Hiss Of Death

Hiss of Death is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2011 by American Artists, Inc.

Excerpt from The Big Cat Nap copyright © 2012 by American Artists, Inc.

Illustrations copyright © 2011 by Michael Gellatly

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Bantam Books, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

BANTAM BOOKS and the rooster colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication

Data Brown, Rita Mae.

Hiss of death : a Mrs. Murphy mystery / by Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown; illustrations by Michael Gellatly.

p. cm.

This book contains an excerpt from the forthcoming book The Big Cat Nap by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown. This excerpt has been set for this edition only and may not reflect the final content of the forthcoming edition.

eISBN: 978-0-553-90808-4

1. Haristeen, Harry (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Murphy, Mrs. (Fictitious character)—Fiction.

3. Women detectives—Virginia—Fiction. 4. Cats—Fiction. 5. Virginia—Fiction. I. Title.

PS3552.R698H57 2011

813′.54—dc22 2010047836

www.bantamdell.com

Cover design: Beverly Leung

Cover illustration: © Daniel Pelvin (cat), © Shutterstock/MisterElements (yarn)

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