Customer Reviews

Cat Playing Cupid (Joe Grey Mysteries)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love Shirley Rousseau Murphy's delightful Joe Grey series, and each book seems better than the last. Romance is the theme in this one, the 14th in the series, with Clyde Damen and Ryan Flannery tying the knot at last, on Valentine's Day. Also involved in this story are two murders in the past, and the discovery of a old, hidden book of "folktales" that could reveal the secret of the special talking cats, Joe Grey, Dulcie, Kit, and others living in the area who are feral.

This whole series, with its lovely small-town setting in coastal Northern California, and its lovable, interesting characters, feline, human and canine, is an amazing accomplishment. Murphy is a wonderful writer and storyteller who somehow manages to make the reader believe in these speaking, crime-solving cats. And there's a fascinating Celtic mythological background behind these special felines.

It's best to read this series in order, beginning with Cat on the Edge, because the characters go through many changes in their lives, and we meet lots of new ones as the series continues. I enjoyed these books so much the first time that I have started a reread of the entire series.

How in the world does Ms. Murphy do that? Make you believe what you know is impossible? Do I think cats can talk? Well, no. Do I believe Joe Grey can talk? Absolutely! If you've never read about these three felines, Joe, Dulcie and Kit, before, go back and read a few -- or all -- the previous stories to learn not only to appreciate their abilities, but also to learn all about their humans, who are wonderful people to know. But this book, this is one of the best! Well plotted, well written, full of suspense and believable all the way. I admire how this author has created a lovely town, filled with interesting people, some who know about the cats and their abilities, and some who do not, and how everybody lives all unknowing while the cats sneak here and there solving the mystery. This is a keeper. I closed the book with a smile, went to bed with a smile and woke up with a smile. You can't ask for better entertainment.

This, the latest in the Molena Point Cat Mysteries, combines once again the delightful local color of Carmel -- and the entire Monterey Peninsula -- with another, almost believable, story of talking felines and the their involvement in solving local mysteries.
I love Shirley Rousseau Murphy's books for adults and children alike. The Joe Grey mysteries carry so much mythology that readers, especially adult ones, find themselves gobbling up slight-shiver-inducing, mysterious tales of the past while enjoying some splendid, modern who-done-it work at the same time.
May Joe Grey (along with his feline, canine, and human friends) and their creator stay around for a long time to come!
P.S. Read _The Catswold Portal_, if you want to sample more of Shirley's writing.

Joe Grey, that indefatigable talking tomcat, is back for his 14th outing (which coincidentally begins on Valentine's Day with the wedding of his human, Clyde Damen, to Ryan Flannery) and getting mixed up in a long-cold missing-persons case and the lives and loves of his female counterparts, Dulcie and Kit, and the wild clowder of sentient felines that dwells in the hills above Molena Point. It's been 10 years since a local accountant, Carson Chappell, vanished just before his wedding while supposedly hiking nearby. The same week his partner's wife, Nina Gibbs, disappeared from human ken. Chappell's fiancee, Lindsey Wolf, never gave up tryng to learn the truth, and now word has come of the discovery of a male skeleton in Oregon, 500 miles from where Chappell was supposed to be hiking, and she's certain it's his. This draws MPPD, and particularly Ryan Flannery's uncle, Dallas Garza, and her father, Mike Flannery, who has just retired from the Federal Probation Office--and whom Lindsey briefly dated after Chappell's vanishment--into the effort to learn the skeleton's identity. What they don't know is that there's another skeleton much closer to home: in the ruins of the old Pamillon estate the wild clowder has discovered it buried in a garden courtyard. Joe and Dulcie, convinced that the two sets of remains are connected--could the second skeleton be Nina's?--must find a way to rig the discovery of the second without betraying their own secret. And who is responsible for these deaths? Did Nina's husband suspect that his wife was two-timing him? Did Lindsey discover that Chappell had someone on the side? If the latter, Mike Flannery will be devastated, and that will mean rough times for Ryan, whom Joe has happily accepted into his family, and for Clyde, his longtime buddy. Meanwhile, Willow, one of the leaders of the clowder, has come to Charlie Harper, the police chief's wife, with a plea for help: her cousin, the young dilute calico tomcat Sage, has been seriously injured in a fight with the band's tyrannical leader, Stone Eye. Not only does this lead to the revelation that yet another Molena Point resident is aware of the existence of talking cats, but it promises heartbreak for Kit as she experiences all the pain and joy of first love.

As she's done at least once before, Murphy here concentrates less on a crime and the process of solving it than on her regular characters and their interaction. We learn more about the history of speaking cats generally and the Molena Point variety in particular, are introduced to Mike Flannery (who hasn't been mentioned as a living person heretofore), and find out something of the customs of the clowder (they bury their dead, for example). But there's still plenty of suspense for those who like such things, including a climactic sequence in which Joe stows away in Lindsey's car as she takes off in pursuit of the possible perpetrators without so much as a cell phone. The author also makes it clear how very well suited Clyde and Ryan are to each other and to the phenomena of sentient felines. A superior entry into this excellent series.

Another winning story in the Joe Grey series. It was nice to see Clyde and Ryan get married without the usual Molina Point drama even though there was drama that was unfolding. I also liked how some favorite characters from the past (Willow) were brought back in a believable fashion while introducing another new secondary feline character. I also like the way the author quickly brings the reader up to speed on the human and feline characters while sticking to the present story line. Once again, Joe, Dulcie and Kit are able to help their human friends solve another crime without their secret being discovered. I have every one of these books and for the reader new to Joe Grey, start with Cat on the Edge so you can understand how it all began.

I have NEVER read such wonderful books. Not only do all the characters care deeply about each other and help each other, but you have Celtic tales running though them and murder mysteries and the wonderment of the police as they try to figure out how the heck do these unknown snitches do it!

Each time you read one you will say, the author cannot possibly do it again but then you find she can!

These books are so fantastic I have read some twice and others 3 times - The Catswold Portal too!

BUY THEM - you will NEVER be sorry!

I am addicted to the Joe Grey mysteries - so much so that I couldn't wait for the paperback edition and had to get the hardback version - all the way from Australia. For the later books in this series, it's probably better to have read one or two of the earlier books to get a feel for the talking felines. What I love about these books is the good read along with the humour and the totally believeable concept of talking cats. Murphy has developed a cast of characters (feline and human)about whom the reader gets to care about. I can't wait to read the next book because I have got to know the characters so well. Does this book live up to expectations? Yes, it does. The interaction between Joe Grey and his tabby lady Dulcie is still as sharp as ever. Kit the tortoishell is growing up fast and falls in love with another talking cat. I am not going to give the plot away, but fans of this series won't be disappointed.

In Molina Point, California live three special cats: Joe Grey, Dulcie and Kit. Each can talk to humans and understand human speech. The trio seems to get involved in every murder that has happened recently in the village. So it is no shocker when they learn from a feral feline that a human body is buried in the ruins of the Pamilion Estate. They delay their usual investigation until Joe's friend Clyde marries Ryan and is out of the way on his honeymoon.

Another corpse is found in a treehouse in Oregon lying there for years. Lindsey Wolfe returns to Molina Point goes to the cops claiming the victim is her fiancé Carson Chappell. When the cats investigate the grave, they find a book that discuses their unique skills; they want the book destroyed before anyone who finds it reveals their secret. Lindsey's sister brings anonymously to the police incriminating evidence that point towards her being the killer. Her lover Ray Gibbs, who was Carson's partner, drops off something incriminating to the steps of the police station. Joe Grey begins an inquiry into them with Dulcie helping him while Kit considers whether she loves injured Sagel enough to go feral with him and leave her two pals behind.

Though on opposite coats, the Molina Point felines will remind readers of The Cat Who tales by the Brown duet. The body found at the estate is linked to the other corpse, but how and why remain a mystery that Joe Grey is determined to solve. The three talking cats are adorable even grumpy acerbic Joe Grey while fans of the series learn more about their backgrounds. Shirley Rousseau Murphy has written a purrfectly delightful anthropomorphism feline whodunit.

Harriet Klausner

This is an interesting story. I very much enjoyed the characters, who were were well-fleshed out, and the background story. The writing style is easy-to-read, allowing for a quick read. I recommend this book.

Enjoyed the book. Typical Joe Grey Mystery. Gotta read them all if You're a cat Lover, they are really addictive.