Customer Reviews

Cat Pay the Devil: A Joe Grey Mystery (Joe Grey Mysteries)

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

In Molena Point, California, Dulcie tells her two feline pals Joe Grey and Kit that she is worried about her housemate retired federal officer Wilma Getz, who just vanished without a word from a shopping mall. Joe Grey thinks his friend is being an inane female as her human companion has left home before, but three days have passed and Dulcie is panicking that something bad happened to Wilma especially since Cage Jones escaped from prison, a place he went to because of Wilma's testimony in court.

When someone shoots Wilma's former partner Mandell Bennnett and local resident Linda Tucker is killed, though he cannot see a link, Joe Grey believes that Dulcie is right and Wilma is in trouble. The cat trio follows Wilma's trail to the nearby hills where undomesticated cats reside and learn that someone abducted her and her niece Charlie, the wife of police Captain Max Harper. Assuming Cage and an associate have more than revenge in mind, the cats begin a rescue attempt before Dulcie's housemate and her relative are killed.

Fans of the series will take great delight as the fearsome felines search for and try to rescue one of their human housemates from an avenging killer with an extra unknown (to the cats) agenda. The story line is action-packed as the personified cats discuss the case in English amidst themselves, some wild felines, and a few humans. Though newcomers may have difficulty listening to the animals chatter in human tongue as that is a key premise from the start, long time fans will welcome the latest feline amateur sleuthing.

Harriet Klausner

Think you would not enjoy a mystery with talking cats--cats that not only talk to each other, but also to humans? Well this one is a really good read, and not at all frivolous or cozy. This is Murphy's 13th book, and as good as the previous ones.

Joe Grey, Dulcie and Kit (all cats) do their best to solve kidnappings, murders, and help their human roommates the best they can, using all their feline skills: their sense of smell, sight, and their ability to get into crime scenes unnoticed. Joe hangs out at the local police department in Molena Point, California, and picks up information that he relays to his fellow sleuths.

In this harrowing tale, Dulcie's beloved human, Wilma, is kidnapped, and then her niece Charlie is taken. The cats are hard put to rescue them. They are up against several very malicious criminals, one an escaped convict with a grudge. Eventually, with the help of the police and a few feral cats, everyone is saved.

The cats are believable, and the clever ways they manage to communicate with those humans who do not know they can talk make this story even more enjoyable.

Armchair Interviews says: If you have not read these books before, you have to try them.

Joe Grey, the talking feline detective, is so focused on the recent murders of two Molena Point women that at first he thinks his calico lady Dulcie is borrowing trouble when she worries that her human housemate, retired parole officer Wilma Getz, is in danger. It seems that Cage Jones, to whose release she testified in opposition, has escaped from jail and is on the loose--and Dulcie is sure he'll seek revenge. What even Dulcie doesn't suspect is that Jones is missing something valuable--something he thinks Wilma may have taken from his family's home when it was last searched. And so when Wilma, on her way home from San Francisco, disappears out of a mall parking lot, Joe and Dulcie and their young partner Kit have their paws full.

Though we never do find out what Jones is missing or what became of it, Murphy provides hints enough to give us firm grounds for guessing. And while the kidnap itself is resolved in the first three-quarters of the book, there's still the question of the murders (now totalling three) and the sinister presence of Greeley Urzey, former partner of the devilish Azreal (see Cat Fear No Evil (Joe Grey Mysteries)). Back for a return engagement are Willow, Cotton, and Coyote, the feral sentients rescued in the previous volume (Cat Breaking Free: A Joe Grey Mystery (Joe Grey Mysteries)), who have settled in a ruin up in the residential hills behind the village with a small clowder of gentler talking cats, and whose presence proves critical to the satisfactory resolution of the situation. With all the familiar human characters--Clyde Damen, Wilma, Max and Charlie Harper, Ryan Flannery, Kit's octogenarian housemates Lucinda and Pedric, Detective Dallas Garza--and some new faces, it's a good sound entry into a popular series.

OK, I admit it. I'm a huge fan of the Joe Grey series, and looked forward to the release of the next installment. I was not disappointed. It seems that there was more emphasis placed on the human characters in the story than some of the others. But the feral cats put in another appearance, and a lot of attention is given to the relationship between Joe and Dulcie and their human companions. A great book!

I love Joe Grey and Dulcie and Kit, too. They are such good friends and so smart. An enjoyable way to spend a rainy afternoon or a quiet rest time.

Perhaps the author's best to date. You will be taken to a world of fantasy and the twists and turns will set your head spinning and your heart afire. Definitely recommend.

[...]

I love all of the Joe Grey mysteries. A great mystery and a wonderful writer who understands cats.

I've read all of the Joe Grey Mysteries so far and this is another fun one. Doesn't disappoint. Keep 'em coming, please.

If you like the Joe Grey Mystery series you will love this one as well. It is in character with Shirley Murphy.

Love the Joe Grey books by Shirley Rousseau Murphy. She has a talent for bringing out the cat lover in everyone, while creating a mystery.