When death pays a visit to his beloved coastal California town, the stakes are higher and more personal than ever for feline investigator Joe Grey in this charming mystery from award-winning author Shirley Rousseau Murphy

It’s springtime in Molena Point and the close-knit seaside hamlet is overjoyed to welcome the arrival of three new residents. Dulcie has given birth to a trio of adorable kittens, two little boys as pale as sand and one winsome calico girl. While proud new father Joe Grey can’t wait to teach Buffin, Striker, and Courtney about the world, he wants to keep his precocious offspring safe from his detective work secretly helping solve crimes alongside his human friends at Molena Point PD. 

Though they’re bold and growing fast, the kittens are still innocent of the dangers of the outside world—including a ring of car thieves who have hit their village and a slew of small towns along the Northern California coast. The stakes are raised for Joe Grey, Dulcie, and their human companions when the local beautician and one of her customers are found murdered in the salon. 

Joe’s stealth, cunning, and superb instincts lead him and the police closer to the culprits. But the investigation is unexpectedly complicated when three curious young cats decide to take matters into their own paws—not knowing that a suspicious stranger is lurking around their home. 

To solve the murders, stop the gang of thieves, and keep their babies safe, Joe and Dulcie, along with their friends Kit and Pan, eagerly dig their claws into a hair-raising search that leads to unexpected connections—to the building of a new cat shelter, and a neighbor who suddenly becomes part of the tangle. 

Joe Grey fans will relish this delightful installment featuring their favorite feline detective and his growing group of family and friends.