I'm Joe Grey, feline P.I., and you may have read some books about me and my tabby lady, Dulcie. My human biographer, Shirley Rousseau Murphy, is never online, so
her webmaster has agreed to speak for me, pass along any comments, and answer messages I receive. (You should know that I am not 75 years old even in cat years, I am not female, and I don't live in Oregon -- but the webmaster believes in following the signup rules and so that information applies to her, not me or my biographer.)
What Dulcie and I do best is help the police solve murders. We are very good at it because we can go places that it's not easy for the police to go, and anyway, who notices when a cat is eavesdropping?
In Mystery Scene Murphy wrote, "These cats are not cute, Joe Grey is not your sweet natured kitty. Joe's detecting skills run to swift action and to picking up classified information from Police Chief Max Harper as Joe lounges on the poker table ... the gray tomcat is a devotee of the cutting retort and the sneaky surveillance technique."
Publisher's Weekly said, "Cat lovers will cuddle right up to Joe and his pals, but the story has plenty of murder and mayhem for those who take their detective fiction straight up."
Coming in February! Cat Playing Cupid (published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins).
Be sure to visit Shirley Rousseau Murphy's website,
www.joegrey.com!
If you click on the book jackets you can read something about my other adventures, including some short excerpts. The books are shown in reverse order with the newest at the top -- if you want to read the story in sequence, start at the bottom with Cat on the Edge and proceed up the list.
Cat Playing Cupid: "Murphy's gentle blend of fantasy and mystery includes revelations about her unusually verbal cat detectives sure to please series fans." --Publisher's Weekly
Cat Deck the Halls: "Murphy's fans will be happy to curl up under a blanket as they savor the finely crafted suspense set against the backdrop of hoidays feasts and festivities and the crashing waves of the Pacific." --Publisher's Weekly
Cat Pay the Devil:
"As usual, the felines and their human coterie are appealing ... and the virtually nonstop action will keep the series' fans whipping through the pages." --Booklist
Cat Breaking Free:
"The three cats are true to both their feline and sentient natures. This eleventh entry in the Joe Grey Mystery series ... continues to enhance characterizations, both feline and human, all the while providing an intriguing whodunit for series fans." --Booklist
Cat Cross Their Graves:
"A string of recent awards for her Joe Grey novels have made Murphy a dominant presence in the mystery field. Along with Rita Mae Brown and Lillian Jackson Braun, the Carmel resident has popularized feline sleuthing with readers all over the country." --Bob Walch, Monterey County Herald, January 2005
Cat Fear No Evil:
"Superior cat cozy, the ninth entry in Murphy's popular series... As usual, the relationships between the lively human characters and the talking cats in whom they confide their problems provide as much interest as the crime solving. The intricate and absorbing plot keeps the reader in suspense throughout." --Publisher's Weekly, February 2, 2004 (starred review)
Cat Seeing Double:
"Murphy has a huge fan base and has won awards for good reason... Great sleuthing with a feline touch." --Cat Fancy
Cat Laughing Last:
"The book's charm lies in the clever cats and the people they care about. This is a must read for those who enjoy the feline side of sleuthing." --Romantic Times, January 2002
Cat Spitting Mad:
"I'd bet a pound of catnip that this detective series starring Joe Grey and Dulcie, two feline private investigators who take solving murder cases into their own paws, is penned by a cat. And [Murphy's] latest novel only makes me marvel more at this magical series...."
--Cats Magazine, June 2001
Cat to the Dogs:
"The plotting is tight, the characters delightful and the cats are utterly believable.... Held my interest page after page until its exciting conclusion. Highly recommended." --Michele A. Reed, I Love a Mystery
Cat in the Dark:
"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." --Booklist, December 15, 1998
Cat Raise the Dead:
"Murphy's style works because she's not afraid to face the seamy, clinical side of detection and forensics, yet there's no manipulation of the reader's feelings just for effect.... Funny, intelligent, fast-paced and sensitive--that's Shirley Rousseau Murphy's "Joe Grey" detective series!"
--Library Cat Newsletter, Summer 1997.
Cat Under Fire:
"Clever dialogue, fast-paced action, humor, and interactions between cats and humans.... Good fun for cat lovers and fans of offbeat fantasy." --Booklist, March 15, 1997
Cat on the Edge:
"Murphy provides intriguing possibilities and tantalizing glimpses into the mysterious world of cats.... This mystery will be difficult to put down.... A delicious romp through ancient cat lore, an excellent tale of cats and humans who may or may not be what they appear to be, and of murder, revenge, and jealousy, interlaced with fantasy. This is excellent reading.... Not to be missed!" --Armchair Detective, Winter 1997
