Cat in the Dark by Shirley Rousseau Murphy    Books by Shirley Rousseau Murphy · The Catswold Portal · Cat Breaking Free · Cat to the Dogs · Cat on the Edge · Cat Under Fire                 >> View all
Category:	Mystery/Suspense	Publisher:	HarperPrism	ISBN-10:	0061059471	Type:
Pages:	265	Copyright:	Jan 1 1999			Fiction

A foray into the human-haunted world of Joe Grey and Dulcie, cats whose uncanny abilities and extraordinary intuitions are helping to make small town crime a losing proposition. Buy your copy! Amazon Barnes & Noble.com Borders Thunderbird Books (signed copies) The precious peace of sleepy little Molena Point is threatened as never before. There's a new cat in town: Azrael, a renegade tom with a penchant for voodoo, a scorn for his fellow felines, and a nasty hatred of humans. He calls himself the death angel, and claims he can predict murder. But does Azrael predict murder, or attract it? And how can Joe and Dulcie expose his criminal ways without letting untrustworthy humans in on the secret that certain select cats can think and talk? Excerpt "In the bedroom of the white Cape Cod cottage, moonlight shone through the open windows and a fitful breeze fingered across the bed, teasing the ears of the tomcat who slept curled in the blankets, his muscular body gleaming as sleek as gray velvet. Beside him on the double bed, his human housemate snored softly, clutching the pillow for warmth, unaware that Joe Grey had clawed away the covers into a comfortable and exclusive nest. Clyde, naked and chilled, was too deep in sleep to wake and retrieve the blankets, but Joe Grey stirred as the breeze quickened, his white paws flexed and his nose lifted, catching an elusive scent. "He woke fully, staring toward the open window, drawing his lips back in a grimace at the stink he detected on the cool night air. "Tomcat. "The smell that came to him on the ocean breeze was the rank odor of an unknown tom--a stranger in the village. . . . "Pawing free of the confining bedcovers, Joe Grey walked heavily across the bed and across Clyde's stomach and dropped down to the thick, soft rug. Clyde, grunting, raised up and glared at him. "'Why the hell do you do that? You're heavy as a damned moose!' "Joe smiled and dug his claws into the rug's silky pile."

Paperback

A fast-paced tale

"[Murphy] writes a fast-paced tale, and she has a way with her cat scenes."
--Publisher's Weekly, November 16, 1998

"[Dulcie and Joe Grey have] powers and abilities far beyond those of ordinary literary cats ... the forces of evil arrayed against them are formidable.... Murphy's raised the stakes of the feline sleuth genre."
--Kirkus Reviews

"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

"Readers will find this premise ... stimulating and charming.... A special treat ... for cat mystery fanciers."
--Library Journal, December 1998


These are not cute little kitties

"The intrepid investigative duo ... have already acquired a legion of loyal readers... Joe and Dulcie are not the only feline detectives currently in the literary marketplace, but they are certainly the most interesting. These are not cute, little, furry kitties but rather two shrewd investigators with somewhat caustic personalities, which seem to mirror perfectly the independence and occasional arrogance of real cats... Cat owners will appreciate some of the subtle nuances of behavior Murphy instills in her hero and heroine, but even those who don't share their lodgings with the feline set will still enjoy this well-written whodunit. There are also a few delicious surprises in store for the reader as the story races toward a conclusion that should catch even the most seasoned mystery fan off guard."
--Monterey County Herald, February 28, 1999


Ingeniuously mesmerizing

"Murphy explores the foibles of the cat and human worlds without descending into the cutesy stuff of other cat writers. Even a cat hater wouldn't mind hanging out with Joe and Dulcie."
--Glynco Observer

"Murphy's cats are ... rough-edged creatures with a decided attitude ... the stories [are] ingeniously mesmerizing."
--Mostly Murder

"As in all the Joe Grey stories, Murphy's love for animals, and her intimate knowledge of their unique qualities and personality quirks, shines clearly throughout Cat in the Dark. Murphy doesn't pull any punches when it comes to grisly crime description, and she skillfully builds the tension so you don't want to put the book down!"
--Library Cat Newsletter, Spring 1999

Winner of the Cat Writers' Association's 1999 Muse Medallion Award.