The case of the condemned cat

McGurk Mystery #2

by E.W. Hildick

A cat accused of murdering a neighbor's pet dove is condemned to be sent to the pound. The McGurk Organization tries to save him.

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Middle Grade

90 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

About the author

E.W. (Edmund Wallace) Hildick was a British children's book author. He was born in Bradford, England in 1925. After two years service in the Royal Air Force he became a secondary school teacher, then a writer, later moving to the United States to become editor of a literary magazine. He died in London in 2001.

Reviews

[MisterFweem · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, I'm on a McGurk kick.

And I'm also watching Psych. Maybe Shawn Spencer got his great memory and observational skills by hanging out with a McGurk-like character. HIS FATHER. Then there's Gus, the hapless sidekick.

So yeah, not too much of a stretch there.

I think what I like most about this particular story is Liesl Weil's illustrations. She gets Gramps Martin very well. Also Whiskers the cat. I had a stuffed cat named Whiskers, named for the character in this book. He lost his stuffing so I filled him with gravel from the driveway. Then my older brothers and sisters used him as a weapon. Called him Mr. Rockbottom. Then he disappeared.

Now that I'm a parent myself, I know what happened to Whiskers. So it's good to see Ray's Whiskers in the books didn't meet a similar fate.

[Christine Ansorge · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of an incomplete set at the children’s library of Allegany County. It is a very, very junior version of Ender’s Game making great use of what the protagonists are thinking. The characters are fun—one has an exceptional sense of smell. The plots are realistic. Grown-ups are not given a pass because they are adults. It is charming without leaving its middle-grade lane.
I begged our librarian to get the books we were missing, but it had been deemed too low-brow. She sympathized, but that was that. I was so excited that I took time off my evil Apocalypse fixation to start my own detective agency. Thank you, Brian Hovatter, for playing Watson to my Sherlock. Those are some happy memories.

[Karen GoatKeeper · Rating 3 out of 5]

The murder victim is a white dove. The accused is Whiskers, the cat. Except his owner, Ray, knows his cat is innocent and he wants McGurk to prove it.
These are young detectives trying to do it right. They gather clues. They interview people. They make mistakes. And the plot thickens as a second victim is found.
This is a fast, easy read definitely for younger readers. Still, it is fun, even though the guilty party seems obvious to an older reader.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now this book made me nervous when I read it to my two nephews. I mean the title alone could make a KATLUVR wince. The Case of the Condemned Cat was not solved in 1 reading so I had to be nervous overnight until we were able to finish the second book in E W Hildick's series about the McGurk Detective Agency. Thank goodness for ebay so I could purchase and send the third mystery to the nephews. They liked that 1 because it had police in it. I wish I could've read it to them myself.

[Markku Kesti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Naapurin kyyhky on murhattu. Insidiotodisteet osoittavat kissaa, mutta McGurk haistaa vilunkipeliä. Tai siis Nenä haistaa. McGurk luottaa Nenään.