Shirley Rousseau MurphyRessenyes

Joe Grey is a cat who has inexplicably found himself possessed of human-style intelligence and the capacity for human speech, although he doesn't like to do it in front of people. Then he witnesses a murder and has reason to believe someone is going to try to pin it on his human.

It's a really cute idea, but I have to say the execution just felt kind of... weird... to me. The author is prone to describing things, especially the cats, in this slightly over-done, almost flowery-feeling way that kept making me stop and wonder if it was meant to be some sort of self-parody. I don't think it was, though, which is kind of a shame, because I think this could have been really fun if it had leaned into the absurdity of its premise a little more and thrown in some humor.

It did still have an entertaining moment or two, and I like the author's spot-on observations about how normal cats communicate using body language, but mostly I think reading it just gave me lots of distracting thoughts of how I would have written everything in it differently.½

Very enjoyable. Melissa is very likeable character and Siddonie is a very bad baddie.

This is a wonderful series. Speaking cats that help to find clues and direct the police in finding evidence.

In the spirit of Sneaky Pie Brown books, a fun read!!!

I am beyond sad that this is Shirley's last "joe Grey" book. (She is 93 after all!) While the story line wasn't my favorite I cherished the "talking cats" last book and will miss them dearly. Try telling a friend about a talking cats book, their eyes just glaze over and they have no idea what beautiful books these were. Thank you Shirley for a wonderful, beautiful series.

So this was a really cute book. Joe Grey is a cat, one night he witnessed a murder, around this same time he Joe also realized he can speak, think, read and totally comprehend the human language. Not just the normal kitty words but everything. And the murderer is after Joe and his girlfriend Dulcie who also saw the murder. The story progresses from there as the 2 cats have to hide and figure out what is going on. Of course they have to protect their humans too.

So this was a really cute book. Joe Grey is a cat, one night he witnessed a murder, around this same time he Joe also realized he can speak, think, read and totally comprehend the human language. Not just the normal kitty words but everything. And the murderer is after Joe and his girlfriend Dulcie who also saw the murder. The story progresses from there as the 2 cats have to hide and figure out what is going on. Of course they have to protect their humans too.

Book 2 in the Dragonbards series

{now available in reprint! 07 June 2021}

Tebriel and Seastrider's powerful bond now allows them to use great magic. They are travelling around Tirror with other dragons to find their riders so they can help the Underground Resistance to free the land. They will have to go through an adventure to seek out a mysterious and powerful relic in Dacia in order to complete this part of their quest.

I read a lot of books that involve cats helping solve crimes. I love cats. I love reading mysteries. Why not combine the two? Out of all the books I've read that combine cats and murder, I have to say that this one is the most imaginative and original.

Joe Grey is a typical tom cat. He roams the streets looking for lady-cats, hunting for food and investigating his neighborhood. He naps in the sun and has a pretty great life, as cat's lives go, thanks to his owner, Clyde. One day, Joe's life is turned upside down when he suddenly has the power to understand human speech. Not only that, he can read, too. And, as if that wasn't enough, he can also talk. Before the shock of his new talents can even begin to wear off, Joe Grey witnesses a murder in an alleyway, and the murderer follows him home. Joe needs to investigate the case to protect his owner from the killer.

Readers definitely need to be able to suspend reality for this book. The concept was cute enough for me to be able to temporarily believe that a cat could suddenly have the power to speak and read. Why not? :) It made for a fun read. The plot was a bit predictable....but I'm willing to let that go because...well....talking cats. :)

There are 17 books in the Joe Grey Mystery Series. I don't know if I will read them all, but I will definitely be reading more in this series! Readers who enjoy mysteries, and who also love cats, should definitely try this series.

My rating: 7/10
Ages: 10

Joe Grey is a cat who has been through a lot of changes in the last week or two. He can suddenly understand human language. Sitting with his human, Clyde, while Clyde reads out loud to him, he finds he can even read the words on the page.

That's unsettling enough. Then he discovers he can speak human language.

Joe does not regard this as a Great Step Forward. It's very upsetting to him. He likes being a cat. Clyde's human friends are a lot more annoying, now that he can understand their conversation--entirely focused on things cats consider trivial.

But he might have found ways to appreciate these changes, with some time. Instead, he and one of his cat friends, Dulcie, who has experienced the same changes, witness the murder of a business associate of Clyde's. And the killer sees them. Not only sees them, but apparently realizes that they can tell what they've seen--that they are witnesses who matter.

They each go home, Joe to Clyde and Dulcie to Wilma, but it's not long before they both realize the killer knows where they live. They're on the run, and they need to solve the crime if they are ever going to be able to be safe again.

They start investigating, and discover the human world is ridiculously complicated. Clyde runs a service garage in space he rents from a car dealership, and part of the deal is providing service to the dealership's cars. He connected with the owner of the dealership originally through an old school acquaintance, Jimmy Osborn, who is employed as the manager. Jimmy is married to Kate, whom Clyde really likes, and is friendlier with than Jimmy, but, you know, married to Jimmy. The owner of the dealership, Samuel Beckwhite, is the man who was murdered. He was married to Sheril, who has been having an affair with Jimmy. Jimmy has a connection with Lee whose last name I won't even guess at the spelling of. (I listened to the audiobook.) Lee is Welsh, and he grew up listening to all sorts of Welsh stories about cats, which, yes, is highly relevant to events.

This book was first published in 1996, and in some respects it shows its age. It's trivial that this is set some years before cellphones were everywhere, and this piece of tech we take for granted comes up only in passing, near the end, as something the mayor thinks is too fancy and expensive for the police, who could really use them. More annoying for the current reader will be he fact that there's some lazy stereotyping, the slut-shaming of Sheril, and the Latino waiter who doesn't speak English too good. Kate is a housewife, making Jimmy's home beautiful and a good showplace for his success.This was still pretty normal for the time, and Wilma, for instance, has a very different background. It's still a bit jarring for today's readers, though. I will say, in Kate's and Murphy's defense, when push comes to shove, she proves to be no spineless pushover.

I enjoyed this. It's a lot of fun. It does have some flaws, though, and won't be for everyone.

I bought this audiobook.

The concept of talking cats solving crimes is cute and clever, but the execution is poor. It's boring, the writing is clunky and confusing, and it jumps back and forth in time. I liked Joe and Clyde's relationship, though.

Pretty enjoyable read, with a good twist at the end that I almost did not see coming.

Light fantasy involving Charlie (a boy whose name the mayor keeps forgetting), a kangaroo rat, a lemming, a garbage dump, planes (real and model), and starlings the town is trying to get rid of (reminds me of Hitchcock's The Birds) make for an entertaining read.

I will admit. It took me a while to get into this book because it was different from the average Joe Grey book, but I was soon really, REALLY, looking forward to the next book.

Molena Point, California, located on the northern coast, a short drive from San Francisco. Lately it has been subject to a number of bold burglaries, antiques, art, jewellery and more. Could the re-appearance of Azrael, the black furred evil one, be behind it all.

Joe Grey and Dulcie, two felines with unusual talents, think so. What gets the investigation in gear is the death of a waiter during an art reception for Charlie Harper. The two cats notice that the Dark One is lurking. There is also the matter of the handsome philanderer and a stalker and how they tie in to it all.

When Azrael is around, there is an evil atmosphere and the definite possibility of something bad happening. This was a feeling that came up while reading the book when I read the scenes involving this character. A bit spooky, I'd say.

This may be cozy in some aspects, but I'd say there is a good dose of suspense too.

One of my favorite books as a child, I still love to re-read this one :)

This one starts out a bit weak, but once it picks up enough momentum it's quite good, especially if you like cats, fantasy adventures, and books about overthrowing an evil tyrant.

I like cats, and ghost cats are a fun idea, but this book was disappointing. The plot was too disjointed, and if the ghost cat wasn't there to assert that Lee Fontana and Morgan are linked by fate somehow, really there was no link between those two men or stories. Sure, Lee dreams of Morgan's daughter, and the daughter dreams of Lee, but these dreams have no tangible consequences in either character's story. The cat is similarly ineffective, always there but never really influencing the trajectory of the story. Lee breaks his parole and goes back to prison, as he planned, Morgan is set up by his childhood acquaintance Fanon, as Fanon planned, nothing unexpected happens, and I am not sure what the point was of the dreams or the cat or the devil character, except as fluff to try unsuccessfully to add mystery to a boring story.

Exciting book which involves kidnapping of several main characters, a couple of murders, crack Molena Pt. cops, an exciting robbery and even leaves you guessing at the end about the sister of one of the thieves..seems she may have been behind it all. A real page turner!½

This series, written by an award winning author, follows the exploits of Joe Grey and Dulcie as they uncover clues that lead to the resolution of a homicide.

I usually enjoy books in the Joe Grey series by Shirley Rousseau Murphy. This one is a so-so read/listen as I expected it to have more Christmassy content. In fact, the action could have taken place at any time of the year. It would probably be a bit difficult for new readers to understand about the talking cats as none of their back story comes out in this novel. I have the audio book version read by Susan Boyce, one of my favourite narrators, who did an excellent job.½

Too cute for words. Readers are expected to appreciate two cats with thoughts, actions, and personalities normally shown by people. Five minutes on an audiotape was enough for me.½

Purrfect for cozy mystery/cat lovers. Susan Boyce's narration of the audiobook struck just the right balance between light suspense and kitty-cat cuteness.

Joe Grey and Dulcie are two unusual detectives...they are cats!

Living in the quiet little seaside town of Molena Point you wouldn't expect much to be happening, but a cat burglar has come to town and is stealing from peoples' homes in broad daylight while they are home!

Add to that there is something strange going on a Casa Capri, that expensive seniors' home on the hill. Seems there are a few residents that have disappeared but it can't be verified since the management claims the missing are just very ill and are kept in a locked section with no visitors allowed.

Add to this that Dulcie has signed Joe up to participate in the Pet-a-Pet event. All he has to do is sit in a senior's lap, purr and let them pet him. Yeah, right...Joe is a tomcat that prefers hunting mice and rabbit in the open fields, tearing around like the wild cat he is. Sit and be sweet? But there is that mystery of the missing seniors and maybe that would be a way to find some clues...

Another fun read from the pen of Shirley Rousseau Murphy.

I want to give this five stars, but one of my primary criteria is that I'd be able to recommend the book widely, and I just don't think I could talk this up enough so my husband, son, or parents would enjoy it. Otoh, it's a great 3-chapter fairy tale, with the classic tropes and stylings but with a major twist. Soonie is a brave young person out to make a living - but she's female. *She* rescues the princesses from the dragon. *She* tames the Griffin. And eventually *she* meets a humble but kind, smart, and handsome young man and they live prosperously, happily, and presumably adventurously ever after.

The book really deserves to be reissued with richer illustrations and better design.