Cat Fiction Mystery

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.

Everyone in Athena, Mississippi, knows Charlie Harris, the good-natured librarian with a rescued Maine coon cat named Diesel that he walks on a leash. He's returned to his hometown to immerse himself in books, but soon enough he's entangled in a real-life thriller. A famous author of gory bestsellers and a former classmate of Charlie's, Godfrey Priest may be the pride of Athena, but Charlie remembers him as an arrogant, manipulative jerk—and he's not the only one. Godfrey's homecoming as a distinguished alumnus couldn't possibly go worse: by lunch, he's put a man in the hospital.

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.

Sarah Grayson is taking a break from her bustling secondhand shop in small-town Maine to spend time with a friend and her dog. But their purr-fect visit comes to an end when the dog leads them to a storm cellar on a nearby property, where they discover a dead body. The deceased turns out to be a sticky-fingered financial adviser who swindled millions from investors and who has been presumed dead for almost three years. Unfortunately, suspicion falls on the owner of the property where the body was found.

Recently widowed Jillian Hart is rebuilding a life for herself and her three beloved cats - Chablis, Syrah, and Merlot - as a quilter in a small South Carolina town. The quilts she makes are for cats as smart, special, and sweet as her own, and business is thriving. But when she returns from an overnight quilting show, she discovers Chablis sneezing - and since Chablis is allergic to humans, that can only mean one thing: Someone has broken into her house. When she realizes her Abyssinian, Syrah, is missing, Jillian suspects catnapping. Spurred by Chablis and Merlot’s mournful meowing, she investigates - and discovers more missing cats and a murder.

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 PD. But when beautician Barbara Conley and one of her customers are found dead in the salon, Joe makes an exception and heads for the crime scene. He has no idea that the kittens are following him, or how they will complicate the investigation.

"This series is my favorite new addiction! I want the Miss Fortune to escape to Maui, too!" ~ Reader My name is Kat Smith, and my new life as postmaster of the tiny town of Ohia on Maui was beginning to settle down. No new dead bodies had turned up for months! And then, the UPS guy spotted a little girl in the window of a house where no child was known to live. My former Secret Service training kicked in. I had to investigate, no matter what Mr. K, my boyfriend, attack cat Tiki, or Aunt Fae said about how far I'd go to find out what happened… to a child who might not even be real. "Pau ...

Charlie Harris has sworn off investigating murder and mayhem after a recent close call. Instead, he's delighted to cheer on his daughter, Laura, who's starring in a production of Careless Whispers. Laura is upset to learn that Luke Lombardi, an overbearing actor she knew from her time in Hollywood, will also be taking part in the production as a guest artist. When he collapses and dies on stage after drinking from a glass Laura handed him, she becomes the chief suspect in his murder. Charlie knows his daughter is innocent.

Former zoologist Coralie King now reigns over a different sort of animal kingdom as Queen Bee of Sevenoaks, a wealthy suburb of London. When her husband Adam spots a panther on the hood of his car at one of her exclusive dinner parties, Coralie is quick to reassure her guests that they’re in no real danger. She sees the sighting as the perfect opportunity to revive her career and promote her own ecological endeavors.

Ray Garrett, a wealthy young American living in Europe, is grieving over the death of his wife. Ray is at a loss for why she would take her own life, but Peggy's father, Ed Coleman, has no such uncertainty - he blames Ray completely. Late one night in Rome, Coleman shoots Ray at point-blank range. He thinks he's had his revenge, but Ray survives and follows Coleman and his wealthy girlfriend to Venice.

Romance is in the air in the charming seaside village of Molena Point, California. Everyone is excited about the upcoming wedding of its chief of police to the lovely Charlie Getz, even cool feline detective Joe Grey. But the festivities are interrupted when two uninvited guests try to blow up the church. Then one of the bride’s good friends, building contractor Ryan Flannery, lands in a heap of trouble when her philandering husband is found dead.

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.

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.

Coming back to Athena to work for two weeks with students in the college music department, Wil is now the big man on campus. Not everyone is happy to have him back, however. Some are protesting his music on moral grounds, and Wil and his entourage have been the target of several acts of petty harassment. At first they're easy for Wil to shrug off, but the incidents escalate and become more troubling. When one of the band members is killed Charlie worries that Melba, now deeply involved with the man at the center of the attacks, could be in deadly danger.

Persuaded by Polly Duncan, his beloved companion, to join her in a group tour of Scotland, Qwill expects to revel in his Scottish heritage while keeping Polly safe from the Pickax Prowler. Instead, his trip is cut short when a thief swipes a suitcase, the bus driver disappears, and a fellow tourist is found dead—all in the same day. Although the town of Pickax is in a tizzy over the recent events, Qwill has other, more puzzling worries on his mind: Who is the fellow still following Polly?

Scarborough House is haunted, and it's not doing much for Donovan Scarborough's investment portfolio. No one wants to buy a place with levitating crockery, or (the wrong kind of) rhythmic pounding throughout the night. Luckily, Melody "I-See-Dead-People" Bittersweet has just launched her own ghostbusting agency with best friend Marina, geeky, keen Arthur, and a one-eared pug called Lestat. They're quick to take the case, even if it has already sort of (definitely) been given to Leo Dark, Melody's rakish, despicable ex.

While the town of Pickax is swept up in its sesquicentennial celebrations, Koko has developed a strange new hobby: He drops himself from balconies, occasionally landing in the oddest of places. When a young man comes to visit his wealthy relatives, Koko plummets straight onto his head!

This is no ordinary book club! When the group chooses a book, they are whisked away from reality to find themselves immersed in the story. The characters, the setting, and the murder all come to life. In order to exit the book, they need to solve the mystery and reach “The End.” This time, the club chooses a mystery that takes place in a quaint western town – in the old Wild West. That sounds like fun, until they arrive in the dusty old town in the Arizona desert, among cowboys, horses, and saloons. They discover that the outhouse isn’t the worse thing about this trip. Solving two ...

For much of the last year, the liaison position thrust on Detective Reed Mattox and his K-9 partner Billie, forcing them to split time between the Columbus Police Department and the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation, saw them doing an increasing amount of work for the latter. Cases handpicked by the governor with the hope of currying goodwill on his own behalf, sending them to nearly every corner of the state.

It's 1920 and Christmas is coming. Major Lennox finds a body on his doorstep—why on his doorstep? Was it to do with the Countess? Was it about the ruby necklace? Lennox goes to Melrose Court home to his uncle, Lord Melrose, to uncover the mystery. But then the murders begin and it snows and it all becomes very complicated....