Cat Striking Back: A Joe Grey Mystery (Joe Grey Mysteries) - Hardcover

Murphy, Shirley Rousseau

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061123994 ISBN 13: 9780061123993

Publisher: William Morrow, 2009

Synopsis

“Murphy’s series is top-notch...a real treat.”
—Cats magazine

 

The acclaimed mystery writer whom Kirkus Reviews praises for having “raised the stakes of the feline sleuth genre,” Shirley Rousseau Murphy brings back cat detectives Joe Grey, Dulcie, and Kit in Cat Striking Back. Arguably the most unusual sleuth in contemporary crime fiction, Joe Grey is at his curious best when he pads across evidence of a heinous crime but with no victim in sight. Cat Striking Back is a treat for readers of Lillian Jackson Braun, Rita Mae Brown, and Carole Nelson Douglas—for cat people and anyone who loves a good whodunit—a bravura display of the mastery that has won Murphy an unprecedented seven straight Muse Medallions from the national Cat Writers Association.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Beware of the cat striking back . . .

On a lovely moonlit night, Joe Grey is minding his own business, carrying a gift of mice to a litter of kittens, when he stumbles upon a murder scene. Behind an empty house lies a swimming pool, its bottom covered with mud. There is also blood, the smell of human death, and drag marks. But there is no victim. Without a body, it's a crime that will be hard to prove.

With stubborn feline curiosity, Joe Grey sets out to investigate. As he, Dulcie, and Kit follow the killer's trail among four houses whose owners are on vacation, they discover that more murder has been planned for the small, close-knit neighborhood. They uncover evidence of conflict among the residents and multiple signs of breaking-and-entering, although nothing valuable seems to be missing.

With the help of two local ferals, the cats find the victim's hidden grave and learn of the violence that is yet to come. As they set out to alert the law, they discover the perfect way to thwart the killer—through that person's unnatural but powerful fear of cats.

Thus unfolds the next installment in Shirley Rousseau Murphy's beguiling series about the gray tomcat P.I., his feline friends, and human companions, as, skirting danger, they unravel events shaped by human frailty and by the darkest feline imaginings from the killer's past.

About the Author:

Shirley Rousseau Murphy is the author of twenty mysteries in the Joe Grey series, for which she has won the Cat Writers’ Association Muse Medallion nine years running, and has received ten national Cat Writers’ Association Awards for best novel of the year. She is also a noted children’s book author, and has received five Council of Authors and Journalists Awards. She lives in Carmel, California, where she serves as full-time household help to two demanding feline ladies.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0061123994
• ISBN 13: 9780061123993
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 336