Customer Reviews

Cat Deck the Halls: A Joe Grey Mystery (Joe Grey Mysteries)

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In the quaint little village named Molena Point (California), the police department is used to getting anonymous phone calls from a certain voice giving them help on cases. So when the voice reports a man shot dead beneath the village Christmas tree and a little girl in his arms scared and crying, Molena Point PD responds. However, upon arriving there is neither a body, nor a little girl, to be found. There is a space where a body could have once been and even traces of blood though. Searching the area, officers locate a silent and scared little girl around the age of five or six. But who is she? Where did she come from?

Joe Grey, Dulcie, and Kit are three felines used to secretly cracking the cases too difficult for the humans. After all, cats have much keener senses than people. Together the trio dive into the mystery as they care for the child who may be the killer's next target.

**** This is Joe Grey's thirteenth case. It is a heartbreaking predicament set around the year's busiest season. Humans with cat owners, such as myself, can't help but love these feline heroes since we often wonder just how much our cat companions understand of our language. (MINE certainly act as though they understand my words. So well that it is sometimes creepy!) Mystery fans and/or animal fans will adore this story. Excellent for reading on a silent cold night. ****

Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.

I have enjoyed the Joe Grey stories and look forward to each new book.
Ms. Murphy is a wonderful story teller. I collect her books, so I know the intelligent way she uses words to bring the reader into the story be it one of her childrens books or a Joe Grey Mystery.
You will be brought into the world of regular people living and working in a small beach town but some of them have to deal with a secret. If it ever gets out that Clyde, Wilma and only a few others know about Joe, Dulcie and Kit what a mess that would be. Hard to keep the fact that these cats are from a spicial breed. Joe loves to snoop! Joe loves to order food from the local deli and Joe, Dulcie and Kit visit the local police department, slove crime and no one ever knows who the persons are who help the police. Cat Deck The Halls is set at the Christmas season and the cats are looking forward to the Christmas Musical and the seasons treats. Joe is a bit slow in finding out what all is going on when some suspect people move into a house down the road from Kit's house. Maybe kit is skiddish already from finding a man shot to death under the town Christmas Tree, and where is the little girl who was with him?
Great story you will enjoy.

In Shirley Murphy's 'Cat Deck the Halls', Joe Grey and his feline companions have to help solve a Christmas murder and help friends figure out what is going on with their strange neighbors. The warmth of the setting, the unique characters, and the mystery sleuthing done by everyone provides for a short, funny, and entertaining light read. A must read by cat fans everywhere!

In the garden of a plaza in Molena Point, California, the assailant kills the man by the Christmas tree while a little girl clings to the victim. After the culprit fled the crime scene, Kit prowling the rooftop of one of the buildings in the plaza smells the blood and cordite. She traces the odor to the dead human and sees the frightened five or six year old (hard to judge specific age in humans as they all look the same) clinging to the dead man.

By the time the cops arrive, the killer hid the corpse and Kit and her feline pals concealed the child to insure that the culprit did not come after the only witness. While his cat pals hide the little girl, ace detective Joe Grey investigates. Meanwhile the killer and perhaps some allies seek the child so they break into Kit's home and the studio of a famous artist at the Home for Orphan Children. However, these dangerous humans have never dealt with felines as clever as Joe Grey, Kit and the rest of their meowing carol singers.

Shirley Rousseau Murphy proves that cats have at least fourteen lives as Joe Grey works his later caper while his partners keep the human girl safe. The whodunit is cleverly designed to keep the audience, the cops and the cats off balance until the final paw step. Fans of the series will appreciate this fun personification holiday mystery as the felines of Molena Point deck the halls with an entertaining mystery

Harriet Klausner

Cat Deck the Halls is the thirteenth Joe Grey mystery in which Joe, Dulcie and Kit help solve a murder mystery once again. The Christmas tree in the village square of Molena Point, CA becomes the scene of a murder in the late hours of the night when a man shoots and kills a person who has stopped to find something to eat and drink for him and his little daughter.

The police are alerted, but when the emergency vehicles arrive on the scene, there is no body, no child and all that the police can find is some blood around and near the Christmas tree. It's the season to celebrate, but with all that's going on in Molena Point, there is little to smile about as long as this mystery can't be solved.

As in most of Murphy's Joe Grey Mysteries, there are a lot of characters to keep track of. However, the three cats bound from roof to roof and house to house without confusion. For cat lovers, these kitties are the best, especially when their secret is revealed.

This is a wonderful series of books for cat lovers and/or mystery lovers.

Christmas in the coastal village of Molena Point, CA, is a determinedly charming time, with shoppers swarming the upscale galleries and businesses, decorations everywhere, and white-robed carolers performing under the big tree in the main plaza. Clyde Damen, the human housemate of feline detective Joe Grey, has been looking forward to a quiet holiday of low-key suppers and relaxed parties with his extended family of friends and animals; he's even entertaining thoughts of proposing to Ryan Flannery. But everyone's plans get thrown for a loop when the little tortoiseshell Kit comes about as close to witnessing a murder as is possible without actually seeing it happen. "A dead man, dead with a shot in his head in the plaza under the Christmas tree and a little child in his arms scared and crying," she babbles to the police dispatcher over the phone. But when the cops get there, there's no body and no child.

Kit and Joe soon find the child, but she's not talking, and the body remains elusive, though human blood is found at the scene and on the little girl's clothes. And soon a new mystery intrudes when Kit discovers a stranger hiding in the unused first-floor apartment of the house she shares with Lucinda and Pedric Greenlaw. Evina is watching the three people who live next door, convinced that one of them may have murdered her niece. Now Joe, Kit, and their calico partner Dulcie must try to get at the truth of this as well as protecting the silent child from a shadowy killer who may well try to make sure she remains silent permanently.

Murphy's characters and setting (Molena Point is a thinly disguised version of Carmel, where the author lives) come alive as always in this excellent holiday mystery, and the fact that it's the Season of Good Cheer makes the tragic situation of the nameless child, and Evina's desperate quest for justice, all the more touching. In the end, with suitable twists, the truth comes out, justice is done, and a new surprise element enters the lives of the three sentient cats, boding well for future volumes. This is an installment not to be missed.

A trio of cats set on protecting a six year old crime victim from a killer. The same man she watched gun down the man holding her. Was it her father? The body is taken from the shopping center and the girl hid. One of the cats calls 911 (yes, that's right.)

The cats and later the police is found and taken into protective custody with the extra help from the feline trio. They try to identify the girl and find the missing body.

Mysterious neighbors; intruders; pictures of children; broken locks and talking cats; all add up to a thrilling, fun to read, fast moving, complex tale.

This was my first Joe Grey Mystery, but it won't be my last. Shirley Rousseau Murphy raises a question in my mind. Do I wish my five cats could talk? I'm thinking, No, but I'm glad hers do.

Review by Wanda C. Keesey (author Lost In The Mist release May 2008)

Reviewed by Vanessa Lee

Joe Grey is not your typical cat. For one, he talks, and not in the way that most cats do, but rather with actual words that his owner and anyone else who happens to be around can understand. So can his friends, Kit and Dulcie. Together, acting as anonymous sources to the Molena Point Police Department, they've solved several crimes. When Kit stumbles upon a dead body and a frightened but alive little girl in the middle of the night-this might present a mystery beyond even the feline detectives.

Who was the man? Why was he killed? Is the small, silent witness safe? As Molena Point plans its annual Christmas celebrations, the cats and their human counterparts set out to answer these questions, and a few more they encounter along the way.

Though the premise may seem strange, fans of Murphy's series will be used to the talking cats, and newcomers will notice how natural they seem. I can easily imagine my own cats saying and doing many of the same things as Joe Grey, Kit, and Dulcie. Murphy plays on cats' inquisitiveness to turn them into natural detectives who easily pull the story along. Through them you meet a whole cast of loveable characters... and encounter a whole slew of other problems that need to be solved.

Though everything may wrap up just a little too neatly to be really believable, Cat Deck the Halls is complex and entertaining - a real treat for fans of cat or cozy mysteries. The human characters are as well-developed and interesting as the cats, the subplots fit into the story without distracting from the main mystery, and the twist at the end is one I didn't see coming.

Armchair Interviews says: With Cat Deck the Halls, Murphy has added another star to her Joe Grey series. It's a delightful holiday treat that's sure to please.

These three cats keep me wanting more. They are pure delight and there is a wonderful cast of "humans" to go along with them.

I really enjoyed this story. It's very weird getting used to talking and mystery-solving cats. Honestly, I had trouble getting into that reality. However, the 3 cats are very likeable, loyal to their humans, smart, and resourceful.

There are so many human characters in the book, I was often confused who was who and how they were connected to each other...but whatever, that's probably just me - possibly because I haven't read the previous books.

I did guess the murderer very early on, almost immediately...so the big mystery was WHY did he do it? The mystery is solid, with very plausible red herrings.

I will eventually get around to reading all the other 16 novels in the series.