Cat Pay the Devil: A Joe Grey Mystery

Talking tomcat Joe Grey and his fellow feline sleuths, Dulcie and Kit, track an escaped convict in their engaging 12th adventure (after 2005's Cat Breaking Free ). Just as the cats fear, Cage Jones kidnaps Dulcie's human housemate, a retired U.S. probation officer, Wilma Gertz, who testified in Cage's probation hearing to prevent his release. The crime rate rises in Molena Point, Calif., with the murder of several area women and the return of Cage's former partner-in-crime, Greeley Urzey—back to reclaim stolen ancient artifacts he and Cage believe Wilma took. As the cats go wild trying to save Wilma, their chatty, anthropomorphic shenanigans might raise eyebrows, but Murphy's surefire plotting makes this more than just another cute cat cozy. (Mar.)