Cat Fear No Evil

A Joe Grey Mystery, Book 9

By: Shirley Rousseau Murphy

Narrated by: Susan Boyce

What’s the perfect audiobook for fans of New York Times best-selling mystery authors Lilian Jackson Braun and Rita Mae Brown? This delightful ninth Joe Grey Mystery from award-winning author Shirley Rousseau Murphy.

Evil has crept into Molena Point, California, on stealthy cat feet. A rash of brazen burglaries, from antique jewelry to vintage cars, coincides with the unwelcome appearance of yellow-eyed Azrael, feline nemesis of crime-solving cats Joe Grey and Dulcie. But what follows soon after really has Joe’s fur standing on edge. A young, healthy waiter drops dead at a reception for local artist Charlie Harper. And when the trail of big-time thefts leads up to San Francisco, the dark beast, Azrael is on the scene. Does he have contact with a stalker and a handsome philanderer? If Joe and Dulcie don’t get to the bottom of these misdeeds soon, they and all their human friends will have ample reasons to be afraid - very afraid.

It’s time for the feline sleuths to start sniffing out the truth.

©Shirley Rousseau Murphy (P)2013 AudioGO

Critic reviews

“[A] superior cat cozy.... As usual, the relationships between the lively human characters and the talking cats in whom they confide their problems provide as much interest as the crime solving. The intricate and absorbing plot keeps the reader in suspense throughout.” ( Publishers Weekly)

“Shattered families and long-hidden secrets (both human and feline) are the themes of this ninth volume of Shirley Rousseau Murphy’s popular mystery series about exceptionally clever cats who can carry on a conversation...and an investigation.” (Barnes & Noble, editorial review)

“Magical whimsy and deft writing.” ( Cats Magazine)

Great read as always.

Loved it ! This is one of the darkest of her series. Thrilling
I would love to speak with Ms. S
Russo Murphy just to ask her how she has come up with 21
incredibly different stories that
are all winners. I never read a novel twice. Except the complete works of Sir Author
Connyn Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. All thought Doyle's writing credits are vast and not
all the same genra.

Cat fear no evil

I laughed a few times and was pleasantly surprised at all the twist and turns in the story. good book!

fun read

i love this author and am working on the whole series... entertaining and relaxing read

A Great Joe Grey Read

Would you consider the audio edition of Cat Fear No Evil to be better than the print version?

Different, it's nice to have the book read so well.

What did you like best about this story?

Well paced, great sense of mystery and, as usual, the cats are beautifully written characters, and there is a dash of darkness in the form of Azrael. It's nice when a novel makes you smile too.

What does Susan Boyce bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Great characteristion, good story telling and Susan doesn't 'get in the way' of the story, she lets Molena Point and its adventurous stories shine through.

Any additional comments?

Fans will always enjoy a Joe Grey book, and for anyone wanting a mystery that is not bathed in blood thirsty gun slinging villains this is tops!

Cat Fear No Evil

I enjoyed this book except for Kate. She was such a whimp. She coward at everything, and she wouldn't stand up for herself. I hope she's out of the picture now. Joe Gray was right on the money as usual.

Like visiting old friends

With each new entry in this series, I am getting to know all of the residents of the Pacific coast town of Molena Point, California, since each book has featured a different character or family. With Susan Boyce’s familiar voice reading the book, I feel like I'm visiting old friends as I read about the familiar faces and places. This is home to Joe Grey, his lady love Dulcie, and their friend Kit. They prefer this small town full of culture and boutiques to the larger San Francisco a couple hours north. Joe Grey, Dulcie, and Kit are all sentient cats, capable of human speech, and excellent at sleuthing where no human can go, using their feline talents to help solve the many mysteries that befall this tiny town.

Shirley Rousseau Murphy has a way of making all this so matter of fact yet still special. Three talking cats with three distinct voices, thanks to the narrator, living in town is a fact hidden from all but six residents. As a lover of cats myself, I find the idea of sentient cats quite charming and not so implausible. I think Murphy's skill in incorporating them into the story makes it that much more convincing. .

A mysterious set of burglaries has beset the residents of Molena Point and other towns up and down the California coast. Select items of antiques and jewelry are disappearing including Clyde Damon's lovingly restored Packard, leaving absolutely no clues as to how the items disappeared. What sort of thief would take the most valuable piece and leave the rest? One out for thrills.

A former resident of Molena Point, Kate Osborne is living in San Francisco to track down information on her biological parents. She finds information on her grandfather who was a building contractor and founded and built the San Francisco Cat Museum. When visiting her grandfather's aging attorney, he gives her twelve pieces of unique jewelry, several featuring cats. The workmanship is centuries old, the gold valuable, but the jewels apparently paste. She wears one of them to her friend Charlie's gallery opening featuring her paintings and sketches centered on animals, including the three cats. The next morning an evil black tomcat known as Azrael snoops in Kate's suitcase, from which he steals her safe deposit box key, intent on finding the jewelry.

Returning to San Francisco, Kate tries to shake the strong feeling that she is being followed and looks forward to a visit from Kit's human family, 80-year-old newlyweds Lucinda and Pedric Greenlaw. They'll be home soon after traveling in their RV, but tragedy strikes before they arrive.

How three sleuthing cats interact with the evil Azrael and all their human companions is the foundation of these mysteries. Events that affect one resident touch yet another so all their lives are intertwined. Seeing just how much one action leads to another and yet another and following the trail of the consequences is fascinating and absorbing.

The solution to the many mysteries examined throughout the book is not expected at the outset yet every clue slowly leads up to the ultimate solution. The three cats, with some smart deductions from their human companions, manage to track down the thieves and reveal the murderer. I followed each new twist and turn expectantly and eagerly.

This is the ninth entry in the Joe Grey series, and plenty of information from previous events is woven into the storyline to provide background on the people and their relationships. I heartily await the next cat tale in Molena Point and hope Joe Grey and company keep the residents safe.

Great except for Kate

yeah, I just don't like the character Kate. I initially thought the whole shifter vibe just didn't jibe with the rest of the series but now I've realised it's just Kate herself. The way she constantly chastises herself for not knowing how to protect herself (over many books now), then buries her head in the sand and does nothing to address this, annoys me dreadfully. Yet if this character was handled differently I'd enjoy her plots arcs

another terrific cat story

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series I have three cats myself and I can associate I just wish to God my cats could talk to me that would be so fabulous terrific stories great story lines great presentation the reading of them is fabulous I love them I hope to read every single one of them keep writing

Enjoyable

The cat mysteries are always fun listens. I love the series. Characters are interesting as are the plots.

I hate Kate

This story was as much fun as the others except for the parts that had Kate in it. There were so many different roads that the story could have taken but instead Kate is just a wimpy indecisive wuss with no backbone. I can't even list how many times I just wanted to slap her. When she realizes that someone has been in her apartment she could have done multiples of things. Police, alarms, I dunno, change the locks? Instead she just keeps living in fear, and for what?