Book Review/Giveaway: Cat Shining Bright by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

The stakes are higher and more personal than ever for feline investigator Joe Grey when death comes to his beloved coastal California town in this twentieth installment of the enchanting cat mystery series.

While new father Joe Grey is overjoyed to teach his three young kittens about the world, he misses his cop work — secretly helping solve crimes alongside his human friends at Molena Point P. D. But when beautician Barbara Conley and one of her customers are found dead in the salon, Joe makes an exception, he heads for the crime scene. He has no idea that the kittens are following him, or how they will complicate the investigation.

But this is not the only danger to the kittens. A stranger is lurking around the home of Joe’s tabby lady, Dulcie, where the kittens were born. Both parents’ backs are up and their claws out, ready to protect their babies and to protect Wilma Getz, Dulcie’s human housemate.

As the death of the beautician becomes entangled with a gang of thieves working the village, Joe, Dulcie, Kit and Pan are all into the investigation; and they are led to unexpected connections, to the building of the new cat shelter and to a neighbor who becomes suddenly an unexpected part of the tangle.

Joe Grey fans will relish this latest installment following their favorite feline detective and his growing group of friends.

The very first Joe Grey mystery was published over 20 years ago in 1996. I have every book in my collection, and while I haven't read the entire series yet, I have read several and through the years have enjoyed watching Joe and Dulcie solve crimes together and ultimately fall in love. In book 20, their litter of three extra special kittens, buff colored boys Striker and Buffin and calico Courtney, are born, and with them comes a whole new world of adventure for the felines of Molena Point.

For anyone new to the series, these cats have the ability to talk and many people in town share their secret. One human who is blissfully unaware is the police chief Max, but the cats still use their talent to be a snitch for the Molena Point Police Department via anonymous phone calls. In Cat Shining Bright a car theft ring is stalking the town and though Joe and Dulcie are new parents with responsibilities to their babies, the itch to investigate is still strong. When Joe heads to the police department to do some covert feline detective work, little does he know he has precious cargo hot on his trail. When a call comes in that the police chief's wife has stumbled upon the bodies of her beautician and another man in the salon, Joe has no choice but to let them tag along to the crime scene. Even at home Dulcie and the kittens aren't safe as their human Wilma is being watched by a stranger and subsequently have their home broken into. She suspects the thief was after a rare book about Molena Point's extra special cats. And at the new cat shelter in town, shelter owner Kate Osborne and construction worker Scotty Flannery are busy watching the suspicious goings-on at their elderly neighbor's property. There's a lot going on, but the murders and thefts are all tied together, it's just up to the cats (both the house pets and the ferals) to figure out how.

The Joe Grey series has been going strong for two decades for a reason...it's one of the most remarkable, unique collections of cat novels on the market. Each cat has a unique personality that will capture reader's imaginations, and watching Joe and Dulcie become parents just adds another layer through their interactions as each of the kittens find their place in the world. Baby Buffin is the one who completely stole my heart from the very beginning. Just wait until you see what his special calling is. Seeing the difference he's going to make in so many animal and human lives will be such a joy in subsequent books.

Whether you've spent the last 2 decades following Joe and Dulcie's adventures or you're new to the dynamic duo, Cat Shining Bright will leave you purring.

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Giveaway

Thanks to the publisher we have not one, not two, not three, but FIVE advanced reader copies (ARCs) to give away to lucky readers in the US! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below.

Good luck everyone! 

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