Cat Mystery Thriller

A woman lies dead, shot and bleeding. Behind her body stands a large old manor house, her house, and now her son's. She ran the rural estate as a minor fiefdom, all had to subjugate themselves to her will, or they were put out of their homes and ejected from the community. Lady Compton was hated, nobody mourned her passing, but her murder brought suspicion and dismay to the closely allied village, and it brought the police into their midst.

Edgar Award-winning editor Otto Penzler collects more than 50 of his all-time favorite holiday crime stories - many of which are difficult or nearly impossible to find anywhere else. From classic Victorian tales by Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Thomas Hardy, to contemporary stories by Sara Paretsky and Ed McBain, this collection touches on all aspects of the holiday season, and all types of mysteries. They are suspenseful, funny, frightening, and poignant.

Cat and the members of her writers' retreat have just arrived in Outlaw, Colorado, an "Old West" tourist town complete with inhabitants dressed up as famous figures from history. But this authentic slice of Americana takes a murderous turn when a college student masquerading as a 19th-century saloon girl becomes history herself. Was she the intended target? Or did she take a hit meant for someone else? With a cast of suspects to choose from, Cat must unhorse the real culprit before a real-life ghost story is given a killer twist

As Miss Lucy Harrington, daughter of the village rector, and Major Sir Robert Kurland plan their nuptials, the major is beginning to wonder if he'll ever hear wedding bells. He's seen complex military campaigns that involved less strategy, and he's finding Lucy's meddling family maddening. When the body of Ezekiel Thurrock, the church verger, is discovered crushed by a gargoyle that has fallen from the bell tower, the wedding is delayed.

It's fall in North Harbor, Maine, where Sarah owns a charming secondhand shop and sells lovingly refurbished items of all kinds. The shop is always bustling - and not just because a quirky team of senior-citizen detectives works out of it and manages to get in even more trouble than Sarah's rough-and-tumble rescue cat, Elvis. A cold case heats up when young Mallory Pearson appears at the shop. Mallory's father is in prison for negligence after her stepmother's mysterious death, but Mallory believes he is innocent and asks the in-house detectives to take on the case.

My life was going just fine by most standards. I ran a successful business in a tight-knit magical community, and lived just blocks from a beautiful lake and series of hiking trails. Then Selene showed up. According to some magical code I inherit my aunt's ancient familiar; a grumpy ten-pound cat with a broken filter. She fancies herself something of a saber-toothed tiger, and claims to have wrestled the thread of her ninth life from the hands of the Fates themselves—although, I'm pretty sure that last part isn't true. Almost positive.

Vivian, a former reporter and a newlywed, doesn’t know what to do with herself after an incident with her husband forces her to question their partnership and her future. Yearning for the ocean air and a sense of home, she retreats to Tybee Island to clear her head and visit her Nana, a retired PI who now struggles with dementia. The phone rings: Catherine Grant, a housewife living in a private development nearby, woke up to find her husband and their baby girl missing, and she is desperate for help.

All Ellison Russell wanted was an update on her stock portfolio. Instead, she found her broker dead. With an unexpected out-of-town guest at her house, Ellison is too busy for a murder investigation. Only this time, Detective Anarchy Jones wants her help, and she can't deny the handsome detective. Can Mr. Coffee supply her with enough caffeine to keep her brain sharp and everyone else happy?

Cat has a full plate at her Aspen Hills Warm Springs Resort, as a group of aspiring cozy mystery authors arrives for a writer's retreat. So when baker Dee Dee Meyer stirs up trouble by filing a false complaint with the health inspector against the B&B - all because she insists Cat's best friend Shauna stole her recipes - Cat marches into the shop to confront her.

The nationally best-selling author of Pouncing on Murder returns as librarian Minnie Hamilton and her rescue cat Eddie discover there's a true crime story unraveling in their own nonfiction section . . .
Early one morning while shelving books in the library, Minnie stumbles upon a dead body. Authorities identify the woman as an out-of-towner visiting Chilson for her great-aunt's funeral. What she was doing in the library after hours is anyone's guess . . . but Minnie and Eddie are determined to save the library's reputation and catch a killer.

With a story both enchanting and suspenseful, Shirley Rousseau Murphy shows once again why her trio of feline sleuths are so beloved by her fans, and why the Joe Grey mysteries should be at the top of every cat lover’s Christmas list.

The New York Times best-selling Mrs. Murphy mysteries delight fans with an irresistible blend of suspense, engaging characters, and the entertaining high jinks of some quick-witted, four-legged friends. With more than two million copies in print, the series has made co-authors Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie Brown the most popular human/feline writing team in the world.

In this latest installment, prize-winning reporter Jim Qwilleran—along with his lovable Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum—solves a mystery that arises when a local banker dies under suspicious circumstances, leaving behind a flashy young widow, an unfinished house-restoration project, and a trail of clues as elusive as a cat burglar in the night.

New York Times best-selling authors Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown continue their beloved Mrs. Murphy series in Whisker of Evil. Mystery fans cannot get enough of these cozy whodunits featuring the case-cracking duo of intrepid postmistress Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen and her brilliant, sleuthing cat, Mrs. Murphy.

In this warm-hearted puzzler, "Mary Minor Harry" Haristeen is preparing for her 20th high school reunion when trouble comes to the seemingly sleepy town of Crozet, Virginia. It all begins when classmates receive anonymous letters with a simple message: "You'll never get old." Some take the note as a compliment, others think it's a harmless practical joke. But when the class womanizer turns up dead, the message suddenly has a far more sinister meaning.

Lucy and Robert's joy in christening their new daughter, surrounded by extended family and loved ones who have gathered in the village of Kurland St. Mary, is only enhanced when Robert's aunt Rose - now the second wife of Lucy's father, Ambrose - announces that she is with child. However, not everyone is happy about the news, in particular Rose's adult daughter, Henrietta, and her husband, who fear for their inheritance. Following the christening, Rose's disagreeable son-in-law Basil Northam threatens to turn afternoon tea in the rectory into an unsightly brawl.

A big, powerful, gray feline, Joe Grey is perfectly content with his remarkable ability to understand and communicate with humans - especially now that he has company. A mysterious accident similar to the one that enabled him to speak and read has transformed his friend Dulcie as well. The trouble is, the cute tabby female not only hears human words, she believes them. Now she's convinced the man who was jailed for murdering a famous local artist and burning down her studio is innocent - simply because he says so - and she's willing to do whatever it takes to dig up the evidence that will exonerate the accused.

A young Australian woman turns up dead after a party thrown by her new boss. The initial investigation of Naomi Lockhart's murder points to Joseph Madden, the owner of a coffee shop around the corner from police headquarters. Madden insists he’s innocent, that he was home with his wife, Rachel, at the time of the murder. When police question her, Rachel contradicts his alibi, swearing that she was home alone.

Feline PI Joe Grey and his friends pounce on three investigations that may connect to one larger mystery - including one case that is very personal - in this hair-raising installment in Shirley Rousseau Murphy’s beloved, award-winning series.

Sarah Grayson owns Second Chance, a shop that sells lovingly refurbished items, in the charming town of North Harbor, Maine. But she couldn't run the store without the help of her right-hand man, Mac - or her dashing rescue cat, Elvis. Mac's life before North Harbor has always been a little bit mysterious, but it becomes a lot more intriguing when a woman from his past shows up in town, and then turns up dead. Suspicion falls on Mac, but Sarah - and Elvis - know he can't be the killer, and they hope they can prove his innocence quick as a whisker.