Cat to the Dogs: A Joe Grey Mystery

Cat to the Dogs: A Joe Grey Mystery by Murphy, Shirley Rousseau. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780061050978.

Cat to the Dogs is the latest entry in Shirley Rousseau Murphys acclaimed, uniquely charming mystery series featuring a pair of cats who discovered one day that they have the amazing ability to read, speak, and solve crimes. "For your information," said Joe Grey, "if that wreck turns out to be a murder, Im the one who put the cops onto it. Me. The cat you are booting out into the cold for no reason!" Joe Grey kicked out of the house? Ever since the earthquake, things have been going from bad to worse in Molena Point. There was the car "accident on Hellhag Hill, which looked--well--fishy, to Joes night-wise eyes. And there was the suspicious but not unwelcome death of the town philanderer, Shamas Greenlaw. Soon the little coastal California town was filled with greedy relatives and Shamass brazen young mistress, all looking to share the widows grief--and her rumored gold. Every earthquake has its aftershocks, and now even Dulcie, the library cat, is getting weird. Shes going to the dogs, literally. Shes taken to mothering two orphaned pups discovered at the scene of the crash. And worst of all, theres Clyde, Joes erratic but lovable human. He thinks cats should stay out of police work (as if humans could handle it on their own!), and to make his point, hes locking Joe and Dulcie out of the house when Officer Harper come over to play poker. Clyde is afraid the two will give away their secret--that a few select cats can not only talk, but read--and even use the telephone. (Where does Harper think those anonymous tips are coming from after all?) But Joe is not about to give up the chase. Not until the "ghost" of Hellhag Hill is tracked down and brought to justice. Mice are nice, but what cat can resist the chance to stalk a real killer?