Joe Grey and Dulcie are two unusual detectives...they are cats!

Living in the quiet little seaside town of Molena Point you wouldn't expect much to be happening, but a cat burglar has come to town and is stealing from peoples' homes in broad daylight while they are home!

Add to that there is something strange going on a Casa Capri, that expensive seniors' home on the hill. Seems there are a few residents that have disappeared but it can't be verified since the management claims the missing are just very ill and are kept in a locked section with no visitors allowed.

Add to this that Dulcie has signed Joe up to participate in the Pet-a-Pet event. All he has to do is sit in a senior's lap, purr and let them pet him. Yeah, right...Joe is a tomcat that prefers hunting mice and rabbit in the open fields, tearing around like the wild cat he is. Sit and be sweet? But there is that mystery of the missing seniors and maybe that would be a way to find some clues...

Another fun read from the pen of Shirley Rousseau Murphy. ( )

There are two mysteries going on in Cat Raise the Dead: a cat burglar with the gall to be operating in Joe Grey's village and an old woman in a retirement home who claims that some of the residents are missing. Joe has been working the cat burglar case, spooking the crook. Dulcie believes in the missing residents case. As with the last book, Joe keeps pooh-poohing Dulcie's beliefs. (Interesting that Dulcie takes comfort in her belief in an after-life while the very concept scares Joe silly.)

The conversation between Clyde and Joe when Clyde tried to convince Joe to participate in the 'pet a pet' program at the retirement home was quite funny. Of course, Joe has to be brought to the retirement home to deal with whether or not there's any truth to the claim of missing residents, but what will it take?

Pity poor Chief Harper. He's a good cop, but those cats are getting on his nerves. He's not stupid, and he's noticing they're around. The truth may be too fantastic to come Harper's mind, but I'm looking forward to seeing what he'll be thinking in the fourth book. ( )

Cat Raise the Dead (#3 in the Joe Grey mystery series) has elderly patients in a nursing home disappearing and an assortment of burglaries. Joe and Dulcie (2 talking cats) are drawn to investigate both mysteries.

Compared to the 2 previous books, the writing is a bit improved. Some of the characters, such as the police chief Max Harper and one of the owners Clyde are much more rounded with some more personal details. The plot is a bit contrived and transparent in spots. And the cats, well, it seems Shirley Rousseau Murphy has finally come to grips with her own creation of talking cats. They cats are very much cats with the talking part seeming much more natural.

Overall, still only a good bedtime read, but looking up. ( )