Cat Coming Home

Joe Grey #16

by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

“One of the most entrancing (and effective) detectives in modern cozy mysteries.”—Booklist

A celebration for cat lovers and mystery aficionados alike, Cat Coming Home—the 16th appearance of feline detective Joe Gray—is a holiday gift from acclaimed author Shirley Rousseau Murphy. Join tomcat Joe and his furry friends, Dulcie and Kit, as they set out to solve a deadly Christmas mystery in Molena Point with the aid of a lonely prison cat. Superior detective fiction with a purr-fectly delightful twist, Cat Coming Home is a dazzling blend of charm and suspense from nine-time Cat Writers’ Association Award winner Murphy. Fans of Lilian Jackson Braun, Rita Mae Brown, and Carole Nelson Douglas, take note!

Genres: Mystery, Cats, Christmas, Fantasy, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Animals

369 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 2010

About the author

Shirley Rousseau Murphy is the author of over 40 books, including 24 novels for adults, the Dragonbards Trilogy and more for young adults, and many books for children. She is best known for her Joe Grey cat mystery series, consisting of 21 novels, the last of which was published when she was over 90. Now retired, she enjoys hearing from readers who write to her at her website www.srmurphy.com, where the reading order of the books in that series can be found.

Murphy grew up in southern California, riding and showing the horses her father trained. After attending the San Francisco Art institute she worked as an interior designer, and later exhibited paintings and welded metal sculpture in the West Coast juried shows. "When my husband Pat and I moved to Panama for a four-year tour in his position with the U. S . Courts, I put away the paints and welding torches, and began to write," she says. Later they lived in Oregon, then Georgia, before moving to California, where she now enjoys the sea and views of the Carmel hills.
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Reviews

[✨Susan✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun new series for me and what a better way to start than with a feel good Christmas read. A small town is being terrorized by some strange events of vandalism that just don't add up. The locals are perplexed until some anonymous calls start coming into the police department and they are able to start to get a handle on these acts of violence.

I don't think it is necessary to start this series at the beginning but it would help to get to know the personalities of these Katty cats better. I already have another one of these mystical, imaginative, gumshoe adventures on my TBR list for next month.

Wonderful characters who are so easy to get to know and quickly care for. Susan Boyce's narration does a good job bringing them to life and off the page.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A series of home invasions are occurring in Molena Point. There no clues,as to who is doing it. Two to four men break into a home where there is lone woman and beat her up and destroy the house. Someone is trying to hurt the MPPD and Max Harper. Joe and Dulcie are watching Ryan add a quilting room for a newcomer, Maudie and Grandson Bennie who recovering from a drive by shooting near Los Angeles.
The cat realize there is strangle Tom Cat around but Joe and Dulcie are not interested as long as he is not bothering them. Kit see a performance cat in a distance and hopes it is mate. She is disappointed when she finally see him. He is old tells her he is returning to where was kitten. Misto helps them gather the information to stop the home invasions. All this plots are brought together skillfully for another outstanding story.

[Sandie Herron · Rating 5 out of 5]

CAT COMING HOME is an excellent addition to the mystery series featuring feline Joe Grey and his pals in a small town nestled among the hills next to the sea. Molena Point, California is home to a unique breed of cat, one that is capable of reading and speaking the human language. Please don’t jump to the conclusion that this must then be some implausible, cutesy tale of talking cats; it is not. The ability of Joe Grey, his lady love Dulcie, and their young friend Kit to speak is kept private and hidden from all but a few chosen humans. The cats choose to anonymously help the local police department using their unique skills and instincts.

The Joe Grey series focuses on a different individual or family in Molena Point in each book. However, the community is still very much involved with their own set of skills. Each entry can stand alone yet the reader’s enjoyment is so much richer when the books are read in sequence. Even though this is 16th in the series, none of the charm has been lost with longevity, rather it has been enhanced as we watch how the people and cats interact and grow.

Maudie Toola has just returned to Molena Point along with her orphaned grandson Benny. They are trying to start life anew following the horrible shooting deaths of Benny’s father and new stepmother. It is almost Christmas, but Molena Point is having trouble of its own: isolated individuals are being attacked in their homes. The lone women are then roughed up and their homes ransacked with the perpetrators fleeing just as quickly as they arrived. With nothing of substance stolen, Chief of Police Max Harper and his men can’t seem to get a handle on how to catch these criminals or get a clue on where they might strike next. They have determined that the attackers plan a diversionary break-in which captures the police’s attention while the invaders go on to attack their chosen victim. Trying to cover the entire town for both possibilities is stretching the small police force very thin.

Joe Grey and Dulcie are as frustrated as the police. After all, how can two cats survey the entire town at once? Kit is helping but is distracted by a large yellow tomcat who seems to know more about these crimes. Could he be another speaking cat? Where did he come from and why is he here?

Ryan Flannery is building a studio onto Maudie’s home where she can make her award-winning quilts. Ryan isn’t the only one worried about Maudie being alone with all those new windows through which she is so visible. Maudie has a secret, one that only reveals itself at sly moments when she thinks no one is looking. Maudie and Benny both admit that they did not see the killer in those brief flashes of gunfire yet, if the killer thinks otherwise, he could have followed them from Los Angeles, putting them at great risk.

Maudie is unclear who she can trust. Her sister and nephews live just up the street but they haven’t offered any assistance or support. Maudie has become fond of young teenager Lori who helps Ryan in construction. Yet Lori’s father is in prison for murder and one of Maudie’s nephews has just stabbed him in jail. Perhaps Lori is in just as much danger as Maudie.

Who is behind the vicious newspaper attacks against police chief Max Harper and the entire department? Ownership of the paper recently switched hands and what used to be news coverage has become twisted and opinionated quasi-editorials. Most residents read the paper, and some actually believe the drivel printed every day. Max needs to calm everyone down and prove he is still capable of doing his job. There is a particularly amusing scene when Ryan sneaks Joe Grey into town hall.

Shirley Rousseau Murphy’s writing has taken a step forward with her agility in twisting many storylines together. Plot lines that seem unrelated come together effortlessly. Mrs. Murphy has a way of weaving all the events together with strings of friendship. I suppose one of Maudie’s award-winning quilts could represent the various factions and plot lines patched together so seamlessly. I am certain that CAT COMING HOME will be an award-winning addition to this heart-warming series. It absolutely deserves to be on everyone’s “TBR” piles this fall. Just in time to celebrate the holidays along with Molena Point once Joe and pals help Max and his crew put the violence to rest. Highly recommended.

[Gail Cooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shirley Rousseau Murphy has garnered legions of fans with her cat sleuth P.I. Joe Grey and the feline he fancies, Dulcie - she’s sure to win more with the 16th in this award winning series, CAT COMING HOME. Murphy manages to fill her stories with sufficient amounts of mystery, mayhem and murder to satisfy and still keep it within the bounds of believable feline activity. (So says this owner of two cats who rule not only the roost but our hearts, too). Now, if there are naysayers claiming that talking cats are farfetched, just read a Joe Grey mystery, and you’ll find yourself chatting with them.

In the most horrific murder imaginable Maudie Toola’s son and daughter-in-law are suddenly shot to death while driving a lonely road on their way to the mountains near Lake Arrowhead. Maudie and three children are in the backseat; she glimpsed the passenger in the big pickup for just a second, and saw “the gleam of metal, too, and shoved the children to the floor, crouching down over them as a fiery blast exploded and another.” Blessedly their lives were saved.

Now, eight months later, still reeling from the trauma of that night, Maudie is moving back to her childhood home, Molena Point. She brings her orphaned grandson, Benny, with her while knowing she must now raise him and make life as good for the child as she can.

A gray tomcat watches their arrival; something about Maudie has aroused his curiosity. “Something out of keeping, an attitude that didn’t seem to fit this gentle person.....” Little did Joe know that his interest in Maudie would soon involve murders, a stabbing at the state prison, and the fearsome home invasions that had suddenly begun in once peaceful Molena Point.

Could the vicious killer have tracked Maudie and Benny to this seaside village?

- Gail Cooke

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read four books by this author all very relaxing of what I would describe the 'cozy' genre. In this book the plot is considerably more complex. The cats remain the primary characters which I always enjoy. The best I have read yet.

[Carrie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe I just don't like cats enough, even cats that can talk? I wanted a light Christmas read, but I had to drag myself through this. Oh well. Maybe I will find different feline detectives someday.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cat detectives find a new friend, a yellow talking cat, Misto. He helps them find the crooks who are doing the beatings and break-ins. Maudie and her grandson, Benny, are making a new home in Molena Bay, after the murders of her son and his wife. Ryan did the renovation of Maudie's new quilt workroom, she can hardly wait to start making her very special quilts. Meanwhile Benny is making great friends with the cats and Rock, Ryan's dog. There is a lot of suspense and intrigue, with cats tracking down the thieves, trying to get Max Harper, out of being Sheriff. Be sure and read this action filled book, it's a great adventure.

[Abbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

#16 Joe Grey/Dulcie, Molena Point, Northern California; fantastical cosy/PI.

With a title like this and with such a cute, Christmas-y cover, you'd expect the latest in Rousseau Murphy's long-running series about the talking cats of Molena Point to be extremely sweet, adorable, in fact, and possibly the stories reminiscent of the later "cat who" books - simple, sweet, cute, right?

DON'T BE FOOLED!

Yes, the time frame is just before Christmas, and the setting is that impossibly beautiful, nearly improbably nice small town in California, Molena Point, a peculiar place that's home to several cats with unusual talents. But not only are the cats not sugary confections (they're pretty much 'real cats' except for one special bit), the town and its people are experiencing some pretty bad times. This is a rather dark story, with rapid pacing, and rather frightening if you expected an extremely sweet cosy, but her writing is so good it sweeps you along.

A small boy lost his parents in an auto accident that appears to be tied to a murder plot. He and his grandmother come to Molena Point to start a new life in this beautiful place but... full review at Reviewing the Evidence:

http://reviewingtheevidence.com/revie...

[Kirsti · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never read a Joe Grey mystery before, so, oddly enough the 16th book in this series is my introduction to them. What an introduction! Mostly, I've read cat mysteries where the cat gives hints that they know something is afoot, but never before have I read of speaking cats! It was such a unique and cute concept I let my curiosity get to me and kept reading. I've obviously missed many great plot lines and characters in the past, but this one was very enthralling. It's interesting to see how many of the town know what the three cats can do, and now there is a fourth in town.

I'm going to have to see if I can find more in this series, although my library only has four of them, so that may be difficult. This one was truly excellent, and if all of them are to this quality then I highly recommend them. The best part of doing a Goodreads challenge is finding books you might otherwise have not read, and this was the case when I was recommended one of these (the second, I believe) and then remembered the name when I saw this book in the library. Will read more!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine a scenario where a few cats in the world can understand and speak human language, and even use a telephone, and you have the premise upon which this series rests. Sounds absurd I know, but this author has crafted the tale so well, in such a compelling mystery with interesting characters, that I found myself just going along with the idea. This is number 16 in the series and was a free Kindle book, but my appetite is definitely whetted to start with number 1 and catch up.

[Francoise · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a cute and entertaining book along with suspense. There were more suspects in this book than i have ever read in the past. Trouble the cat is every cat lover's ideal cat.

[Nicole Wrightson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I went into this book not knowing much about it. I picked up it and at least two others from this set from a library book sell. I just saw cats and Christmas looking covers and decided why not? Also it was a mystery as well.

This has me wanting to read more and more of the books. First off Joe Grey is a talking cat who runs around the town helping the police solve crimes with the help of his two girls. They don't talk to the cops but they call in tips. I loved how despite not having read the first 15 books, I was able to pick this up and not get lost. It filled in blanks so you knew roughly what has happened in the past. Just enough to get by so if you haven't read the other books you will want to from what little hints of the past you see.

One crime happened in the past 8 months. One is on going. But until the cats get involved the police are not making any headway on catching the home invaders. But the new people in town and their history with the deaths 8 months ago are hurting and trying to heal coming into a town with a crime wave that the cops are trying to stop. But things start happening that makes you start to wonder if there isn't more that meets the eye about the crimes.

I love how we get to see the world from the humans who are living in it and the cats that are pretty much giving a bird's eye view though out the book. Granted, sometimes that meant seeing the same part of the book two to three times but each time a bit differently. I loved that about the book. One moment you would be the victim who was just attacked, then you are the cat trying to figure out if they can find any clues or working a phone to call for help for the victim. The next you might be a cop on the scene. Each one saw something different when they got there, something that you might need to help you try to riddle out the truth of the book.

I really struggled to put this down. I kept wanting to see what was going to happen next.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m fascinated by the new cat! Hope to hear more about him in the subsequent books. I don’t want to spoil it, but I think Charlie needs to hear his life story! Heck, Meesto’s (sp?—that’s the disadvantage to listening to a book, you don’t know how names are spelled!) life could be a whole series in itself.

Oh—just realized—one thread left hanging: the new editor of the newspaper, the new ownership & editorial bias—what happened with that??

The author finally used the word “ambulance”—once. I’ve found some of her word choices odd—always saying “EMT van” or “medic van”; & “electric torch” in a previous book, instead of “flashlight”; & frankly I’d never heard of a tortie being called a “tattercoat”; I reread the author’s bio, thinking maybe she was writing from the UK, but no, she lives in CA; is west coast vocab that different from the northeast coast, where I live??

Anyway, this was my first time LISTENING to one of these Joe Grey books, after reading the first 15. My brain had this odd little adjustment period—not just to the reader’s choice of voices for the characters, but to the very idea of.....Idk, “absorbing” one of these stories with my ears instead of my eyes! This female reader doesn’t apparently have the voice range to do male voices that sound like men—& I found her accent for Dallas Garza a bit odd. (He’s Latino, why does he sound Irish?? He’s Ryan’s MOTHER’S brother—it’s her FATHER’S side that’s Irish.) But once I got accustomed to the reader’s voice, I was absorbed by the story.

[Kali · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 16th book in this series, and a Christmas themed adventure, though Christmas is not the front-and-center theme. Because of the cats, many people might see these books as typical cutesy cosy kitty-cat mysteries — until they read one, especially this one that starts out with a particularly brutal murder. The arc of the book is the solution to that murder, plus the introduction of a new wise-old cat to the series. It is a very good read, if a little darker than some of the other books. There is more human action at the beginning than cat action, which gave the book a different feel, and in all it is a great read by a very accomplished writer.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I positively absolutely love this series. They are almost irresistible, to me, anyway. I listen to a few books and authors, then start to miss this series of amazing (and let me say I think the word “amazing” is seriously overworked, which I only use on rare occasions, but I think it is a perfect description for this series.)
These cats are so neat. The people are neat. The whole series is one of my most all time favorites. This was #16. I am portioning them out. Like an award system. Really. I love them.

[Emily Cullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

After her son and his wife are shot, Maudie Toola returns to her childhood home of seaside village Molena Point to make a new life with her grandson. Is Maudie in danger because the shooter thinks she can identify him? Meanwhile, violent home invasions are plaguing Molena Point. I love this series because the featured cats talk and help solve crimes. This book features the added addition of a new tomcat and I hope he will stick around!

[Shirley A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome

I enjoy all the books in this series, but I must confess that this one is my favorite so far. I especially like that the author has real roles for the elderly as well as for adults in their prime. This volume also depicts competent children and young adults.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit on the violent side, perhaps because the women were in my age range and they were not deserving of the horrible behaviors of their attackers? But, interesting and good in the end. New character. Very interesting one too!

[Terri · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books. I can really believe that some cats can talk….and think…and reason. Great characters, fabulous setting. Sometimes brutal awful poisonous people. I’m going to listen to the next book on audiotape as I’d love to hear the interpretation of the characters especially the cats.

[Nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the most suspenseful books in the series I've read so far, with high stakes and heart that makes you care about the people of molena point. Joe Grey and his friends are like cat guardian angels to the humans they care about.

[Kathy Govreau · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was by far one of my favorite Joe Grey mysteries so far! I am on to the next--Cat on the Money (short story) and Cat Telling Tales. I love the "new" cat and hope he stays around.

[Fred Nachbrunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A special mystery

A great who done it with plot twists to befuddle even the best armchair sleuth.
New characters to enrich future books.

[Linda Saffold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

This was a very good book. Loved the way the background was laid out. Cats can be very smart
An warm companions

[Genevieve Morello · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reread

I realized I had read this before but I enjoy the cats and the people so I read it again Great book

[Kimberley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that because it’s the 16th book in the series I really missed some of the character development.
I loved the talking cats but the novelty wore off after a bit.
I think bottom line is I only ever “like” cozy mysteries. Somebody recommend me one that I’ll love!
I didn’t dislike this book though. I thought it was fun. Plus, again, talking cats.

[Sissy A. Bèans · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME Series

This is the BEST series with cats as main characters that I have ever read! Recommend this series highly! Great!

[Ruth Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Joe Grey mystery

I Loved this book. Exciting action from beginning to end. Cant wait to read the next book in the series.

[freshjuice · Rating 4 out of 5]

cat detectives. what's not to like?

[Ivan Benedict]

Good mystery with a cat hero.

[Janie Cavalli · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always the folks at Molina Point are having interaEating days. I enjoy these reads. They are my comfort reading