HarperCollins (Hardcover), ISBN: 0-06-620951-X
Yard sales and eBay? Cats that can talk and detect? Independent seniors with a plan? Dead bodies? A dog or two? Some male/female involvement? Oh, yes, all those and more. Cat Laughing Last definitely is my kind of book.

The seventh mystery starring the aristocratic tomcat, Joe Grey, and his feline lady friend, the sharp-tongued and intelligent Dulcie, stands alone and reads like lightning. Now that I've made their acquaintance (along with Kit, the tattercoat younger one and newest addition to the cat conspiracy of silence), I fully intend to search out their previous forays into crime solving. Oh, a word of warning: don't expect sweet, cuddly kitties. Joe Grey revels in his arrogance and independence, and Dulcie likes to steal.

The book offers a veritable lace of plots -- all seemingly unrelated. But cats know where and when to sneak and, with a judicious dose of breaking and entering, exactly how to find the evidence needed to bring the miscreants to justice. Did I mention Joe Grey figured out how to make anonymous phone calls to police stations and to others?

In order to secure their future independence, several older women band together to buy at yard and estate sales and sell on eBay. Their enterprise nets good returns and promises more. For the time being, Susan Brittan's garage serves as the group's warehouse. But one day, after Susan takes her dog out for its morning walk, she comes home to find the garage sale purchases trashed, and a body lying on her breakfast room floor. Susan hurriedly calls the police, but the body mysteriously disappears before the law arrives.

The tale that follows will make you wonder, smile, shake your head and, just maybe, wish Joe lived at your house and trusted you enough to tell you his cherished secret. Even so, he might not. I mean, a cat just can't tell the world he can talk, can he?

A good, well-plotted book with an interesting premise, Cat Laughing Last should please even dog lovers. I found it a delight.

Patricia Lucas White

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