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    Cat on the Edge: A Joe Grey Mystery
    Unavailable
    Cat on the Edge: A Joe Grey Mystery
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    Cat on the Edge: A Joe Grey Mystery
    Ebook255 pages4 hours

    Cat on the Edge: A Joe Grey Mystery

    By Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    It's been quite a week for Joe Grey. First the large, powerfulfeline discovers that, through some strange, inexplicable phenomenon, he now has the ability to understand human language. Then he discovers he can speak it as well! It's a nightmare for a cat who'd prefer to sleep the day away carefree, but Joe can handle it. That is, until he has the misfortune to witness a murder in the alley behind Jolly's Deli -- and worse, to be seen witnessing it. With all of his nine lives suddenly at risk, Joe's got no choice but to get to the bottom of the heinous crime -- because his mouse-hunting days are over for good unless he can help bring a killer to justice.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 13, 2009
    ISBN9780061740220
    Unavailable
    Cat on the Edge: A Joe Grey Mystery
    Author

    Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    Shirley Rousseau Murphy is the author of twenty mysteries in the Joe Grey series, for which she has won the Cat Writers’ Association Muse Medallion nine years running, and has received ten national Cat Writers’ Association Awards for best novel of the year. She is also a noted children’s book author, and has received five Council of Authors and Journalists Awards. She lives in Carmel, California, where she serves as full-time household help to two demanding feline ladies.

    Read more from Shirley Rousseau Murphy

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    Reviews for Cat on the Edge

    3.5/5

    116 ratings13 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I love this series!In the first book of this series, Joe Grey, tomcat, discovers he can understand humans, and speak back to them as well. He soon finds another cat, Dulcie, who has his same powers. After witnessing a murder, Joe Grey and Dulcie try to solve the crime before the murderer comes after them.
    • 5/5
      I love this series!In the first book of this series, Joe Grey, tomcat, discovers he can understand humans, and speak back to them as well. He soon finds another cat, Dulcie, who has his same powers. After witnessing a murder, Joe Grey and Dulcie try to solve the crime before the murderer comes after them.
    • 3/5
      Cat on the Edge: A Joe Grey Mystery by Shirley Rousseau Murphy might just be one of the strangest books I've every read. Is it a cozy mystery? Cat story? Fantasy? With 20 books in the Joe Grey series, it obviously appeals to many readers, but I was primarily left shaking my head over it. The writing itself is pretty good in most parts, maybe a bit over descriptive, but it isn't a big complaint. The author captures the small touristy California town perfectly. The murder and surrounding crime was well enough thought out. I wasn't charmed by the talking cats, who were portrayed very matter-of-factly. The reveal to their owners of their extraordinary abilities was very flat, in my opinion.The were-cat storyline just added another layer of strangeness to the plot. I wasn't certain it added anything else except as a device to keep the narrative moving forward. It's a unique novel, I'll give it that, but I won't be continuing with this weird world of cat stories.
    • 3/5
      If you like cats and mysteries, you can't go wrong.
    • 3/5
      Molena Point is a quaint seaside town near the Bay Area of California. Everything is fairly peaceful right up until a body is discovered in the alley behind the local Deli. It seemed like the perfect crime with the only witness being a cat. And everyone knows cat's can't talk.Cat on the Edge is the first in the Joe Grey Mysteries. This is slightly different than your average murder mystery as the murderer is identified fairly early on and it is the secondary story. Instead the real mystery lies with the cats, how they became the way they are, how they adapt to the situation and how their humans handle it all. The story has a slow reveal of the cat's nature while they put together the pieces of the murder to capture the killer. I read Murphy's Catsworld Portal years ago, which does tie in somewhat. It is not necessary to read that to enjoy this book though it will explain the mythology a bit more. I quite enjoyed this cozy little mystery and plan to continue the series for a few books. It is a nice, light entrance to a mystery series for cat fans.
    • 3/5
      Joe Grey is a cat who has been through a lot of changes in the last week or two. He can suddenly understand human language. Sitting with his human, Clyde, while Clyde reads out loud to him, he finds he can even read the words on the page.That's unsettling enough. Then he discovers he can speak human language.Joe does not regard this as a Great Step Forward. It's very upsetting to him. He likes being a cat. Clyde's human friends are a lot more annoying, now that he can understand their conversation--entirely focused on things cats consider trivial.But he might have found ways to appreciate these changes, with some time. Instead, he and one of his cat friends, Dulcie, who has experienced the same changes, witness the murder of a business associate of Clyde's. And the killer sees them. Not only sees them, but apparently realizes that they can tell what they've seen--that they are witnesses who matter. They each go home, Joe to Clyde and Dulcie to Wilma, but it's not long before they both realize the killer knows where they live. They're on the run, and they need to solve the crime if they are ever going to be able to be safe again.They start investigating, and discover the human world is ridiculously complicated. Clyde runs a service garage in space he rents from a car dealership, and part of the deal is providing service to the dealership's cars. He connected with the owner of the dealership originally through an old school acquaintance, Jimmy Osborn, who is employed as the manager. Jimmy is married to Kate, whom Clyde really likes, and is friendlier with than Jimmy, but, you know, married to Jimmy. The owner of the dealership, Samuel Beckwhite, is the man who was murdered. He was married to Sheril, who has been having an affair with Jimmy. Jimmy has a connection with Lee whose last name I won't even guess at the spelling of. (I listened to the audiobook.) Lee is Welsh, and he grew up listening to all sorts of Welsh stories about cats, which, yes, is highly relevant to events.This book was first published in 1996, and in some respects it shows its age. It's trivial that this is set some years before cellphones were everywhere, and this piece of tech we take for granted comes up only in passing, near the end, as something the mayor thinks is too fancy and expensive for the police, who could really use them. More annoying for the current reader will be he fact that there's some lazy stereotyping, the slut-shaming of Sheril, and the Latino waiter who doesn't speak English too good. Kate is a housewife, making Jimmy's home beautiful and a good showplace for his success.This was still pretty normal for the time, and Wilma, for instance, has a very different background. It's still a bit jarring for today's readers, though. I will say, in Kate's and Murphy's defense, when push comes to shove, she proves to be no spineless pushover.I enjoyed this. It's a lot of fun. It does have some flaws, though, and won't be for everyone.I bought this audiobook.
    • 3/5
      My introduction to the Joe Grey books was the unabridged audio edition of book 18. I love cats (as Kai and Cosmo can attest), love fantasy, love mysteries, and have no problem with mixed genres. Cats Bearing Gifts was pleasant enough for me to decide to check out the series from the beginning.Joe Grey (who, unlike the cat on the cover, is a gray cat with white markings who lost most of his tail to a bad infection that had set in before his human, Clyde Damen, found him), has no idea why he can suddenly understand, speak, and read English. He witnessed a murder and the killer is trying to kill him. It's as if the man knows that Joe could tattle.Dulcie is a lovely female cat who lives with retired parole officer Wilma Getz. Dulcie has a thing about stealing soft and pretty objects from the neighbors, which Wilma returns. Dulcie is like Joe. Her life is also in danger.A mysterious amnesiac cat we meet turns out to be a shape-shifting woman. A character who came from Wales may be responsible.I enjoyed the cats' adventures, especially Joe trying to use a phone to let Clyde know that he's okay while he's hiding from the killer. I also enjoyed Joe's reaction to Clyde's dates now that he can understand what they're talking about. The narration is fine.If you're looking for a cozy series to listen to while you're getting other things done, this one will do. I must admit, though, that while my disbelief was willing to be suspended for talking literate cats and a were-cat, it was not willing to swallow Joe thinking that he's only a cat. I'm sure our cats wouldn't believe that, either.
    • 3/5
      Joe Grey is a big old tomcat that likes nothing better than to sleep the day away in a patch of sunlight, carouse a little, tease his furry housemates, cuddle with his owner and, hunt at night. On one particular night he witnesses a murder and for some unknown reason the assailant is very insistent to leave no witnesses. Not even a cat! Shortly after that strange things start happening … Joel discovers he suddenly has the ability to fully understand human speech … and he can read … and, unbelievably – he can talk? Stranger still he teams up with a (really cute) female feline who has the same amazing abilities. Can they solve the crime before the mysterious murderer does them in?

      If you can suspend reality for a little while and you love cats – or even just stories about cats, this is a fun read. I found it a little slow at the start, but by the middle of the book I was hooked into the story enough to need to know the outcome.

      I’m still not 100% certain about the series as a serious time investment but am definitely going to give the next book a try before I make up my mind.
    • 4/5
      Cat on the Edge starts off like any normal cozy cat mystery -- someone is killed and the cats get involved with the case. The writing like others in this genre is not spectacular, but solid. The plot moves along with a mystery that, while parts could be predicted, remains pretty much a mystery.Where this book is veers away from the norm is when not only Joe Grey discovers he can speak and read English, but Dulcie his friend can too. Why these cats can do this is never explained. Their new perspective on life does provide some interesting observations. I do have some problems with talking, humanesque cats. Their talents, such as using a phone book, are a bit too much at times. Also, one character has the ability to change forms from a person to a cat at will, due to a spell -- again, not thrilling to me.As a first in a series, this is an okay book. Had I read this before purchasing most of the series, I am not sure whether I would continue on reading, but since I did, I will.
    • 3/5
      The first cat-detective mystery I've ever read, and a pleasant surprise. The writing is strong, the characterizations are well drawn, and the plot and pacing are good. You need, of course, not just to willingly suspend your disbelief, but to abandon it altogether. The reasoning behind the cats' ability to speak, and why one of them can shape-shift between human and feline form, is never fully explained. I understand that it's "magic," but there were nevertheless a lot of very loose ends around the Welsh character who allegedly cast the spell to transform them (?)--or understood what they were (?)--it's a little too ambiguous.
    • 3/5
       Sometimes you just want a simple, comfortable read. If you like the Cat Who...series by Lillian Jackson Braun, this series is along the same path.
    • 4/5
      Cat on the Edge by Shirley Rousseau Murphy is the first in her Joe Grey series. Joe in this instance is a cat, who somehow has acquired the knowledge and use of the English Language. For all Joe knows he's the only cat with this ability, and he's feeling rather lonely and sorry for himself when he witnesses a murder. The murder victim is a business associate of his owner, Clyde. The murderer sees Joe and tries to kill him. Joe runs away from home in an effort to protect his owner from the murderer. He meets up with another cat, Dulcie, who shares his unique abilities. Together they work to bring the murderer to justice, and save not only themselves, but their beloved owners.It's an interesting take on anthropomorphic animals. The author doesn't try to explain why these two cats have this ability, and many times seems to forget that her protagonists are cats. Their antics many times don't seem to be something that would be possible for actual cats to do. Who knows maybe with their human language capabilities they've also aquired superpowers. All in all it's an entertaining read, just check your knowledge of cat behaviours and abilities at the door.
    • 5/5
      I love this series!In the first book of this series, Joe Grey, tomcat, discovers he can understand humans, and speak back to them as well. He soon finds another cat, Dulcie, who has his same powers. After witnessing a murder, Joe Grey and Dulcie try to solve the crime before the murderer comes after them.