Product Description

When the local village yard sales invite theft and murder, feline sleuths Joe Grey and Dulcie are into the case with their claws sharp. And when the two sleek detectives investigate the prime suspect's house, where the police have no cause to enter, and pass the information across the continent to the New York PD --Joe Grey's tomcat instincts nail the killer before the cops have a clue.

Violence and theft at a yard sale?

Murder because of an eBay auction?

The body on Susan Brittain's breakfast room floor and all her treasured purchases flung about and broken are not a good start to Susan's day. However, the criminal involvement is wider than she imagines, and may disrupt the lives of many others as well.Joe Grey and Dulcie suspect as much. With their unique ability to break and enter where the cops can't, the two cats begin gathering evidence. Meanwhile the cats' human friends deal with a famous author and his ill-tempered wife as they try to produce his play without coming to blows. And several senior ladies seek an innovative solution to retirement security, using their revenue from eBay and yard sales. But as Joe Grey and Oulcie dig into California history, they discover that certain artifacts, appearing at those same sales, hold the key to the puzzle. The crudely carved antique casks -- the legacy of a Spanish bride two hundred years dead-are the link the cats have been searching for.

Yet it is the young tortoiseshell, Kit, fascinated by the delights of theater production, who nearly gives away the cats' greatest secret. Kit, with her own surprising venture, almost alerts the entire village that these cats can speak and are more perceptive and sharper of wit than most humans could ever imagine.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #171025 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-01
• Released on: 2002-11-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 368 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Joe Grey, remarkable tomcat and sleuth last seen in 2001's Cat Spitting Mad, returns in Murphy's seventh cute feline mystery of theft, intrigue and murder. When famous novelist Elliott Traynor and his wife, Vivi, 40 years his junior, move to Molena Point to oversee the production of Traynor's play at the local theater, strange happenings begin to plague the usually quiet California coastal town. First, dog-owner Susan Brittain's house is vandalized, prompting Joe, aided by furry comrades Dulcie and Kit, to embark on an investigation that will take them from the houses and shops, over the roofs of the town and into a murder scene. True to form, the cats supply the information necessary for the police to solve the crimes. Meanwhile, a multitude of subplots involving the human residents of Molena Point muddle the mystery. The Senior Survival Club (Mavity, Cora, Lee, Gabrielle and Susan) are concerned with their plan to buy a communal house for their old age; Clyde is still perplexed over his ex-girlfriend, Ryan; and Max Harper and Charlie are trying to work out their relationship. Poetic descriptions and miraculous cats who not only talk, make telephone calls, advise humans but also love to read good books and are as comfortable eating rats as they are caviar make this more fantasy than mystery. While constant references to past crimes and events will inform new readers, committed fans may be disappointed in what fails to meet the standards of prior outings. (Jan. 5)Medallion for three years in a row.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Felines Joe Grey and Dulcie (Cat Spitting Mad) investigate a murder in the home of Joe's human friend Susan. This event coincides with the temporary presence in town of a famous novelist. Fun fare for cat fans.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Joe Grey and Dulcie are back in the seventh whodunit featuring the gray-and-white tomcat, the delicate tabby, and the tortoiseshell kit who has become their entrancing new sidekick. The mystery revolves around not only famous novelist Elliot Traynor, who is in Molena Point to oversee the little-theater production of his only play, but also the suspected existence of letters written some 200 years earlier by the ill-fated Spanish bride who is the play's subject. A series of peculiar events ensues, ranging from assorted break-ins and assaults to, eventually, brutal murder. The familiar humans sort out some of their interhuman relationships while still interacting with the cats, who, as expected, conduct their usual spying from underfoot and overhead and manage to work their way into locked rooms. As always, Murphy successfully walks the fine line between maintaining the cathood of her felines and endowing them with sentiency. Round up the usual readers; they will be delighted. Sally Estes
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Probably Murphy's Best to Date
I've read all the Joe Grey and Dulcie mysteries but this is one that has been most satisfying. I kept thinking "Hey, this ought to a movie!" The Senior Survivors, the romances of Charlie and Clyde and other human-related goings on keep the pace of the book from dragging which some of the earlier books tended to do, because Ms. Murphy is a fine writer with great descriptive abilities BUT that tends to be romantic and contrary to all good mysteries. Unfortunately those flowery passages in the past have been overlong in my estimation, frustrating my reasons for reading mysteries - finding the clues. Happily that hasn't been the case here. The end is a surprise and the cat's continued meddling in police affairs doesn't disappoint those of us who know that felines are really just people with fangs and fur. She still writes with great flourishes, bolstering and adding to the mystery's atmosphere rather than overpowering the plot. All in all, I loved the book and recommend it to all cat lovers who crave mysteries!

Teriffic addition to the series
Renowned author Elliot Traynor and his wife Vivi move from New York to Molena Point, California, so that the dying writer can finish his final novel and direct his only play, Thorns of Gold. However, the Pacific community residents quickly abhor the outsiders as Vivi's air of superiority gets on everyone's nerves and Elliot's health does not allow him to smooth the relationships.

However, the townsfolk soon have deeper concerns than the nasty comportment of the Traynors. Someone attacked the two actresses competing for the lead female role in Thorns of Gold. Cat detectives Joe Grey and Dulcie, already intrigued by the Traynors, decide to investigate the assaults that left one actress dead. Neither feline realizes how close they will come to losing a life or two.

The seventh Grey and Dulcie tale continues the same style humor and who-done-it that makes this one of the top or perhaps the best feline amateur sleuth series today. The two charming cats perform in a myriad of roles ranging from detective, counselors, and psychologists to their erratic human pets. CAT LAUGHING LAST is an amusing two tail tale that fans of award winning Shirley Rousseau Murphy's series will fully enjoy.

Harriet Klausner

Murder is the least of the mysteries
In a departure from Murphy's usual pattern, this seventh Joe Grey mystery doesn't really turn on a murder--there is one, but it doesn't occur till halfway through the book. Nevertheless, Molena Point is certainly suffering through some weird goings-on. Why is the famous author who has come to live in the village not writing up to his usual standard? Who vandalized Susan Brittain's home, and why? What is the attraction of a battered old wooden chest found in a local yard sale, for which a village antique dealer is willing to commit assault? And what does would-be stage star Fern Barth have on author Traynor to make him insist that she be cast as the lead of the Little Theater's production of his novel? Only Joe, his partner Dulcie, and their stage-struck protege Kit could assemble the information and put it together so the humans could act on the hidden truth. Meanwhile, Joe must put up with the angst of human housemate Clyde Damen, who has lost his casual girlfriend, Charlie Getz, to his lifelong buddy, Police Chief Max Harper, and is pondering the possibility of selling the cottage that has become Joe's beloved base of operations. Among the most delightful scenes in this book are those involving little Kit, who manages to nab a prominent part in the play. And Joe, with "the freewheeling approach [that only] a cat could employ," ends up with the last laugh indeed.