I started reading the Joe Grey Mystery series back in 2009, when I was laid-off from my job and looking for a new position. Those were difficult emotional times for me, plus I had just begun my personal TNR campaign for the cats in the neighborhood. I was taking TNR classes, learning how to make my life integrate with twice daily feedings outside, while attending every resume-writing, interviewing for beginners, how to network online, free class I could find!
Spending lots of time at the local library, I searched the book catalog for 'cat' books, to soothe my nerves. Reading is my great escape! Author Shirley Rousseau Murphy's name came up, and I saw there were already several books in the Joe Grey Mystery series. So, I checked out the very first book, "Cat on the Edge". The mixture of murder mystery, metaphysical cat lore, and the bond between humans and cats was a powerful punch! I then secretly bought every book in the series, which was a very big deal for someone living on a VERY fixed income! I devoured every book, and then reread them again. Now, for years, I wait impatiently for the next volume, and I was NOT disappointed in "Cat Shout for Joy", which was published last month.
Last night, I stayed up past midnight, as I read the last of this tale. I cried multiple times...tell me, how often does reading fiction make you cry?!? I will not give the story away; there are too many spoilers for me to even tell you much about the characters of Joe Grey, the mostly grey-colored cat with a short tail, and his lady tabby cat Dulcie. Along with their human companions, plus many members of the Molena Point Police department, a band of very special feral cats, and calico Kit and her special cat friend Pan, Shirley Rousseau Murphy has created a landscape of fascinating...and mysterious...stories that I hope you will enjoy reading.
Cat Shout for Joy: A Joe Grey Mystery
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780062403490
On Sale: 02/23/2016
Pages: 336
