Joe Grey Series by Shirley Rousseau Murphy 1-15 (retail EPUB) {dwg}

It's been quite a week for Joe Grey. First the large, powerful feline discovers that, through some strange, inexplicable phenomenon, he now has the ability to understand human language. Then he discovers he can speak it as well! It's a nightmare for a cat who'd prefer to sleep the day away carefree, but Joe can handle it. That is, until he has the misfortune to witness a murder in the alley behind Jolly's Deli -- and worse, to be seen witnessing it. With all of his nine lives suddenly at risk, Joe's got no choice but to get to the bottom of the heinous crime -- because his mouse-hunting days are over for good unless he can help bring a killer to justice.



A big, powerful, gray feline, Joe Grey is perfectly content with his remarkable ability to understand and communicate with humans -- especially now that he has company. A mysterious accident similar to the one that enabled him to speak and read has transformed his friend Dulcie as well. The trouble is, the cute tabby female not only hears human words, she believes them.

Now she's convinced the man who was jailed for murdering a famous local artist and burning down her studio is innocent -- simply because he says so -- and she's willing to do whatever it takes to dig up the evidence that will exonerate the accused. Joe would much prefer just lazing around the house doing kitty things, but the lady cat is determined. And Joe must admit that he is curious ... though everyone knows what that can lead to!



Joe Grey can't believe his human housemate Clyde would even consider volunteering him for the Animal Therapy program at the local nursing home, just when Joe was on the verge of solving the string of burglaries that has Molena Point residents shaking in their collective boots. But it turns out it's Dulcie, Joe's pretty little cat-friend, who came up with the idea of subjecting Joe to the cooing attentions of a bunch of doddering old coots. Dulcie believes there's more going on at the old folks' home than the care and feeding of lonely seniors. And she needs Joe's help in getting to the bottom of a conspiracy ... and a very suspicious set of deaths.



"Of course I worry.
What if the cops witness a cat opening a skylight and
masterminding a robbery?
The tabloids will love it."

There's a new pair of thieves in MolenaPoint, California, a renegade yellow-eyedtomcat with a cold disdain for the law,and a scruffy human partner who isno better. The two, clever and silentat their work, are bad news indeedto crime-solving cats Joe Grey andDulcie. But when Joe learns the pair'sconnection to a good friend, and then an innocent couple turns up dead in the library garden, Joe and Dulcie must engage in some fancy paw work to unmask the deceptions and route the real killer -- before his brazen criminal crime spree careens madly toward them.



A recent earthquake was only the beginning of the big trouble that plagues Molena Point, California. Joe Grey may be merely a cat, but he's already solved more murders than your average human detective, and he knows the "accident" on Hellhag Hill was anything but. Unfortunately Joe's somewhat erratic, if lovable, owner Clyde thinks cats should keep their paws out of police work, and locks Joe and his feline lady friend Dulcie out of the house when Officer Max Harper pays a social call.

But Joe can be a very stubborn tomcat when he sets his mind to it. And he's not about to give up the hunt. A killer needs to be apprehended, and Joe Grey's just the cat for the job -- especially since the humans who should be on the case don't seem to have a clue.



Hell hath no fury like a feline enraged. Though Joe Greyand Dulcie are merely housecats, they each have astrong sense of justice -- to complement their uncannyability to read, speak, and use the telephone. And they'refurious that Max Harper, police chief of Molena Pointand preferred target for Joe's harmless pranks, has beenaccused of a gruesome double murder.

The fleet-footed sleuthing duo is intent upon restoringan old friend's good name. But finding the missing littlegirl who was sole witness to the crime won't be easy -- especially with a hungry cougar on the prowl, a cat-killeron the loose ... and the kittenish antics of Joe and Dulcie'splayful new "ward" causing big trouble that could takemore than nine lives to survive.



Famous novelist Elliot Traynor is temporarily living in Molena Point. He and his wife don't have much to do with the villagers, which is fine with them since no one particularly likes Vivi. But their arrival has coincided with some peculiar happenings in the town, culminating with a botched burglary in the home of 60–something Susan Brittian. Susan is a friend to feline detectives Joe Grey and Dulcie and they aren't going to let this crime go unpunished. With whiskers twitching they investigate the crime and soon find themselves on the scent of a killer.



Romance is in the air in the charming seaside village of Molena Point, California. Everyone is excited about the upcoming wedding of its chief of police to the lovely Charlie Getz, even cool feline detective Joe Grey. But the festivities are interrupted when two uninvited guests try to blow up the church. Then one of the bride's good friends, building contractor Ryan Flannery, lands in a heap of trouble when her philandering husband is found dead.

With suspicion falling on Ryan's shoulders, Joe Grey and his pals, Dulcie and Kit, set out to prove her innocence. Soon paw–deep in a tangle of jealousy, greed, and vengeance, Joe Grey, Dulcie, and Kit find themselves in the biggest cat fight of their lives –– a bare–clawed battle with a prey who is as cunning as he is deadly . . .



From Shirley Rousseau Murphy, six-time winner of the Cat Writers' Association Muse Medallion, here is crime-solving from the paws of the most cunning and intelligent feline detectives around: tomcat and feline sleuth extraordinaire Joe Grey, his tabby pal Dulcie, and their tattercoat friend Kit.

When antiques and valuables begin to disappear from residents' homes, Joe Grey knows that something is very wrong in sleepy Molena Point, California. Could the thief be a local or, even worse, is it the old crook who may be connected to Azrael, the sinister, yellow-eyed cat who terrorized Joe and Dulcie years ago, and whose return has Joe's fur standing on edge? Even a seasoned tomcat like Joe isn't prepared for the shock that awaits Molena Point residents at the opening for artist Charlie Harper.

While guests are dining on hors d'oeuvres and fine wine at the joyous celebration, a young, healthy waiter drops dead at Charlie's feet.

Meanwhile, just north of Molena Point, in San Francisco, the cats' friend Kate, a woman with a troubling secret, is followed by a stranger and robbed. Her apartment is then gutted, with claw marks and black cat hairs leading her to suspect the vicious tomcat Azrael. In the most dramatic investigation of their lives, Joe Grey, Dulcie, and Kit, following diverse leads, scratch out the truth and, with cunning feline skills, restore a distraught village to its usual cozy tranquility.



Shirley Rousseau Murphy's popular mystery series features quick-witted cats who are also expert investigators. This installment finds the quiet town of Molena Point, California, devastated by the murder of local celebrity Patty Rose: A former actress famed for her WWII-era Hollywood musicals, Patty was beloved for her many acts of kindness and generosity in the town she'd called home since her retirement. First on the scene after her famous friend is killed, the extraordinary young tortoiseshell Kit takes the lead in this investigation. Trained by one of the finest feline detectives in town, the large gray tomcat named Joe Grey, Kit puts her every instinct to work, following the perpetrator and gathering at great risk all the evidence humans will need to see justice done. Sentient felines Joe Grey, Dulcie, and Kit soon discover that this brutal crime has far-reaching ties and is more complex than anyone -- human or animal -- suspects.


As usual, the humans who are lucky enough to share the lives of these curiously clever cats do their part -- including a frightened child who's taken refuge in a hidden room with only Dulcie to offer her company and comfort and the first faint hope of freedom.



Joe Grey isn't your average feline. After all, there's nothing ordinary about a cat who solves crimes. But it's more than his skill and cunning on the mean streets that makes Joe stand out among the legion of cat detectives on the prowl today -- it's how Joe cracks cases that makes him so unique. Join Joe Grey, his lady friend Dulcie, and their tattercoat friend Kit in the eleventh delightful installment in the series that "raises the stakes of the feline sleuth genre" (Booklist) and discover the secret they hide from most people -- and the mystery that makes Joe Grey so exceptional.

CAT BREAKING FREEThe fur starts flying -- the fur of Joe Grey, Feline P.I., that is -- when a gang from L.A. comes up to tranquil Molena Point, California, and begins breaking into the village's quaint shops. After all, Molena Point has been his home since he was a kitten eating scraps from the garbage behind the local delicatessen, and he doesn't take well to marauding strangers. Joe even wonders whether the blonde who's moved in next door to his human companion Clyde could be a part of the gang -- she's been acting pretty suspicious lately.

But when the strangers start trapping and caging feral cats -- speaking cats, like Joe and his girlfriend Dulcie -- it proves too much for the intrepid four-footed detective. And when one of the gang is murdered, and a second mysterious death comes to light, he has no choice but to try to stop the crimes. Joe, Dulcie, and Kit, who used to be a stray herself, are deep into the investigation when they are able to release the three trapped felines. But as Kit leads them away to freedom, will she herself return to that wild life?

In this marvelous book that once again opens the door to the spectacular world of Joe Grey, meet three new cats -- winning cats drawn from among hundreds of their owners' entries and chosen at random to appear in this book -- and join old friends and new in Shirley Rousseau Murphy's most ambitious and enjoyable mystery to date



Award-winning author Shirley Rousseau Murphy once again gives eager readers memorable and charming characters, both feline and human, in a skillful and sophisticated story that magically transcends the mystery genre. Tomcat Joe Grey, his feline companion, Dulcie, and their timid but tough-as-nails tattercoat friend Kit will "leave fans purring with pleasure," wrote Publishers Weekly. In this twelfth intricate and enchanting novel, the crafty feline trio faces perhaps their most feared enemy: two of their closest human friends are kidnapped and may not live to see freedom.



Molena Point, California, nestled quietly on the Pacific coast miles below San Francisco, is not a place where most escaped federal prisoners would hole up. But Cage Jones has a reason. Facing another prison term, he escapes from jail hot for revenge against the Molena Point resident who turned state s witness against him and who, he s certain, has stolen his hidden cache - a fortune for which he has not served time, and does not intend to. When local headlines tell Dulcie that Cage has escaped, the tabby is cold with fear for her housemate, Wilma. Joe Grey, puzzling over two brutal local murders, doesn t pay attention until Wilma s house is vandalized and Dulcie finds Cage Jones on the premises, but not Wilma. While cops swarm on to the scene, Joe and his human housemate take off on a wild search for Wilma - and Dulcie and Kit foolishly go into Jones s hideout.



When the three indomitable felines, paw-in-hand with the unsuspecting cops - and with special powers known by only a few select humans - help untangle Jones s agenda and the brutal murders, the devil-tinged scenario leaves a lasting fear among the cats. In one of Shirley Rousseau Murphy s most suspenseful and unforgettable books to date - a whimsical and imaginative trip into the hidden lives of felines - the cats, and a band of feral friends, help bring peace to the small seaside village.



The cats who saved Christmas . . .

The charming seaside village of Molena Point, California, leads one to expect a quiet traditional Christmas surrounded by family and friends—but not this holiday season. Instead of singing carols and climbing into Christmas trees, Joe Grey, feline P.I., is faced with his most difficult case yet—and that's saying a lot for a wily tomcat who for years has been solving crimes the police can't even crack.

At midnight in the deserted gardens of the shopping plaza, a stranger lies dead beneath the village Christmas tree; the only witness to the shooting is a little child. But when the police arrive, summoned by an anonymous phone call of feline origin, both the body and the child have disappeared. As police scramble for leads, the grey tomcat, his tabby lady, and their tortoiseshell pal, Kit, launch their own unique investigation.

Together Joe Grey, Dulcie, and Kit face their most heartbreaking case yet as they care for the child who may be the killer's next target. Trying to sort out perplexing clues amidst the happiness of the season, they shadow a cast of colorful characters. But neither the police nor their unknown feline assistants are aware that they might have stumbled over the murderer and never known it, until an electrifying final scene when the killer's identity is revealed.

For years Shirley Rousseau Murphy has written tales that have delighted readers and critics alike. With her lyrical prose and fast-paced plotting, Murphy has created another delightfully absorbing trip to a magical place populated by unforgettable characters whom readers have come to think of as friends.



It took Joe Grey's human, Clyde, nearly forever to pop the question to Ryan Flannery, and what more romantic time to tie the knot than on Valentine's Day? But dark secrets from the past, uncovered by Joe and his feline pals, threaten to ruin the happy union.

First, a body discovered many miles away reopens a ten-year-old cold case involving a man who disappeared days before his own wedding. The jilted bride is back in town and eager to find the truth . . . or to hide evidence of her own wrongdoing. Trouble is, she's soon involved with Ryan's father, who is house-sitting and preparing meals for Joe Grey while Clyde and Ryan are on their honeymoon.

Then another body is found closer to home on the grounds of a ruined estate, deserted save for a band of unusual feral cats. Around the wrist of the corpse is a bracelet bearing the image of a rearing cat, and the cats discover a rare literary volume hidden nearby that divulges their own secret: their special ability to speak.

But as the police investigate the two murders, located more than five hundred miles apart, only Joe Grey suspects that the crimes are related. It takes