Cat Telling Tales: A Joe Grey Mystery

“Joe Grey and Dulcie aren’t your ordinary feline detectives. Murphy’s raised the stakes of the feline sleuth genre.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“These Joe Grey mysteries will stay popular for many years to come.”
—Tampa Tribune

Mystery fans and cat lovers alike rejoice. The infallible feline sleuthing team of Joe Grey, Dulcie, and Kit return in Cat Telling Tales—author Shirley Rousseau Murphy’s seventeenth ingenious whodunit that once again gives readers a cat’s eye view of crime, murder, and mayhem. Already honored with nine Cat Writers’ Association Muse Medallions for her series, Murphy takes us back to Molina Point, California in Cat Telling Tales, as a suspicious fire, a tragic death, and a rash of unanticipated houseguests, both human and feline, inflame the investigative curiosity of our furry detective trio. If you’re already a fan of Lilian Jackson Braun, Rita Mae Brown, and Carole Nelson Douglas, you’ll find Shirley Rousseau Murphy’s Tales purr-fectly wonderful!

"Missing humans, missing cats, what's the difference?"

A fire in the seaside village of Molena Point has left a twelve-year-old boy homeless—and the body of his alcoholic guardian is found in the smoldering ruins. A most curious tomcat, feline p.i. Joe Grey wonders if escape was really impossible for the elderly woman or if something more sinister occurred. And when boisterous Debbie Kraft descends uninvited on the Damens' home with her two children, claiming that her ex-husband has left her destitute, Joe really smells a rat—especially when he discovers Debbie is carrying loads of cash . . . and that the dead woman was her estranged mother.

This case—a nasty mix of missing persons, abandoned pets, real-estate scams, and murder—has Joe's fur standing on end. But it's not until Debbie's left-behind housecat shows up that Joe and his furry detecting pals find the biggest, most troubling clue of all: a grave that the cops somehow have missed.

“This is delightful entertainment. It would be a true cat-tastrophe if you let it pass you by.” - Todd David Schwartz, CBS Radio, Four Stars (Highest Rating) on Cat Coming Home

“The heartwrenching stories of an orphaned child and a stray cat at Christmas will tug on more than a few heartstrings.” - Romantic Times on Cat Coming Home

“A heartwarming and satisfying tale.” - Booklist on Cat Coming Home

“[A] marvelous holiday gift of a tale.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Cat Coming Home