Customer Reviews

Cat Spitting Mad: A Joe Grey Mystery

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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I think this is certainly one of the best Joe Grey books, if not THE best. Joe and Dulcie are joined by their new sidekick called "The Kit", a tortoiseshell kitten who has an insatiable craving for adventure and danger. There has been a murder of two women on a bridal path and the third rider, the cats' friend Dillon has disappeared, maybe murdered too or kidnapped. Joe's greatly admired friend, Max Harper, the Molina Point chief of police is the one and only suspect in the murders. Joe is spitting mad that people will believe his friend Max could do such a thing. Naturally, Joe "knows" that Max is innocent. The Kit has witnessed the end of the murders and been scared witless by all the violence but she was too scared to know what she saw or to recognise anyone. The three cats run afoul of Joe and Dulcie's old nemesis, Lee Wark who knows their secrets about understanding human language and having high intelligence. He would absolutely love to put a permanent damper on their crime solving shenanigans. He thrives on killing cats anyway. Kate Osborne, who can change to a cat and back to a human is back on the scene and terrified because three convicts have escaped, including Lee Wark who knows her secret also. She seems to have a "thing" for Joe's human housemate, Clyde Damen while Clyde's old girl friend, Charlie seems to be sweet on Max Harper now.

How Joe Grey, Dulcie and Kit thread their way through this maze of tangles, car chases, and a haunted house that's home to a cougar makes a fine story. It's also amazing that three small cats could get through all the perils without losing one or more lives. Ms. Murphy only gets better! She adds more polish and finesse to the stories every time. I'm anxious to read "Cat Laughing Last"

This book was utterly delightful with Joe Grey's deep respect for the Chief of Police, Max. By proving Max's innocence, Joe Grey, Dulcie and Kit all provided bits and pieces of the puzzle, including a daring rescue of the 13 year old girl who witnesses the murder. The story definitely kept me on my toes wondering what was going to happen next...Now I wish the next book of Ms. Murphy's would come out even sooner than January so I can start reading it...

This Joe Grey mystery features Murphy's cat pair who can read, speak, and solve crimes. Here Joe can't keep his paws off his owner's latest case: murder which points to Harper himself. Joe knows his owner is innocent, but has to prove it in Cat Spitting Mad, an intriguing murder mystery approach.

Joe Grey and Dulcie just keep getting better and better. The interaction with the old trusted friends and the introduction of new friends keeps the reader wanting to know more. I look forward to the next installment.

This latest entry in the popular Joe Grey series is a delightful read, as always! Reading Ms. Murphy's tales is just pure and simple fun. The mysteries themselves always take backseats to the amazing antics of Joe, Dulcie, and the new Kit (nameless as of yet!).

The plot in this one finds our beloved Max Harper, Chief of Police, framed for the brutal murder of two riding companions. Of course, we know Max didn't do it, but Joe and Dulcie (and the kit) are raging mad, and they do their best to find the real culprits.

The identity of the killer is not that surprising, but the way Joe and friends bring them to justic is wonderful. The addition of a wild cougar on the loose and the return of Kate Osborne, the cat/human from the first book, makes this a joy to read and relish.

Have fun, and can't wait until Joe and Dulcie and the kit return!

Joe Grey, the talking tomcat, is furious. Two women, a mother and her grown daughter, have been savagely murdered while out riding, and the younger girl who was with them at the time has disappeared. What's worse, Molena Point Police Chief Max Harper is the only suspect. While Joe and his feline partner Dulcie have often tricked and manipulated Harper in their previous investigations, and he's not yet aware of their secret, they like and respect the veteran cop, who is a longtime buddy of Joe's human housemate, Clyde Damen. Joe can't believe that anyone would think such an upright law-enforcement officer capable of murder and worse. Naturally, he and Dulcie and their new sidekick--"the Kit," another gifted feline--set about to prove Harper's innocence. Meanwhile, a young cougar has moved into the ruined Pamillon estate up in the hills; and in San Rafael County, the sinister Welshman Lee Wark, who knows Joe and Dulcie's secret, has escaped from San Quentin. While the resolution of the murders isn't unexpected--the motive was simple revenge--the means the three cats employ to prove it are, as always, clever and suitably feline, and their rescue of young Dillon is full of thrills.

Another excellent Joe Grey Mystery. I enjoyed the book from start to finish. I always look forward to the next book so I can find out how all the main characters are doing.
Joe Grey is an awsome detective.

Shirley Rousseau Murphy's Joe Grey and Dulcie mysteries are addicting! I'll be reading them all, and hoping for future installments!

If you are a fan of Lillian Braun Jackson and Rita Mae Brown, you will like the Joe Grey Mysteries, as well. I just recently found this series and I am reading my 4th of the books. I like the animals heroics and intelligence. Even though the animals can talk to each other and their humans, I enjoyed reading them.

For a mystery novel, there is very little mystery in this book - notwithstanding the slight twist that the author introduces at the end (two murders committed at the same time are actually committed by two people). There is also no mystery as to who did the dirty deeds and why. Anyone who has followed this series and read it reasonably attentively could figure out who was the perpetrator or perpetrators of the crimes being discussed.

Instead of a mystery, this book delves mostly into two subjects: the human relationships among the tight knit group of Molena Point residents who have daily contact with the super-cats (Joe Grey; Dulcie; and Kit); and also, there is a cougar on the prowl in the hills above the village and both the cats and the humans continue to interact with his, admire him, or fear him.

I was happy to see that Kate was brought back into the series although there is no mention of her special talents directly - they are merely alluded to. Having her hook up with Clyde is problematical but it seems to be the direction for the series. Clyde's current girlfriend - Charlie - is mooning after Max Harper so that is a new twist. Max himself is starting to look at women and is interested in Charlie as well. Wilma Goetz is about the only ones of the regulars who do not appear much in this book. On the other hand, an intriguing new "regular" character is introduced in the form of Dallas Garza, a detective sent down to Molena Point to help.

So, what is the mystery? In the very first chapter, Kit is out patrolling the hills when she comes across a fresh murder scene where two women who were out riding horses have been killed - their throats are slashed and they have multiple stab wounds, besides. The murderer(s) attempts to frame Max Harper by dressing up like him, borrowing his horse for the murders; and having accomplices all over town call the police department with clues that point straight to Harper as the murderer. Unfortunately for the plotters, the red-haired girl from the last two novels is also riding along and she manages to escape the pursuit. Somehow she drops out of sight and most of the book is concerned with the search for her as the one survivor of the grisly mess. This is where the cougar comes in as he hunts in that area and therefore interacts with the cats and the child and the adults.

Coincidentally, three of the people that Max Harper put in jail over the previous few books manage to escape from the federal prison a few miles away and are out at large. This group includes Lee Wark who is a definite cat hater who knows something of their capabilities.

Joe Grey and Dulcie cannot help themselves in getting highly involved in the solution of this crime and in clearing Max Harper's name. They do their usual bit of sleuthing by hiding in various locations and listening in to conversations that they should not be listening to. They also manage to find some of the clues that the human searchers could not possibly have found and direct the police to them.

The book ends with a wild car chase, a scene of blood and destruction as the cougar decides to attack a human, and much hatred and depravity is exposed among the criminal classes but also involving one of the police officers. Once the whole story is revealed, and all the twists and turns of the plot are behind us, we are left to wonder at what the point of this book was. I have no clue by I enjoy spending time "observing" the antics of the cats and what they can manage to learn by simply being themselves.