Cat Mystery Thriller

Charlie and Diesel, along with Charlie's fiancee, Helen Louise Brady, are heading to Asheville, North Carolina, to spend a week at a boutique hotel and participate in a gathering of a mystery reader's club composed of patrons of the Athena Public Library. The always spry Ducote sisters, friends of the hotel's owners, are helping underwrite the expenses, and they've insisted that Charlie, Helen, and Diesel join them. When an intrusive, uninvited guest turns up dead, only one mystery club member with a connection to the deceased appears to have a motive to kill.

Sarah Grayson owns a delightful secondhand shop in the small town of North Harbor, Maine, where she and her rescue cat, Elvis, are always finding themselves up to their whiskers in trouble. With the help of a quirky group of senior citizens - who call themselves Charlotte's Angels and work out of the store - they solve crimes both new and vintage.

Autumn has arrived, and the citizens of Pickax find themselves amid a clamor of activity. In addition to the opening of its latest theatrical production, the town is celebrating the dedication of a new bookstore and park built in memory of Pickax's beloved bookshop owner Edd Smith. Columnist Jim Qwilleran, participating in the festivities, is also busy with his latest book project: an account of a uniquely historic guest residence, the Hibbard House.

Pet shop owner Shell McMillan is thrilled to see everyone in Fox Hollow flocking to the local animal shelter's fundraiser, where they can get their old keepsakes and collectibles appraised and maybe even sell them for a tidy sum. But the event has drawn some shady characters as well, including Pete Martin, who seems determined to get his hands on a beat-up old jewelry box at any cost. Then Martin is found murdered, and Shell has to go from fundraising to finding a killer.

Times are changing in Pickax, and it all makes for some newsworthy notes for the "Qwill Pen". A new senior center is in the works, and a frisky production of Cats is set to delight Moose County residents, human and feline alike. Polly Duncan is off to Paris, momentarily leaving Qwill without a companion for his apple-barn concerts, and The Librarians Who Lunch are getting read to put on a show of their spectacular Art Hats to help unite Pickax with its Lockmaster County neighbors.

An unpleasant man in every respect, university Professor Herbert Ungley is exceedingly vain. One morning, his landlady catches her cat coming in with Ungley's hairpiece between its teeth. It's clear something has happened to the old grouch, because he would never be caught without his toupee. Ungley is found in the yard behind his social club, with his head bashed in and his baldness plain for the world to see. Although the police are content to call it an accident, sleuthing horticulturalist Peter Shandy is unconvinced and finds there are too many unanswered questions.

Eleanor "Ellie" Rockwell thought her days of excitement were over. After being laid off from her corporate job at forty-nine, she moved to the small town of Tablerock, Texas, opened the Silver Circle Cat Rescue, and settled into a quiet life with her daughter, Evie. Little did she know, her life was about to get a whole lot more...furry. When a magical crystal platter that allows cats to communicate with humans falls into her possession, Ellie finds herself thrown into a world of murder mysteries and feline sleuthing.

A weekend getaway in an isolated country house is just what Caitlin needs to fix her relationship with husband Eli. Her spirits are up as they enter the spacious retreat and cool off in the nearby lake. With Eli's easy-going brother accompanying them - the party was his idea - the barbecue lit and beers cracked open, everything should be set for a perfect evening. But her husband is cold and dismissive, so Caitlin decides to drown her sorrows and heads into the wine cellar. What she finds there will change their lives forever.

In the midst of my dream destination wedding, Aunt Lavender’s gift—a vintage locket—reveals a chilling secret: it’s cursed with remnants of a dark spell from decades past. Suddenly, a falling chandelier, spoiled food, and a jealous old flame from Clint’s past take center stage, pushing me to the shadows of what is meant to be the most important event of my life. Fortunately, I have a magic cat on my side.

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.

Jim Qwilleran has officially inherited a fortune and his freedom, which leaves him with a serious dilemma: What should he do next? Seeking a place of peace and isolation to make up his mind, he heads to the Potato Mountains for the summer. But Qwill lands in the middle of controversy, not solitude. Developers are eager to turn the pristine Potatoes into a tourist trap, and one of the locals has been convicted of murdering millionaire J.J. Hawkinfield. Some people swear the wrong man was convicted, and Qwill is inclined to agree. But if Forest Beechum didn't do the dirty deed, who did?

The beautiful, serene village of Molena Point, California is the type of place where people go to get away from the harsher realities of life - which is what attracted classic film star Patty Rose to buy the village inn and settle down to enjoy her golden years. But as the town gathers to celebrate and honor the beautiful, aging actress with a festival of her old films, Patty is brutally murdered - to the horror and shock of this peaceful burg.

Lacy Marie Crocker can hardly believe it's been a year since her return home to New Orleans. There hasn't been a dull moment since opening her pet boutique last summer, and thanks to the popularity of Lacy's organic pet treats and the arrival of the National Pet Pageant, Lacy desperately needs some help before she is overrun by the demand for pupcakes and crinolines. Everything is going spectacularly until Viktor Petrov, the pageant emcee, takes a spill from the balcony during dress rehearsal.

Back in Pickax, Jim Qwilleran expects to resume a quiet life, but the people and animals of Pickax have other ideas. A noisy cardinal wakes him every morning. Nosy neighbors drop by uninvited, and the Siamese misbehave, even sneezing on guests. As if they weren't bad enough, Qwill's long-time companion acts as though she is in love, with another man. But worst of all, Qwill finds a body in his apple orchard.

Three months have passed since Richard Jury was left bereft and guilt- ridden after his lover's tragic auto accident, and he is now more wary than ever. He is deeply suspicious when requested on a case far out of his jurisdiction in an outlying village, where a young woman has been murdered behind the local pub. The only witness is the establishment's black cat, who gives neither crook nor clue as to the girl's identity or her killer's.

There's a damsel in distress and accusations of attempted murder flying around, but it's not in the comfortable confines of the English countryside; it's in the very distant city of Damascus. Lennox must go and investigate, although he's not too keen on exotic locations, and his old retainer Greggs is distinctly averse to the very idea. Nevertheless, ex-Chief Inspector Swift persuades them, and they reach the ancient city to discover a movie crew, a spy, and a couple of mysterious ladies.

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.

A centuries-old skeleton is discovered in a lonely Scottish Castle. It wears a crown and hides a curse. Swift, the detective friend of Major Heathcliff Lennox, now lives at Braeburn Castle and it was he who uncovered the skeleton. As ghosts are heard and treasure-seekers appear, the murders begin. Lennox must go to Braeburn and investigate as Halloween draws near.

Herbs are good for you, right? Maybe not so good for one person - who's found dead beside a cauldron of magical herbs. Glittery, frilly Sian Pederi is running a course up in the hills called "Unfurl Your Inner Spirit", and it's all path working, ley lines, drumming, and vegan food...until the corpse rocks up. Bron needs to get to the bottom of it, but literally everyone wanted this person dead - and even Bron herself could have cheerfully hit them with a tree branch. She's got other problems, too.

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.