From Publishers Weekly
Modern-day descendants of ancient Celtic talking cats, Joe Grey and Dulcie make their hardback debut in this cat-chy tale (after three paperback adventures: Cat Raise the Dead, etc.). When the feline duo witnesses a series of burglaries in their California seaside village, they are intrigued. Finding the human culprit and his accomplice, an alluringly evil black cat named Azrael, who also talks, proves to be easy. After Joe Grey and Dulcie accuse him of the crimes, Azrael tells them the thefts are nothing, considering that soon three people will be murdered. Joe Grey and Dulcie know that a number of newcomers have recently moved to the area, including a cat-hating librarian, a shifty financial adviser, a vengeful Georgia couple and an austere handywoman. All of them are acting oddly?even for humans: the librarian is trying to oust Dulcie from her position as official library cat; the financial adviser is wining and dining a local golddigger; the Georgians clandestinely photocopy their local aunt's financial portfolio; and the handywoman leads a hidden life. When the Georgia couple's bodies are found in the library's garden and the adviser is also murdered, the intrepid felines are on the case, much to the dismay of Joe's human keeper, contractor and car mechanic Clyde. As the cats surreptitiously survey the police investigation, they realize Azrael's missing human companion holds the key to the deaths. Rousseau writes a fast-paced tale, and she has a way with her cat scenes, but her mystery claws aren't as sharp as those of Rita Mae Brown or Lillian Jackson Braun (reviewed above). Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
YA-Cat lovers have long acknowledged the special qualities of felines, even those that don't speak, read, open locks, or act like private investigators. Joe Grey and Dulcie can do all of the above and more. While making a nighttime stroll around the quiet village of Molena Point, Joe and Dulcie witness a cat and a slovenly dressed man committing a robbery. The strange cat, Azrael, appears to be as evil as his name implies, and turns out to share the same unique abilities of Joe and Dulcie. The man turns out to be the brother of Mavity Flowers, one of the hard-working older women in the village. The two resident cats, faced with identifying the culprit, come across an investment scam, three deaths, and significant twisting of the plot. Human characters provide the realism in this mysterious fantasy that includes romantic interests and small-town squabbles. Dulcie's owner, Wilma Getz, and Joe's owner, Clyde Damen, serve as the major human players. As mutual friends their interactions bring the different parts of the plot together and provide a foundation for the series. The contemporary setting of Molena Point, complete with nightly fogs, adds just the right atmosphere for the midnight sleuthing of cats and dastardly humans. For teens who like fantasy, mystery, or cats, this title offers all three.Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Appearing for the first time in hardcover, this series (e.g., Cat Under Fire, HarperPrism, 1997) features cats who have emotions and intelligence, who talk to each other, and who investigate murder in a small California town. Depending on their frame of mind, readers will find this premise either silly and tedious or stimulating and charming, Two special felines, Dulcie and Joe Grey, spot the town's new, evil tomcat?wily, partnered with human robbers, and prophetic of three killings. The cats' owners play out the plot on another level, of course, but the two converge when owners and cats converse. A special treat, then, for cat mystery fanciers.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Glynco Observer
"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."


From Kirkus Reviews
Joe Grey and his ladyfriend Dulcie aren't just your ordinary feline detectives. Not only does Dulcie have a day jobshe's the library cat for the Bay Area village of Molena Pointbut, like Joe Grey, she has powers and abilities far beyond those of ordinary literary cats. Joe and Dulcie can talk to each other and to their respective human housemates, librarian Wilma Getz and rehabber Clyde Damen (who, in the course of one particularly heated debate with Joe Grey, snarls, ``What does a cat know about the value of real estate?''); they can read books and newspapers; they can toss suspects' apartments and make anonymous phone tips to perplexed Captain Max Harper. And it's a good thing this crime-fighting duo, in their hardcover debut, are so well-equipped, because the forces of evil arrayed against them are formidable. There's a sneak thief who breaks into Molena Point's cozy shops by night and empties their cash registers. There's the thief's feline partner, Azrael, who taunts Dulcie and Joe Grey with their inexperience and prophesies multiple murder. There's investments counselor Winthrop Jergen, who just may be swindling Wilma's old friend Mavity Flowers out of her life's savings. And eventually, long after non-infatuates have given up hope of any sensation stronger than a decorous romantic triangle among Clyde, his handyman girlfriend Charlie (Wilma's niece) Getz, and flashy library computer expert Bernine Sage, there's the business of those murders. Now that Murphy's raised the stakes of the feline sleuth genre, what's next? Burned-out cats who drive police cruisers and count the days till their retirement? -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Library Journal
"Delightful."


Monterey County Herald, February 28, 1999
"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."


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


Library Cat Newsletter, Spring 1999
"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!"



"Excellent reading."


Publishers Weekly
"A cat-chy tale...fast-paced."



"Joe Grey and his sidekick Dulcie...[are] an irrepressible investigative duo...ingeniously mesmerizing."


Armchair Detective
Praise for Shirley Rousseau Murhpy's Cat Mysteries"A delicious romp...of murder, revenge, and jealousy; interlaced with fantasy...Excellent reading, whether you believe or not. Not to be missed!"


Cats magazine
"Magical whimsy and deft writing."


Armchair Detective
"A delicious romp...of murder, revenge, and jealousy; interlaced with fantasy...Excellent reading, whether you believe or not. Not to be missed!"


Book Description
"Of course I worry.
What if the cops witness a cat opening a skylight and
masterminding a robbery?
The tabloids will love it."

There's a new pair of thieves in Molena Point, California, a renegade yellow-eyed tomcat with a cold disdain for the law, and a scruffy human partner who is no better. The two, clever and silent at their work, are bad news indeed to crime-solving cats Joe Grey and Dulcie. But when Joe learns the pair's connection to a good friend, and then an innocent couple turns up dead in the library garden, Joe and Dulcie must engage in some fancy paw work to unmask the deceptions and route the real killer -- before his brazen criminal crime spree careens madly toward them.


About the Author
Shirley Rousseau Murphy is the author of Cat in the Dark, Cat on the Edge, Cat Under Fire, and Cat Raise the Dead, and has received five Council of Authors and Journalists Awards for previous books. She graduated from San Francisco Art Institute, has worked as a commercial artist and has exhibited paintings and sculptures extensively on the West Coast. She and her husband live in Carmel, California. Their cats have included a tom that twice warned them of burglars in the middle of the night by growling, and a cat that liked to ride horseback.


Excerpted from Cat in the Dark by Shirley Rousseau Murphy. Copyright © 1999. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
Chapter One The cat crouched in darkness beneath the library desk, her tabby stripes mingled with the shadows, her green eyes flashing light, her tail switching impatiently as she watched the last patrons linger around the circulation counter. Did humans have to dawdle, wasting their time and hers? V/hat was it about closing hour that made people so incredibly slow? Above her the library windows were black, and out in the night the oaks' ancient branches twisted against the glass, the moon's rising light reflecting along their limbs and picking out the rooftops beyond. The time was nine-fifteen. Time to turn out the lights. Time to leave these hallowed rooms to her. Would people never leave? She was so irritated she almost shouted at them to get lost, that this was her turf now. Beyond the table and chair legs, out past the open door, the library's front garden glowed waxen in the moonlight, the spider lilies as ghostly pale as the white reaching fingers of a dead man. Three women moved out into the garden along the stone path, beneath the oak trees' dark shelter, heading toward the street; behind them, Mavity Flowers hurried out toting her heavy book bag, her white maid's uniform as bright as moonstruck snow, hergray, wiry hair ruffled by the sea wind. Her white polyester skirt was deeply wrinkled in the rear from sitting for nearly an hour delving through the romance novels, choosing half a dozen unlikely dreams in which to lose herself. Dulcie imagined Mavity hastening home to her tiny cottage, making herself a cup of tea, getting comfy, maybe slipping into her bathrobe and putting her feet up for an evening's read--for a few hours' escape and pleasure after scrubbing and vacuuming all day in other people's houses. Mavity was a dear friend of Dulcie's housemate; she and Wilma had known each other since elementary school, more than fifty years. Wilma was the tall one, strong and self-sufficient, while Mavity was such a small person, so wrinkled and frail-looking that people treated her as if she should be watched over--even if she did work as hard as a woman half her age. Mavity wasn't a cat lover, but she and Dulcie were friends. She always stroked Dulcie and talked to her when she stopped by Wilma's; Mavity told Dulcie she was beautiful, that her chocolate-dark stripes were as lovely as mink, that Dulcie was a very special cat. But the little lady had no idea how special. The truth would have terrified her. The notion that Dulcie had read (and found tedious) most of the stories that she, herself, was toting home tonight, would have shaken Mavity Flowers right down to her scruffy white oxfords. Through the open front door, Dulcie watched Mavity hurry to the corner and turn beneath the yellow glow of the streetlamp to disappear down the dark side street into a tunnel of blackness beneath a double row of densely massed eucalyptus trees. But within the library, seven patrons still lingered. And from the media room at the back, four more dawdlers appeared, their feet scuffing along inches from Dulcie's nose-- silk-clad ankles in stilted high heels, a boy's bony bare feet in leather sandals, a child's little white shoes and lace-ruffled white socks following Mama's worn loafers. And all of them as slow as cockroaches in molasses, stopping to examine the shelved booksand flip through the racked magazines. Dulcie, hunching against the carpet, sighed and closed her eyes. Dawdling was a cat's prerogative, humans didn't have the talent. Only a cat could perform that slow, malingering dance, the half-in-half-out-the-door routine, with the required insolence and grace. She was not often so rude in her assessment of human frailties. During the daytime hours, she was a model of feline amenity, endlessly obliging to the library patrons, purring for them and smiling when the old folks and children petted and fussed over her, and she truly loved them. Being official library cat was deeply rewarding. And at home with Wilma she considered herself beautifully laid-back; she and Wilma had a lovely life together. But when night fell, when the dark winds shook the oaks and pines and rattled the eucalyptus leaves, her patina of civilization gave way and the ancient wildness rose in her, primitive passions took her--and a powerful and insatiable curiosity drove her. Now, eager to get on with her own agenda, she was stifled not only by lingering humans but was put off far more by the too-watchful gaze of the head librarian. Jingling her keys, Freda Brackett paced before the circulation desk as sour-faced as a bad-tempered possum and as impatient for people to leave as was Dulcie herself--though for far different reasons. Freda couldn't wait to be free of the books and their related routines for a few hours, while Dulcie couldn't wait to get at the thousands of volumes, as eager as a child waiting to be alone in the candy store. Freda had held the position of head librarian for two months. During that time, she had wasted not an ounce of love on the library and its contents, on the patrons, or on anyone or anything connected with the job. But what could you expect of a political appointee? The favorite niece of a city council member, Freda had been selected over several more desirable applicants among the library's own staff. Having come to Molena Point from a large and businesslike city library, she ran this small, cozy establishment in thesame way. Her only objective was to streamline operations until the Molena Point Library functioned as coldly and impersonally as the institution she had abandoned. In just two months the woman's rigid rules had eaten away at the warm, small-village atmosphere like a rat demolishing last night's cake.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Dulcie is right to be worried, for 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. And he's masterminding a crime spree that's quickly escalating toward murder most foul. Dulcie and Joe Grey both know the score - they have seen Azrael in action. His nocturnal depredations threaten the very fabric of their lives. Dulcie could lose her spot as library cat. Even the evening handout from Jolly's Deli is at risk. But how can they expose the criminal without letting millions of ordinary, untrustworthy humans in on the secret that certain select cats can think and talk?

FROM THE CRITICS

Armchair Detective

Excellent reading.

Mostly Murder

Joe Grey and his sidekick Dulcie...[are] an irrepressible investigative duo...ingeniously mesmerizing.

School Library Journal

YA-Cat lovers have long acknowledged the special qualities of felines, even those that don't speak, read, open locks, or act like private investigators. Joe Grey and Dulcie can do all of the above and more. While making a nighttime stroll around the quiet village of Molena Point, Joe and Dulcie witness a cat and a slovenly dressed man committing a robbery. The strange cat, Azrael, appears to be as evil as his name implies, and turns out to share the same unique abilities of Joe and Dulcie. The man turns out to be the brother of Mavity Flowers, one of the hard-working older women in the village. The two resident cats, faced with identifying the culprit, come across an investment scam, three deaths, and significant twisting of the plot. Human characters provide the realism in this mysterious fantasy that includes romantic interests and small-town squabbles. Dulcie's owner, Wilma Getz, and Joe's owner, Clyde Damen, serve as the major human players. As mutual friends their interactions bring the different parts of the plot together and provide a foundation for the series. The contemporary setting of Molena Point, complete with nightly fogs, adds just the right atmosphere for the midnight sleuthing of cats and dastardly humans. For teens who like fantasy, mystery, or cats, this title offers all three.-Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Joe Grey and his ladyfriend Dulcie aren't just your ordinary feline detectives. Not only does Dulcie have a day job-she's the library cat for the Bay Area village of Molena Point-but, like Joe Grey, she has powers and abilities far beyond those of ordinary literary cats. Joe and Dulcie can talk to each other and to their respective human housemates, librarian Wilma Getz and rehabber Clyde Damen (who, in the course of one particularly heated debate with Joe Grey, snarls, "What does a cat know about the value of real estate?"); they can read books and newspapers; they can toss suspects' apartments and make anonymous phone tips to perplexed Captain Max Harper. And it's a good thing this crime-fighting duo, in their hardcover debut, are so well-equipped, because the forces of evil arrayed against them are formidable. There's a sneak thief who breaks into Molena Point's cozy shops by night and empties their cash registers. There's the thief's feline partner, Azrael, who taunts Dulcie and Joe Grey with their inexperience and prophesies multiple murder. There's investments counselor Winthrop Jergen, who just may be swindling Wilma's old friend Mavity Flowers out of her life's savings. And eventually, long after non-infatuates have given up hope of any sensation stronger than a decorous romantic triangle among Clyde, his handyman girlfriend Charlie (Wilma's niece) Getz, and flashy library computer expert Bernine Sage, there's the business of those murders. Now that Murphy's raised the stakes of the feline sleuth genre, what's next? Burned-out cats who drive police cruisers and count the days till their retirement? .