Joe Grey Mysteries

For feline PI Joe Grey and his companion Dulcie, life is a bittersweet mix of endings and beginnings. While they joyfully await their first litter, they are also sad for their friend, the old yellow cat Misto, whose time on earth is drawing to an end. But Misto tells them an exciting future awaits: among the litter will be a little calico from the distant past who will be born with ancient markings and the adventurous spirit of Joe Grey. While the proud parents await the birth of their babies, their humans have their hands full with projects of their own. Kate Osborne has bought the old Pamillon estate, and Ryan Flannery is building a new cat shelter as part of their volunteer rescue project. The criminals are busy too. The Molena Point PD has stepped up patrols to apprehend a mugger attacking the local elderly. The case becomes a homicide when one of the victims dies, leaving everyone in the town-including Joe Grey and his furry sleuthing companions-on edge. When Dulcie gives birth, her little calico is just as Misto predicted, as if she has come back to the world from mythic ancient times. But the celebrations will have to wait. A murderer is on the loose-and neither young nor old is safe until the culprit is found. "Anyone unfamiliar with this cozy series will be quickly drawn in by the complete believability of Murphy's crime-solving felines and their helpful human companions."

The stakes are higher and more personal than ever for feline investigator Joe Grey when death comes to his beloved coastal California town in this twentieth installment of the enchanting cat mystery series. While new father Joe Grey is overjoyed to teach his three young kittens about the world, he misses his cop work-secretly helping solve crimes alongside his human friends at Molena Point PD. But when beautician Barbara Conley and one of her customers are found dead in the salon, Joe makes an exception and heads for the crime scene. He has no idea that the kittens are following him, or how they will complicate the investigation. But this is not the only danger to the kittens. A stranger is lurking around the home of Joe's tabby lady, Dulcie, where the kittens were born. Both parents' backs are up and their claws out, ready to protect their babies and to protect Wilma Getz, Dulcie's human housemate. As the death of the beautician becomes entangled with a gang of thieves working the village, Joe, Dulcie, Kit, and Pan are all into the investigation; and they are led to unexpected connections, to the building of the new cat shelter and to a neighbor who becomes suddenly an unexpected part of the tangle. Joe Grey fans will relish this latest installment following their favorite feline detective and his growing group of friends. "Interaction between domesticated cats and their feral relatives is just one of the highlights of Murphy's fun-filled twentieth Joe Grey mystery."