From Publishers Weekly
This delightful fantasy posits a Netherworld located under modern California and peopled by humans, mythological creatures--including Harpies and Griffons--and shape-changers such as the Catswold, who can shift between cat and human forms. In this land where technology fails but magic works, Melissa, a young woman with no memory of her past, goes to the city of Affandar, ruled by the cruel Queen Siddonie, to learn her history. Taking a strange interest in Melissa, the queen teaches her magic spells far superior to those of the common people. From an imprisoned Harpy she sets free, Melissa learns she is heir to the Catswold throne, but for her disobedience she is turned into her cat form and cast forth in the upperworld. There she is taken in as a pet by artist Braden West, who, unaware of her true nature, falls in love with her. Then Melissa discovers how to regain her human form and returns to the Netherworld pursued by Braden. Murphy, a writer of children's books, balances her rich, detailed Netherworld with a vividly characterized earthly realm. Her cat people, in particular, ring true. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA-- In 1957 in the San Francisco area, a garden shared by six surrounding houses has a tool shed built into a berm. The shed is closed by a magnificent, intricately carved wooden gate featuring nine rows of nine heads of cats, each projecting out of the wood. Unbeknownst to Earth dwellers, this gate is one of several conduits connecting the underground netherworld with the upperworld. Living belowground is the evil Queen Siddonie, who wants control of both realms; attempting to stop her is Melissa, a kidnapped abovegrounder. The book offers a diverse collection of characters, from the elusive Catswolders who are able to shape shift between human and cat form; to the cantankerous but warm-hearted Harpie; the magnificent, powerful Griffon; and the Black Dragon of the Hellpit, who epitomizes everything that is loathsome. Rich, descriptive imagery is found on every page, making this underground world come alive. And in the end, the power of art, magic, images, and love help Melissa as she overcomes the malevolent queen.- Pam Spencer, Jefferson Sci-Tech, Fairfax County, VACopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
A young woman struggling to free her people and claim her rightful place as the queen of the faerie finds unexpected assistance from an artist coming to grips with his mental demons in this first adult novel by a popular author of juvenile and YA fiction. Shapechanging catfolk, an evil sorceress, an oracular toad, and a magic mirror lend a fairytale-like quality to a story that takes place in two worlds: the underworld of the faerie and mid-20th-century San Francisco. Like Charles de Lint and Tanya Huff, Murphy demonstrates a rare feel for crossworld fantasy, bringing modern and mystical landscapes and people into an illuminating juxtaposition. More than a "feline fantasy," this engaging story should be considered a priority purchase. Highly recommended.Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Longish first novel about a magical world where cats change to people and back again, from a veteran children's author. In 1957 San Francisco, successful painter Braden West mourns the recent death of his wife, Alice. He has an important show coming up but is too depressed to work. Meanwhile, he's mysteriously drawn, as was his wife, to a vivid sculpture of cats carved into the door of his house--a sculpture that turns out to be the portal into the cat world, through which he is drawn. But the bulk of the story is given over to 17-year-old Melissa, a farm girl and then a scullery maid, whose real heritage as the ``Queen of faerie'' has been hidden from her through black magic. So off she goes on a perilous, not very original quest. As in fairy tale, there's a wicked queen, who at one point turns Melissa into a tiny calico cat. West joins Melissa in their quest, and they fall in love, a subplot with all the variety of a genre romance. And, of course, West has found his Alice again, more or less. Murphy is often lyrical, but she leans too heavily on the conventions laid down by C.S. Lewis, Anne McCaffrey, and Andre Norton. The most interesting writing here is in fact the cat lore, which Murphy seems to know everything there is to know about and which she associates with what might be called the archetypal female. The interweaving between real and fantasy worlds is well done; the implied notion, intriguing if arguable, is that women are like cats inside--cool, independent, and a bit mystical. Murphy needs to leave her mentors behind, and the love story's a trifle soggy. But, still, she's a writer to watch. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Book Description

There is a door in an artist's garden -- an elaborately carved passageway into a realm ruled by a cruel enslaver, a dark sorceress queen. There entities strange and wondrous roam the Netherworld -- yet none as astonishing as the shape-shifting Catswold.

A man beset by tragedy, painter Braden West is intrigued by the calico cat who has charmed her way into his studio. But his "guest" is more than she seems. In human form, Melissa once inhabited two worlds. And it is her destiny to return to a mystic realm of wonder and terror, to do battle for her people's liberation and the crown that is rightfully hers. Braden's very existence will be radically altered by this remarkable, mysterious creature -- as he follows Melissa from the Hell Pit into the dread perils of an evil court, thrust into the heart of a magical conflict with more at stake than he could possibly have imagined.

ANNOTATION

A beguiling tale of Mellissa, Queen of Faerie. Deposed from her throne and forced through the magical portal between her world and ours, Mellissa adopts the form of a small calico cat. To return to Faerie, she faces a perilous journey--and a desperate enemy. Original.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A beguiling tale of Mellissa, Queen of Faerie. Deposed from her throne and forced through the magical portal between her world and ours, Mellissa adopts the form of a small calico cat. To return to Faerie, she faces a perilous journey--and a desperate enemy.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This delightful fantasy posits a Netherworld located under modern California and peopled by humans, mythological creatures--including Harpies and Griffons--and shape-changers such as the Catswold, who can shift between cat and human forms. In this land where technology fails but magic works, Melissa, a young woman with no memory of her past, goes to the city of Affandar, ruled by the cruel Queen Siddonie, to learn her history. Taking a strange interest in Melissa, the queen teaches her magic spells far superior to those of the common people. From an imprisoned Harpy she sets free, Melissa learns she is heir to the Catswold throne, but for her disobedience she is turned into her cat form and cast forth in the upperworld. There she is taken in as a pet by artist Braden West, who, unaware of her true nature, falls in love with her. Then Melissa discovers how to regain her human form and returns to the Netherworld pursued by Braden. Murphy, a writer of children's books, balances her rich, detailed Netherworld with a vividly characterized earthly realm. Her cat people, in particular, ring true. (Apr . )

Library Journal

A young woman struggling to free her people and claim her rightful place as the queen of the faerie finds unexpected assistance from an artist coming to grips with his mental demons in this first adult novel by a popular author of juvenile and YA fiction. Shapechanging catfolk, an evil sorceress, an oracular toad, and a magic mirror lend a fairytale-like quality to a story that takes place in two worlds: the underworld of the faerie and mid-20th-century San Francisco. Like Charles de Lint and Tanya Huff, Murphy demonstrates a rare feel for crossworld fantasy, bringing modern and mystical landscapes and people into an illuminating juxtaposition. More than a ``feline fantasy,'' this engaging story should be considered a priority purchase. Highly recommended.

School Library Journal