whew. This mystery was DENSE, especially when the first few pages give a long, long list of characters, their roles and relationships, and then terms for fox hunting that will be used throughout the novel. This was my first Rita Mae Brown book so I'm not sure if it's something she does with her other novels as well? This read like Agatha Christie to me! It was daunting and out of my comfort zone, but I still thoroughly enjoyed the book!

It is possible that this pre-published edition has not been edited at all and that the final version might be vastly pruned and therefore better. But I felt that almost every single sentence in this book was problematic in some way. Mostly either painfully artificial and unrealistic sounding dialogue or sentences/paragraphs that did nothing to set the scene or further the plot.
The first several pages of this book are a cast of characters. Like this is going to be some kind of Game of Thrones saga with multiple family dynasties, spanning several kingdoms. But no, Ms Brown simply felt that we needed to know the name of every person in this community. Furthermore, the main character is called "Sister" by everyone, but her name is actually Jane, which is occasionally used. And then there are people named Weevil and Tootie. So since we're regularly participating in scenes with loads of people AND dogs, so one never quite knows if the entity being referred to is a human, a dog, or even a fox, because they also have names. But only sometimes. Sometimes there are just generic foxes. The horses were usually clear that they were horses, in the context of being ridden, so those names were not usually confusing.
I was charmed by the idea of the anthromorphic animals suggested in the description, but the animals never say anything meaningful. Like the house cat randomly and apropos of nothing just offers "I like cat nip."
At one point, she says that people sat at card tables that had been set up so that people wouldn't have to eat with plates on their laps. As if I need to have the purpose of a table explained to me??? Also, this was in a mansion country estate where she just spent some time telling us about how great it was decorated. And yet, it did not have an extensive dining room option that people could have sat at? But also ALLL OF THOSE DETAILS were unnecessary! They seemed to only serve to make the reader insane or asleep.
Her husband at one point mentions "my son" (was it also Sister/Jane's son??), but surely when you are talking to your spouse, when referring to your own child, you would use their name, would you not? So many details of weird dialogue like this. And obviously, if he just randomly spouted off about "Rick" or whatever, I would have no idea who that was... which maybe begs the question of why even include that if the reader doesn't know there is a son or what his name was in the first place?
There is excessive description of these fox hunts, a topic I know nothing about, and I feel like I left having learned nothing. Except that I looked it up afterwards... why don't they ever catch these foxes? And other sources on the internet told me that fox hunts don't usually involve killing the fox; they leave the fox alive so that it's available for chasing another time.
Despite all of the time spent on the fox hunts, though, I never got a sense of why the author or the main character loved it. The writing did not convey the joy or exhilaration or whatever it is that they're might be feeling and why they pursue this hobby. I can only guess.
And as far as murder mysteries go, I could not be more disgusted by how this wrapped up. No one ever figured it out, despite a lot of gossiping and conjecturing. No clues were ever found. No pieces put into place. One of the characters who happened to know the truth, happened to find themselves dying due to circumstances unrelated to this murder story arc, and decided to tell what they knew before it was too late. And there you go.
I have not read a prior book by this author. It is possible that this is not representative of her best work. But to say that I was disappointed by this read would be an understatement. I never do-not-finish books. But this was the first one I was granted by NetGalley, felt that it was important to complete in order to fulfill my end of the bargain as an advanced reader.
I will not be posting this review anywhere else, as I don't particularly enjoy sharing negative reviews of books.

Massive warning that this is a mystery set in the world of foxhunting, which I’m not sure I realised when I requested the ARC. It does what I love my mysteries to do, which is immerse you into a world the author knows all about and I know nothing about, so I ended up learning loads reading this. Excellent characterization and Sister is a very solid character. Lots of funny lines too. This was my first book in the series and I understood enough to say that it can stand on its own - a murder over an inheritance.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for this ARC!

Book Review 📚
Title: Fox and Furious
Author: Rita Mae Brown

Olivia's only wish was to keep the peace between her two sons. But after her passing, tensions rise as they begin to clash over the inheritance of five acres of land. Then tragedy strikes—one of the brothers is found dead. Now it’s up to Sister Jane to uncover the truth. Was it an accident... or could the other brother be responsible?

I absolutely adore charming mystery series like this one! The story flows so well and keeps you engaged from start to finish. There’s just the right amount of twists and turns to keep you guessing until the very end!


Thank you NetGalley, Ballantine and Rita Mae Brown for the eARC!!

Publication Date: October 28th 2025
Rating: ✨✨✨✨

#FoxandFurious #NetGalley

I enjoy Rita Mae Brown's books, particularly those books in which the animals comment on the humans actions, and I enjoyed this one. As with all the "Sister" Jane Arnold books I've read, I enjoy the ambiance of the hunt. Even though I have never hunted myself, these books give me the sense of participating in the hunt season. Throughout the mystery story -- in this book two brothers fight over their inheritance from their mother and a murder occurs -- the hunt season continues, giving us a bit of excitement and humor. Brown writes well, and the story flows quickly. The only problem I had was that there are so many characters, human and animal, that I had to read very carefully to keep track of who was doing/saying what.

I always enjoy Rita Mae Brown books and Fox and Furious was no exception. Fun, fast, interesting, and informative! Always these are good mysteries set in the rolling hills of Virginia hunt country.

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballentine for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Any time you can join Sister Jane for a fox hunt, is a good time. After Olivia passes away, her sons begin to feud. After one ends up dead, the hunt begins for his killer. Join Sister and the gang as they look for the murderer.
Goodreads

Fox and Furious is from the Sister Jane series. I have read this series since the beginning.. It takes place in Virginia. Sister Jane and some of her members are at a beagle meet of two clubs. Marianne is the master of the Nantucket-Treweryn (NTB) Beagles. Russell Wagner is 2nd Master with Peter Cook 3rd. Susan Watson, a member of the NTB, was in the field to care of anyone who couldn't keep up and the Bradford Pack owned by Olivia Bradford. They lived at their estate, Bradford Hall. Winston and his brother Andrew were co-masters. The beagles hunted rabbits on foot. Olivia did the breakfast. She was a good friend of Sister. While talking to Sister Olivia tells her that she tries to get along with Solange. She makes Andrew happy. Sister asks about Beryl getting along with Solange. She told Sister that she tolerates her. Beryl and Winston are still close to Gerogia. Winston does not like her. Olivia tells Sister that she had changed her will. She left the estate to both of her sons equally, She left her jewelry to both Beryl and Georgia. A sapphire necklace to Solange.

Andrew had left his first wife, Georgia for Solange. She was a beautiful woman. Georgia was loved by everyone, The two wives were pleasant to each other when in social situations. Andrew was not liked by many. He could get nasty if anyone paid attention to his wife. He ignored his first wife. Solange was good friends with the Howlett's who worked for Andrew as gardeners. They keep Solange steady as she can be very emotional and demanding.

Sister Jane Arnold is MFH of the Jefferson Hunt. She is in her middle seventies. She is married to Gray Lorillard. He is retired and was a partner in the prestigius accounting firm in Washington, D.C. He is called back as a consultant. Betty Franklin is whipper=in for the hunt and is Sister's best friend. She and her husband, Bobby, own a small printing company. He leads the second flight for people who do not want to jump. The author describes the different hunts that the club does. I will leave this to the reader to enjoy. There are other characters in this story that have been in the series from the beginning. They add to the story.

Betty, calls the next day and tells Sister that Susan had called her to tell her that Olivia had died of a stroke that morning. Winson inherited Bradford Hall built in 1781 and Andrew lived in Ashton Hall built in 1830. Sister tells Gray about Olivia's death and what Andrew has done and that Adrianne had given Winston a place to put his beagles until he can build his own kennels. Sister and Gray did not know how bad it would get.

Andrew informed Winston that the kennels had to be moved from his part of land. It is 5 acres along the road. He has a week to do it. Sister could not help Winston as they lived too far away. She called Adrianne, master of Bull Run Hunt. Adrianne told her that she had alreadly offered and the beagles would be housed on one of her buildings.

Sister and friends came to help Winston move the beagles. Andrew came in a new truck to see how many people were there to help. He noticed Sister, Marianne and Russ. Andrew was mad that so many people came to help. Andrew asked where the beagles were going. Said he was still co-master . Winston told him that he was no longer a master since the beagles were no longer at the old kennels, He told Andrew he could no longer hunt with them. Andre told him that he would kill Winston. The beagles were moved to their new home. Beryl and Winston made sure that they were safely in their new home and went back to their home. He planned to be there every day to take care of them.

Sister, Gray, kKasmir, Alida and Ronnie Hasting were all at Wolverhampton. A group of them became a syndicate and had bought the inn and were restoring it. It had been owned by someone who had murdered someone and was now in jail. They planned to rent it out for weekends, Crawford and Marty were also part of the group. He came to tell them that he had friends in England who were upset with the new parliment and were thinking of coming to the US for the hunting season. They wanted to rent the inn and all it's grounds, They later decided to stay put and not come over.

Andrew got angry when he saw a bill for a cypress tree. Ann told him that it was her that planted it. He threw his letter opener. Solange took the opener and put it in her desk drawer,

Beryl and Winston had just celebrated their 29th annniversary and were much in love. Winston was busy building the new barn for the dogs, They heard a shot. They called Sheriff Wolf. He came with his deputy Kate Forteggue. He thanked them for coming and explained the situation between he and his brother. He said that Andrew had changed after he had married his second wife. He told the sheriff that he believed his brother was going to kill him, Kate found a casing and bagged it. Wolf advised Winston to get a lawyer. He goes over and speaks to Andrew. Andrew told him that he was upset that the new kennels wer within his sight. He told the sheriff that he would kill Winston. The sheriff told Andrew that if anything happened to Winston he would be suspect.

Sister and Betty drove to the Farnley estate where the meet was . They were beagling with NTB and the Bradford pack. Winston was there. Andrw arrived with Solange, Ann and Scott. Andrew went into the field with Bill and Solange, Ann and Scott went into the middle of the group.. They had a good run and Bill realized that Andrew was not with him. Everyone went back to the parking lot. Mrs., Abeles was the hostess along with her daughter, Damaris Abeles Brown. Solange could not find Andrew and asked if people had seen him. She asked Susan to help her find him. Sister, Marianne and Betty decided to go and help her find him also. They found Andrew in the shed on the spider wheel tinder. The spikes were passing through his body, Marianne called Russ and told him to call 911. Solange said she believed Winston had killed her husband.

This is where the story takes off. There is so much going on in the story I will leave it to the reader to read and enjoy. The ending is a shocker with Solange, Ann and Scott's death with the confession at the end.

I have loved the author, Rita Mae Brown. I have read both of her series: The Sister Jane and Sneaky Pie Brown mysteries. I love the way she has the animals talking and how they interact with the people. I look forward to the next book in both of these series.