh, and then there may be a little romance for young and more seasoned alike.

Out of hounds is heavy on horse culture and riding, making it a great read for those so inclined. For the novice to this field, the information becomes tedious at times - perhaps more editing would be advised so the book would reach a wider audience. Rita Mae Brown is a favorite author - look forward to her next book.

If you’re looking for a fast paced mystery, this is not it. If you’re looking for a gentle, slightly meandering story that’s an easy read with lots of animals and a little mystery, look no further! I love Rita Mae Brown books because there’s always fun characters and lots of fun facts I can pick up. And, it’s always great to end a day a with a few chapters.

I'm usually a big fan of the Rita Mae Brown books and her series. I had a difficult time getting into the book, however. Even though I knew some of the characters, the beginning with all the character information and descriptions was tedious, and I ended up skimming over those pages.

I always love the animals in these books, which keeps me coming back for more of Rita Mae Brown's books and this series. The animals really hold the story and keep my attention. I did learn quite a bit about fox hunting.

I would give this a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

#OutofHounds #NetGalley

If you are a fox hunting fan, this book is for you! When you have to include 20 pages that outline the characters before even getting into the story, it might be a clue that you either need to have read the other books in the series or be a serious fox hunting fan. Since i am neither, it was a struggle to follow the story at times. Though the location is what captured me as I used to live in the area 20 years ago.

That said, I did like that the animals are represented and even speak up throughout the story. Sadly, I think I would need to read the first 12 books in this series to become fully engaged. Perhaps I will try the first book in the series one day and go from there.

A wonderful addition to the Sister Jane series. This is a well written mystery that has just the right amount of drama and mystery to keep you turning the pages. I liked this book for the mystery, but I loved it for the interaction between the animals. This book was a joy to read and I highly recommend it. Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

love the fox hunting books and all the characters. Rita mae almost wrote this book in real time shows that covid-19 affects everything.
great book