The Hunt Ball

By Rita Mae Brown

Book Overview

"A rich, atmospheric murder mystery . . . rife with love, scandal . . . redemption, greed and nobility," raved the San Jose Mercury News about Outfoxed, Rita Mae Brown's first foxhunting masterpiece. In The Hunt Ball, the latest novel in this popular series, all the ingredients Brown's readers love are abundantly present: richness of character and landscape, the thrill of the hunt, and the chill of violence.

The trouble begins at Custis Hall, an exclusive girls' school in Virginia that has gloried in its good name for nearly two hundred years. At first, the outcry is a mere tempest in a silver teapot-a small group of students protesting the school's exhibit of antique household objects crafted by slaves-and headmistress Charlotte Norton quells the ruckus easily. But when one of the two hanging corpses ornamenting the students' Halloween dance turns out to be real-the body of the school's talented fund-raiser, in fact-Charlotte and the entire community are stunned. Everyone liked Al Perez, or so it seemed, yet his murder was particularly unpleasant.

Even "Sister" Jane Arnold, master of the Jefferson Hunt Club, beloved by man and beast, is at a loss, although she knows better than anyone where the bodies are buried in this community of land-grant families and new-money settlers. Aided and abetted by foxes and owls, cats and hounds, Sister picks up a scent that leads her in a most unwelcome direction: straight to the heart of the foxhunting crowd. The chase is on, not only for foxes but also for a deadly human predator.

No one has created a fictional paradise more delightful than the rolling hills of Rita Mae Brown's Virginia countryside, or has more charmingly captured the rituals of the hunt. No one understands human and animal nature more deeply. The Hunt Ball combines a rounded, welcoming world with an edge of unforgettable white-knuckled menace.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0345465504
• ISBN13: 9780345465504
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Ballantine Books
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Lots of Fun

I love the way Rita mae Brown makes you feel you are right there on the hunt and a part of the hunting community with her vivid descriptions. And as an animal lover, I enjoy the talking animals as they add so much spice to the mix. So I say if you want a fun read get the whole "Sister Jane" series and gallop on!

Another great visit with Sister and the JHC

The Hunt Ball kept me enthralled in the continuing story of Sister and the central Virginia Jefferson Hunt Club. I love the way the animal characters are full participants in the plot development. (Do I detect the influence of Sneaky Pie Brown?) While each novel works independently, I can hardly wait to see how the next book in the series picks up the continuing plot lines and takes off with them. Tally Ho!

what a great read!

This is the first "hunt" book I've read by the author, and I loved it! I could feel the thrill of the fox hunt and enjoyed learning about something I'd only heard about in the past. Mixing it with engaging human (and animal) characters in an entertaining mystery means this book makes my holiday gift list.

Hunt Ball

As always, Rita Mae Brown's characters come alive for readers. I don't think it would matter what her characters get into. They are so well written that readers just want to read more. Who would have thought that a septagenarian would make a great heroine of a cozy mystery? Who else can make animals seem so real without humanizing them too much? Whether her house pets, as in the Sneaky Pie series, or fox hounds and wildlife, are her inspirations, Rita Mae always writes winners.