Books like Claws and effect by Rita Mae Brown

Two children, Betty and Dick, sit on a rainy day when the Cat in the Hat arrives and leads them through playful tricks and games, all set in rhythmic rhyme.

Hard‑boiled detective Sam Spade races to recover a priceless, gem‑encrusted statuette while double‑crosses and danger creep from every corner.

A charming and clever women detective, Precious Ramotswe, solves mysteries in Botswana's small town of Midsomin, South Africa, from 1986 to 1997, facing dangers and love in the process. The novel is beloved by readers worldwide for its clever dialogue and characters who are as flawed as the rest of us. The book is a bestseller and has been translated into 45 languages, including Polish, German, and Japanese, among others. It was also voted one of the International Books of the Year and the Millennium by the Times Literary Supplement.

Ten‑year‑old Harvey is lured by a mysterious stranger to the magical Holiday House, where his excitement comes at a daunting cost.

A 1980 class reunion turns deadly: a class womanizer is murdered, and another note heralds a second death. Mrs. Murphy, a postal worker with a sly tiger cat, and detective Harry Haristeen must solve the mystery before time runs out.

At Crozet’s annual steeplechase, postmistress “Harry” Haristeen battles social intrigue and a brutal murder when a jockey is found dead with a Queen of Clubs impaled in the wound. With her fierce cat, Mrs. Murphy, on the case, the mystery unravels through hidden motives and the glamorous, dangerous world of horse racing.

In Crozet, Virginia, postmistress Mary “Harry” Haristeen’s tiger cat, Mrs. Murphy, and Welsh Corgi, Tucker, help unravel a string of murders linked to a mysterious postcard that reads "Wish you were here."

In Shelbyville, Kentucky, renewed romance and mystery collide as former couple Harry and Fair Haristeen investigate a series of horse-related thefts and a brutal murder during a famed saddlebred show.

Rita Mae Brown’s witty New York Times bestseller follows sleuth Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen and her feline allies as they investigate a murder at a celebratory fundraiser.

In the quiet Virginia town of Crozet, sleuth Mary Haristeen and her feline partners uncover a plot to murder prominent men as the town prepares for Christmas, involving a mysterious death beneath a town tree and secrets of a local monastic organization.

In the light‑hearted mystery Puss ’n Cahoots, the curious cat and his companion investigate quirky crimes, delivering sharp wit and gentle suspense for teens and adults alike.

In Crozet, Virginia, postmistress Harry Haristeen investigates a murder while her feline companions, Mrs. Murphy, Pewter, and Tee Tucker, sniff out clues toward a cold‑blooded killer.

In this latest whodunit, Rita Mae Brown and her feline partner-in-crime-detection, Sneaky Pie Brown, return to the scene of their bestselling crimes--picturesque Crozet, Virginia. Love is in the air as spring comes to the small town, but no sooner has Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen remarried than she is rudely interrupted--by murder. And no sooner does the trouble start than curious cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, along with corgi Tee Tucker, sink their claws into the case....After an unexpected rekindling of their romance, Harry and her veterinarian ex-husband, Fair Haristeen, have happily remarried. But the excitement of their nuptials is quickly overshadowed by the murder of Professor Vincent Forland, a world-famous grape and fungal expert who was in town visiting the local vineyards.Within days of giving a lecture on how distilled fungus and cattle diseases are the current basis of chemical warfare, Forland's decapitated body is discovered. After their initial fright, the residents of Crozet believe that this was a political murder and settle back into their routines--until a local is also found dead, killed in the same gruesome manner as Professor Forland. Now residents can't help wondering, is this really the work of an outsider--or one of their own? No longer working in the post office, Harry had just planted a quarter acre of grapes, which fuels her natural curiosity over just what the two murder victims knew and had in common. Once the warmth of spring arrives, the grapevines blossom and Harry's furry entourage discovers the first critical clue. But how can they show the humans what they've learned? And how can they--or anyone--stop the killing?From the Hardcover edition.

In small Crozet, Virginia, postmistress Mary “Harry” Haristeen and her tiger cat Mrs. Murphy investigate a string of murders during the Dogwood Festival, discovering a hidden plot and a trail of stolen money.

A witty detective mystery set in Crozet, Virginia, where Mrs. Murphy the cat unlocks a series of false obituaries and murders, guiding her human friend Harry Haristeen through gossip, greed, and danger to uncover the killer.

In rural Crozet, Virginia, detective Mary "Harry" Haristeen and her feline side‑kicks investigate the murder of wealthy Mrs. Carla Paulson, balancing the case with gardens, new marriage and a suspicious architect.

In Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, a miraculous crying statue fuels a murder mystery. Cat detectives Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, with corgi Tee Tucker, help Mary “Harry” Haristeen unravel a cold case at Mount Carmel monastery.

Postmistress Mary "Harry" Haristeen becomes amateur sleuth when a contractor’s suspicious death triggers a townwide murder mystery in Crozet, Virginia.