Welcome to Litsy!

This isn't a great book, but it's a diverting read. It's moderately interesting to read how race was written about in the early 1990s and especially interesting (and somewhat cringy) that the Sally Hemings/Thomas Jefferson connection wasn't necessarily accepted as fact at that time. I guess it's been so long since it was just a part of the story of TJ that I forget it ever wasn't.

This is the third book in the Mrs. Murphy series and I find myself disliking it more as I go forward. This one, which centers around a historic victim found in a slave quarters at Monticello, is the hardest to like so far. Characters with sanitized/racist views of slavery in the U.S? Check. Trying to depict a nuanced view but being tone deaf? Check. I want to like this series but it‘s been a downhill ride so far.

i just wasn‘t interested in what was happening in the book; when I lose interest, I skim and miss much of the goings-on. I assume both murders were cleared up at the end, but I couldn‘t say for sure. The animals are somewhat cute/amusing, but even then, not always. I will not be continuing the series

Made it until chapter 31 and couldn‘t handle it any more. It‘s too little mystery, too little talking cats, and too much cringe-worthy speculation about Sally Hemings, slavery at Monticello, and race relations (or lack thereof). No thank you. Moving on to number 4 in the series and hoping the #MrsMurphy series gets back on track.

The third Mrs. Murphy book. Not as good as the first two but I will continue reading my way through this series.

We went to Monticello today for the heritage harvest festival and got to walk around Jefferson's gardens. These were everywhere-- they're castor bean plants, where castor oil comes from! They grow up to 12 feet high, and the seed pods are spiky, so Jefferson planted them around his garden as "defense." #todayilearned