"Missing humans, missing cats, what's the difference?" A fire in the seaside village of Molena Point has left a twelve-year-old boy homeless—and the body of his alcoholic guardian is found in the smoldering ruins. A most curious tomcat, feline p.i. Joe Grey wonders if escape was really impossible for the elderly woman or if something more sinister occurred. And when boisterous Debbie Kraft descends uninvited on the Damens' home with her two children, claiming that her ex-husband has left her destitute, Joe really smells a rat—especially when he discovers Debbie is carrying loads of cash . . . and that the dead woman was her estranged mother. This case—a nasty mix of missing persons, abandoned pets, real-estate scams, and murder—has Joe's fur standing on end. But it's not until Debbie's left-behind housecat shows up that Joe and his furry detecting pals find the biggest, most troubling clue of all: a grave that the cops somehow have missed.

In this cozy mystery, a feline P.I. and his four-legged friends investigate a suspicious—and deadly—house fire in a California seaside town. Even the bright seaside village of Molena Point has been hit hard by the economic downturn, and many residents are abandoning their pets. While feline P.I. Joe Grey’s human friends join together to care for their starving cats, a fire leaves a twelve-year-old boy homeless, the body of his alcoholic guardian discovered in the smoldering ruins. Meanwhile, Debbie Kraft descends uninvited on the Damens’ home with her two children, claiming that she has no money and nowhere else to go. But when Joe learns that the victim of the fire was Debbie’s estranged mother, and that Debbie’s ex-husband may be involved in several intricate real estate scams, his fur is on end with suspicion. But it’s not until Debbie’s abandoned tomcat arrives that the pieces of the puzzle begin to come together for Joe and his feline detective pals. Praise for Cat Telling Tales “A must-read for Murphy’s devoted audience and a good choice for those who enjoy Rita Mae Brown’s Sneaky Pie Brown novels.” —Booklist “Shirley Rousseau Murphy's Joe Grey Mysteries are always excellent, and Cat Telling Tales is no exception.” —Fresh Fiction

Spanning a writing career of over twenty years, acclaimed novelist and author of Calcutta: Two Years in the City, Amit Chaudhuri, is also one of the most gifted essayists and critics writing today, whose work has appeared in the pages of many of the most prestigious newspapers and journals in the world, including The London Review of Books, the Times Literary Supplement, Granta, the Guardian, and the Dublin Review. Collected here for the first time, Mere Writing is a selection of Chaudhuri’ s most enduring short non-fiction that showcases his sense of humour, his idiosyncratic capacity to transform the mundane, his political engagement, and his mastery of words. From playing ‘ Cowboys and Indians’ as a child in India to an outsider’ s perspective on the British class system to a plane that was hijacked by Pakistani men and taken to Afghanistan at the turn of the millennium to the works of V. S Naipaul and to the humble Indian savoury, the chanachur, these essays display Chaudhuri’ s ability to find meaning in every aspect of the physical and intellectual world and will consolidate his reputation as one of most original and elegant writers publishing in English today.

If you have an eye for a short story that is...short...seeks to grab the reader and has no qualms about occasionally slotting into the simple tale bracket... You may care to give these a try... Occasionally dark...occasionally light...occasionally (hopefully) amusing...hopefully (always) accessible! Written in a range of styles and in a variety of settings and aimed at anyone with an eye for a simple tale and without the need to be too uplifted by the things they read.

A collection of cat stories drawn from folklore, some realistic and some fanciful.

Germany has had a profound influence on English stories for children. The Brothers Grimm, The Swiss Family Robinson and Johanna Spyri's Heidi quickly became classics but, as David Blamires clearly articulates in this volume, many other works have been fundamental in the development of English chilren's stories during the 19th Centuary and beyond. Telling Tales is the first comprehensive study of the impact of Germany on English children's books, covering the period from 1780 to the First World War. Beginning with The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, moving through the classics and including many other collections of fairytales and legends (Musaus, Wilhelm Hauff, Bechstein, Brentano) Telling Tales covers a wealth of translated and adapted material in a large variety of forms, and pays detailed attention to the problems of translation and adaptation of texts for children. In addition, Telling Tales considers educational works (Campe and Salzmann), moral and religious tales (Carove, Schmid and Barth), historical tales, adventure stories and picture books (including Wilhelm Busch's Max and Moritz) together with an analysis of what British children learnt through textbooks about Germany as a country and its variegated history, particularly in times of war.

Enrich your family life, connect with your children, and celebrate your ancestors by learning to tell family stories, folktales, and nursery rhymes. Telling Tales: Storytelling in the Family is a fascinating guide to the art of gathering and telling stories. Written by three renowned storytellers, Telling Tales includes personal stories, how-to tips and extensive resource lists, and builds upon the success of the acclaimed first edition.