Temple Barr and Matt Devine make a cozy engaged couple, and the feisty redhead is all for her handsome radio host fiance staring in a week-long televised Las Vegas charity event, "Dancing with the Celebs." But while ex-priest Matt struggles to master the sexy moves of the tango, a killer stalks the dance floor. Not only is Matt in danger, but so is the lovely tween Mariah, daughter of homicide cop C. R. Molina, who is dancing in the Junior Divison of the show.And so Temple gets dragooned into resurrecting her kicky teen persona, Zoe Chloe Ozone, now an Internet hottie, to ensure Matt and Mariah don't foxtrot into a fatal mistep.Where is Louie in all this? Well, he's out and about, proving that he's still the cat's meow. But he's got his paws full as he tries to keep all the various players in his little troupe from dancing right into death's arms...

In Carole Nelson Douglas' Cat in a White Tie and Tails, Midnight Louie goes along as chaperone when PR whiz Temple Barr and her fiance, rising media star Matt Devine, head to Chicago so she can meet his family. Matt's mother has a tragic past primed to rise and bite anybody in reach, even the ex-alley cat sleuth. When Louie is snatched, the catnapping's surprising motive loops back to Vegas and a string of unsolved murders connected to magic…and ex-magician Max Kinsella, Temple's former significant other.Skeptical homicide lieutenant C. R. Molina has commissioned Max to investigate the cold case murder she suspects he committed two years earlier. With traumatic amnesia from a recent attempt on his life, the once infallible Max is more sitting duck than predator. It will take an alliance of frenemies to solve the serial deaths before one of them joins the fatality list.

Carole Nelson Douglas's Cat in an Alien X-Ray takes the Las Vegas gang on a science-fictional roller-coaster ride, as Midnight Louie, feline PI, and company encounter UFO enthusiasts, conspiracy nuts who are too bizarre even for tin foil hat therapy. An Area 51 attraction on the Strip threatens to bring more than starry-eyed enthusiasts to town. Once again it is up to that furballed PI Midnight Louie to keep his crew in line and save them from the attack of the creatures from the beyond…or common criminals that prey on the innocent.

New York Times Notable Book of the Year author Carole Nelson Douglas's cast of four human crime solvers must not only stop a massive Las Vegas conspiracy involving international terrorism and the FBI, but feline sleuth Midnight Louie's roommate, PR powerhouse Temple Barr, is contemplating marriage. Will syndicated radio counselor and ex-priest Matt Devine's inside track lose out to the return of that wily dark horse, magician Max Kinsella? The suspense is killing somebody. Meanwhile, a Strip-wide resurgence: the long-vanquished Las Vegas mob could have Temple in search of an undertaker rather than a Justice of the Peace. Luckily, Midnight Louie and the Las Vegas Cat Pack are planning their finest moments to bring down the baddies. But no one can help Temple find which direction her wayward heart must go.

Douglas takes a holiday from her acclaimed Irene Adler historical mysteries to let Midnight Louie off his leash for the first time since Catnap (Tor 1992). Murder strikes a Las Vegas stripper competition, and Midnight Louie leaves no back alley unprowled to find the murderer for the hapless humans.

"I'm a cat," said Dulcie. "Of course I worry, Joe. What if the cops set up a stakeout? What if they witness a cat opening a skylight and masterminding a robbery? The tabloids will love it. Every nut in the country will read about the trained burglar-cat. Or, heaven forbid, the talking cat…" There's a bad new cat in sleepy little Molena Point: a renegade tom with a penchant for robbery, a scorn for his fellow felines, and a disdain for human laws. And he's masterminding a crime spree that's quickly escalating toward murder most foul. Dulcie and Joe Grey both know the score – they've seen Azrael in action. But how can they expose the criminal without letting ordinary, untrustworthy humans in on the secret that certain select cats can think and talk? Cats like them…

Joe Grey - 4, 5, 6, 6.5

When celebrated novelist Elliot Traynor and his wife arrive in Molena Point, strange events begin to occur, and feline sleuth Joe Grey and his cat companion Dulcie must delve into their latest mystery and soon find themselves tracking a killer.

Joe Grey - 7, 8, 9

Someone is stalking prize-winning purebreds at the annual Las Vegas Cat Show, and Midnight Louie is off on the prowl again.As Louie, aided by a telepathic Birman cat named Karma, follows the scent of the killer, Temple is delving into the past of Matt Devine, the handsome young hotline counselor who’s captured her heart.Soon Louie and Temple find themselves up to their tails in blackmail, extortion, and cold-blooded murder. Fans of foul play, feisty female detectives, and feline forensics are sure to find Cat on a Blue Monday just their saucer of milk.

"It's me, your cat. I had to split. I witnessed a crime and someone is following me. Trust me. When I get this sorted out, I'll be home. I am still your cat, and I guess I miss you…" Joe Grey jumped down to the floor without hanging up the phone. He was trapped in an unfolding nightmare. First he found he could understand human speech (who would have guessed they had so little to say?). Then he found he could talk (useful for scaring dogs) and even read. He got worried when he found himself feeling human emotions like guilt and sympathy. He even caught himself planning his day! All that, Joe Grey could have handled. If only he hadn't found himself in the alley behind Jolly's Deli the night Beckwhite was murdered…

Joe Grey - 1, 2, 3

This short novella is part of the popular Joe Grey cat mystery series, of which Booklist said: “What makes this series so delightful for both cat lovers and readers of offbeat fantasies is that Murphy’s convincing anthropomorphism allows the cats to maintain their feline natures while still adopting human speech and cognition.” Both fans of the Joe Grey novels and new readers will enjoy it.Part of this story appeared as a serial in Cats Magazine, which was discontinued before it was complete. It has not had any other print edition. The events in the story come between Cat Spitting Mad and Cat Laughing Last, and are referred to in some of the later books in the series.

It takes a cat to write the purr-

fect mystery.

Things have been pretty

exciting lately in Crozet, Virginia

—a little too exciting if you ask

resident feline investigator Mrs. Murphy. Just as the town starts

to buzz over its Civil War

reenactment, a popular local

man disappears. No one's seen

Tommy Van Allen's single-

engine plane, either—except for Mrs. Murphy, who spotted it

during a foggy evening's

mousing.

Even Mrs. Murphy's favorite

human, postmistress Mary

Minor "Harry" Haristeen, can sense that something is amiss.

But things really take an ugly

turn when the town reenacts

the battle of Oak Ridge—and a

participant ends up with three

very real bullets in his back. While the clever tiger cat and

her friends sift through clues

that just don't fit together,

more than a few locals fear that

the scandal will force well-

hidden town secrets into the harsh light of day. And when

Mrs. Murphy's relentless tracking

places loved ones in danger, it

takes more than a canny kitty

and her team of animal sleuths

to set things right again...

It takes a cat to write the purr-

fect mystery.

Things have been pretty

exciting lately in Crozet, Virginia

—a little too exciting if you ask

resident feline investigator Mrs. Murphy. Just as the town starts

to buzz over its Civil War

reenactment, a popular local

man disappears. No one's seen

Tommy Van Allen's single-

engine plane, either—except for Mrs. Murphy, who spotted it

during a foggy evening's

mousing.

Even Mrs. Murphy's favorite

human, postmistress Mary

Minor "Harry" Haristeen, can sense that something is amiss.

But things really take an ugly

turn when the town reenacts

the battle of Oak Ridge—and a

participant ends up with three

very real bullets in his back. While the clever tiger cat and

her friends sift through clues

that just don't fit together,

more than a few locals fear that

the scandal will force well-

hidden town secrets into the harsh light of day. And when

Mrs. Murphy's relentless tracking

places loved ones in danger, it

takes more than a canny kitty

and her team of animal sleuths

to set things right again...

Award-winning author Shirley Rousseau Murphy once again gives eager readers memorable and charming characters, both feline and human, in a skillful and sophisticated story that magically transcends the mystery genre. Tomcat Joe Grey, his feline companion, Dulcie, and their timid but tough-as-nails tattercoat friend Kit will "leave fans purring with pleasure," wrote Publishers Weekly. In this twelfth intricate and enchanting novel, the crafty feline trio faces perhaps their most feared enemy: two of their closest human friends are kidnapped and may not live to see freedom.Molena Point, California, nestled quietly on the Pacific coast miles below San Francisco, is not a place where most escaped federal prisoners would hole up. But Cage Jones has a reason. Facing another prison term, he escapes from jail hot for revenge against the Molena Point resident who turned state's witness against him and who, he's certain, has stolen his hidden cache-a fortune for which he has not served time, and does not intend to. When local headlines tell Dulcie that Cage has escaped, the tabby is cold with fear for her housemate, Wilma. Joe Grey, puzzling over two brutal local murders, doesn't pay attention until Wilma's house is vandalized and Dulcie finds Cage Jones on the premises, but not Wilma. While cops swarm on to the scene, Joe and his human housemate take off on a wild search for Wilma-and Dulcie and Kit foolishly go into Jones's hideout.When the three indomitable felines, paw-in-hand with the unsuspecting cops-and with special powers known by only a few select humans-help untangle Jones's agenda and the brutal murders, the devil-tinged scenario leaves a lasting fear among the cats. In one of Shirley Rousseau Murphy's most suspenseful and unforgettable books to date-a whimsical and imaginative trip into the hidden lives of felines-the cats, and a band of feral friends, help bring peace to the small seaside village.

Love – and murder – is in the air…It took Joe Grey's human, Clyde, nearly forever to pop the question to Ryan Flannery, and what more romantic time to tie the knot than on Valentine's Day? But dark secrets from the past, uncovered by Joe and his feline pals, threaten to ruin the happy union.First, a body discovered many miles away reopens a ten-year-old cold case involving a man who disappeared days before his own wedding. The jilted bride is back in town and eager to find the truth… or to hide evidence of her own wrongdoing. Trouble is, she's soon involved with Ryan's father, who is house-sitting and preparing meals for Joe Grey while Clyde and Ryan are on their honeymoon.Then another body is found closer to home on the grounds of a ruined estate, deserted save for a band of unusual feral cats. Around the wrist of the corpse is a bracelet bearing the image of a rearing cat, and the cats discover a rare literary volume hidden nearby that divulges their own secret: their special ability to speak.But as the police investigate the two murders, located more than five hundred miles apart, only Joe Grey suspects that the crimes are related. It takes a chase from which the tomcat wonders if he'll emerge alive for anyone to hone in on the connection between the murders. Finally, feline perception and cop sense combine to bring a killer to justice in this delightful new tale involving Shirley Rousseau Murphy's three amazing cats.

The third in a charming series of cat fantasy-mysteries featuring Joe Grey, a tomcat who discovers, to his dismay, that he can speak – with humans!Readers will adore this new installment by Shirley Rousseau Murphy – a treat for fantasy, cat and mystery lovers every-where. Joe Grey was, well, peeved. His human housemate Clyde was trying to volunteer him as a once-a-week Animal Therapy cuddle kitty. And just when Joe was about to nab the cat burglar who was terrifying the coast from Half Moon Bay to Moien Point! But it wasn't up to Joe or Clyde. The "pet-a-pet" scheme was Dulcie's idea, and she was a cat who always got her way. Dulcie needed Joe's help to prove that the old folks' home was hiding more than just lonely seniors. There was a mysterious kidnapper, a severed finger and a very, very busy open grave!

Multiple-award-winning author Shirley Rousseau Murphy once again brings us Joe Grey and Dulcie, the most cunning set of feline sleuths ever to stick their paws into crime solving.Always a loner, Charlie Getz never expected to fall in love with anyone, let alone the chief of police of Molena Point, California. So her wedding on a perfect, sunny day is all the more joyous – especially when two of the honored guests are four-footed pals, feline detectives Joe Grey and Dulcie.However, two unexpected visitors – a young boy and an old man hidden in the shadows – are preparing to bomb the soon-to-be-filledlied church. The lone witness, a small tattercoat kit crouched beneath the oak branches, warns Joe's owner, Clyde; then, with claws and teeth, she stops the two would-be murderers. But the shock of the near disaster that might have killed half the village is only the beginning. The next morning Charlie's good friend, building contractor Ryan Flannery, awakens to find her estranged, philandering husband dead in her garage… and her own gun is missing.With suspicion falling squarely on Ryan's shoulders, Joe Grey, Dulcie, and Kit use their skills of break-and-enter to prove her innocence. But a stranger's sinister push into her life is as unexpected as the arrival, on the morning of the murder, of a handsome purebred hunting dog, a homeless stray who seems determined to move in with Ryan.Whatever hateful force has descended on the small seaside village, the three cats are soon paw-deep in a tangle of jealousy, greed, and carefully planned retribution. So they work the case as only cats can, passing information anonymously to the cops, making a heroic feline effort to nail the killer and catch the wedding bomber, and hoping to see the silver hunting dog settled safely into his new home.

Joe Grey - 19, 20, 21