Customer Reviews

Cat Fear No Evil: A Joe Grey Mystery

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When jewelry and antiques begin disappearing from the homes of Molena Point, California residents, and then a waiter dies at the feet of renowned artist, Charlie Harper, during the opening of her new solo art show, feline detectives Joe Grey and Dulcie know that there is something seriously wrong taking place in the sleepy town. Then, just a few miles north in the city of San Francisco, Joe Grey and Dulcie's human friend, Kate, a clever woman concealing a troubling secret, is not only followed and robbed, but also has her apartment invaded by a rogue, yet very tough tomcat named Azrael. Now, with the help of Joe's owner, Clyde Damen, Joe Grey and his partner in crime (or solving crime), Dulcie will begin clawing out the truth to uncover this frightening new mystery.

This was the first book that I have read by Shirley Rousseau Murphy, and I am quite pleased with the outcome. Joe Grey is a witty character, who's personality can change from funny to serious in the matter of seconds. Dulcie is adorable, even though she is a bit hard-headed. And Clyde is a fun character whom is lead around by the nose by two mischevious cats. Overall this was a fabulous mystery that will capture the hearts of all fans of a good animal-narrated story. Fans of Lillian Jackson Braun and Rita Mae Brown will relish in the likeness of Shirley Rousseau Murphy's plot and characters. A must read.

Erika Sorocco

I'm sure when a writer dives into a series of novels, it's bound to get a little stale. Shirley Rousseau Murphy's Joe Gray/Dulcie series has so far been a very enjoyable series, with her feline hero/heroines (Kit's the other female)a delight to spend time with. CAT FEAR NO EVIL, while sure to please Ms. Murphy's fans, is a little stale. Murphy spends a lot of time commiserating over some of her character's dilemmas redundantly and uncolorfully. This is true in the case of both Kate and Dillon. There also isn't as much of Dulcie and Kit in this one; seems Murphy is spending a little more time on her humans in this one, and while Kate Osborne was initially fascinating, in this book she comes across pathetically inept both emotionally and physically. Azriel, the black cat, also chews up too much of the scenery. There's some far fetched plotting in this one, and resolutions come a little too easily.
But, the series isn't dead; Ms. Murphy needs to reassess why her readers have followed her---the three cats should be the focal point of the books, and let other fiction writers focus on the humans!!!

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EVIL , the ninth Joe Grey, is readable, but weak and implausible. As in many long-running series, my willing suspension of disbelief suffered from the shear quantity of mayhem that happens to Our Heroes and their pals. Plus this one has a confused mishmash of plotlines. Has moments, but Murphy needs a fresh start, I guess.

Note that the first 4 or 5 Joe Greys are delightful. Just don't start here.

Happy reading!
Pete Tillman

I am an avid reader of cat mysteries. If there is a cat even remotely involved in the plot line, I've read it. I have all of Murphy's Joe Grey series, but I always wait for the paperbacks. She is a talented writer and has created some likeable characters, but this one was not my favorite. I do like the fact that Dulice is an avid bibliophile and Joe Grey's snide sense of humor. The human characters in the book are wonderful as well. She really has created a wonderful setting and the kind of comraderie that other books set in small towns are losing. Murphy's characters do not lose quality as the series goes on, but this book seemed to be struggling for a plot line. I guessed the whodunit, and I was able to put the book down for awhile, which to me does not reflect a book getting five stars. I highly recommend reading all of Murphy's series, but not at hard back prices.

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This "Joe Grey" fantasy cat-detective novel is readable, but weak and implausible. As in many long-running series, my willing suspension of disbelief suffers from the sheer quantity of mayhem that happens to Our Heroes and their pals. Murphy needs a fresh start with a new series, I'd guess. Note that the first 4 or 5 Joe Greys are delightful. Just don't start here!

Happy reading--
Peter D. Tillman

The evil one is back in this riviting book. I was disappointed the Kate did not have her "skills" among her this time. But a very satisfying read! i have all her books and re-read often.
I highly recommend The Catswold Portal if you can get a copy. It is a out of print book.

When a fully restored antique Packard roadster disappears from Clyde Damen's locked auto shop--the latest in a series of baffling burglaries plaguing the little coastal town of Molena Point--Clyde does the sensible thing: he gets his cat. Joe Grey, the stub-tailed tomcat, is an experienced detective who can speak and read English and reason with the best of them; over the years since discovering this gift he has decided that "if you were given extra talents, you were committed by the power that made all life to give back in kind"--which is why he helps the cops. But even Joe doesn't realize the truth until, walking the roofs in the wee hours of the morning, he picks up a familiar and hated smell. It soon turns out that Azrael, the sinister tomcat who shares the gift of sentience with Joe and his friends Dulcie and Kit, is back in town and up to his usual tricks. (Strewn through the first 22 pages are hints of what he's been doing since we last saw him; to me they suggest a story that Murphy has not yet told.) But there's more to the situation than meets the eye--even feline eyes that can see in the dark. Why is someone so interested in acquiring the antique jewelry inherited by shapeshifter Kate Osborne? Is Azrael connected? And what's to be done about young Dillon Thurwell, who at 14 has fallen in with a bad set and taken to shoplifting? Meanwhile, little Kit detects a gas leak in a neighborhood cottage--and there's a dead man inside. And a young and apparently healthy waiter suddenly drops dead in a village cafe. Then word comes that Kit's human "parents," the octogenarian Greenlaws, have died when their RV hit a semi-truck and burned. But are they dead after all? Facing off repeatedly against their old foe, Joe and his friends struggle to find the solutions to these mysteries (which, as always in Murphy's complex and skillfully plotted tales, turn out to be connected), and along the way begin to get some hints about their own powers. (Azrael is deeply interested in returning to what he deems the original world of the sentient cats, a mysterious underground realm that may have an entrance in San Francisco.) Joe may not fear evil, but evil definitely lurks in this fascinating entry to the series.

This book is one of a series and they make for imaginative and interesting fantasy reading. I bought this book for my mother as she is collecting the series and she loves the stories.

I like continuity. I started the series at the beginning and after the first book had to find the, at that time out of print, Catswold Portal, to really go back to the beginning. Each further book builds on a fantastic story, one that true cat lovers, in their hearts, wish could be true. Shirley Rousseau Murphy has given concious life to the cats in her books, and that underlying humanity draws one back, tale after tale, to a group of cats, that after the first book, are friends. I wait impatiently for each new story to be unveiled. There are too many series, not enough really good ones. This is one of the best!

Azrael is back in Molena point! Evil is lurking about!

In this volume of the series, Ms. Murphy puts together a masterpiece. Those who have read her previous books are treated to many treasures: Not only does this book perform the normal feat of making sentient cats who can read and speak English sound almost believable, but the mystery plot is actually convoluted enough, and credible enough that I had a tough time deciphering the who-dun-it part until about two thirds of the way through the book. Finally, this book brings together all of the characters that inhabit this wonderful little corner of the world and progresses each of their stories.

Let's start with Azrael - Last we saw him, he was helping a drunken old man perform burglaries in Molena Point so they could pay for their food and booze. This time Azrael leaves the man in Columbia, South America and he is on the trail of some unique talismans that will lead him to a greater place. However, to get there, he helps in creating havoc and much crime all up and down the California coast.

Dillon - the 14 year old girl that has been a special project of Max Harper and Charlie is going through that stage of puberty where the world is against her. In this book, she is even more angry as her mother has started an open affair with a good-looking rich man who moved into the village a few months before. Dillon's rebelliousness leads her to associate with a small crowd of other girls who are also at that stage and who are led by an older teen who eggs them on to mischief.

Kate Osborn is also back. In her case, she is searching for her ancestors and has actually discovered an old law firm that has been holding some jewelry for her for over 30 years. This jewelry leads her to search the accounts of a newspaperman called McCabe who may or may not be related to her. The jewelry itself is unique but an appraiser values it at some few hundreds of dollars stating that the various stones on it are actually made of paste.

One of the early events in the book involves a waiter who falls dead on top of Charlie at the reception that the village is holding for her to celebrate her one-woman show of art works featuring Joe Grey and Dulcie. How about that ruining an evening?

Then, another murder occurs and then two more deaths are reported which affect Kit to an incredible degree. While all of this is going on, there is also a rash of burglaries around the state where only one item of many are stolen. The treasure left behind is substantial, but the one item that is stolen is very expensive. There are no traces left of how the burglaries take place. Even Clyde is affected when one of his cars disappears in the middle of the night!

All of this drive Joe, Dulcie, Kit, Clyde, Wilma, Max, and Charlie absolutely bonkers. They all search for clues and an understanding of each of the crimes. As usual, it is the cats who discover pieces of what's going on and get some evidence to the police.

The story's tension gets cranked up as Kate Osborn is first followed, then her apartment is ransacked, and finally, everything resolves itself with the explanations of what was going on actually making sense and describing the events of the book to a great degree. There are even a few confrontations and battles between Joe and Azrael with the apparent resolution that Azrael may be gone for good this time.

I was happy to see hints that Clyde and Kate may be able to resolve their differences as they are being painted as the perfect couple for each other. Ryan is there, but her romance with Clyde seemed to have cooled off. Charlie and Max are still madly in love. And all the adults try to save Dillon and apparently are making an impact in turning her back from the wrong road that she was almost on. I can't wait to read the next one in the series to see how it will evolve from here.

Highly recommended.