Murder Most Feline: Cunning Tales of Cats and Crime is another volume in Martin H. Greenberg’s Murder Most … series. This time, Greenberg is assisted by Ed Gorman and Larry Segriff.
My favorite story in Murder Most Feline is Bill Crider’s clever “It’s In the Bag.” During a trial, a cat in a bag becomes a key element in solving the crime. I also enjoyed Parnell Hall’s “The Witness Cat” where a murder gets resolved with the aid of a kitty.
As with the other Murder Most… volumes, Greenberg and company present a variety of stories, some serious, some funny, but all featuring a cat in a pivotal role in the solving of a crime. If you like mysteries and cats, Murder Most Feline is the cat’s meow! Are you a cat person? GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Introduction — vii
The witness cat / Parnell Hall — 3
Justice knows no paws / Jon L. Breen — 23
It’s in the bag / Bill Crider — 35
Animal sounds / Dulcy Brainard — 49
Blue eyes / Janet Dawson — 65
Cat, the jury / Catherine Dain — 79
The memory pool / Tracy Knight — 91
The lawlessness west of the Pecos / Jan Grape — 105
Catnip / Dick Lochte — 123
Hoskin’s cat / Shirley Rousseau Murphy — 147
Missing the cat / Mat Coward — 159
Prints / Ann Barrett — 171
Mr. Biggles for the defense / Matthew J. Costello — 185
Family ties / Richard Chizmar and Barry Hoffman — 197
For the benefit of Bootsy / Jeremiah Healy — 207
In the lowlands / Gary A. Braunbeck — 221
Author Biographies — 245
Copyrights — 248
I am allergic to cats so don’t know if I would have been.
Patti, I’m allergic to cats, too.
No, not a cat person. Jackie is pretty anti-animal, but on the dog vs. cat debate, I am definitely Team Dog.
I did read this years ago when I was looking for as many of Bill Crider’s stories as I could find, so I’m glad you mentioned his story first.
Have a safe trip to Ohio.
Jeff, it’s sunny here and in Ohio so the trip should go well weather-wise. I’ll be packing the car in a few minutes.
I’m a cat and dog person, always had animals as part of the family.
But when our Belgian shepard Alexa and our little tomcat Moritz died we decided we were too old for new animals. What would happen to them if one of us or both fell ill?
At 80 years now that might happen …
Wolf, my sister is an animal lover so as kids we had dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, fish, snakes, etc. However, my sister would lose interest in the older pets and spend her attention on new pets. So I got stuck with taking care of the pets she was ignoring. That might explain why we live in a pet-free zone today.
Ed and Greenberg also edited at least five “Cat Crimes” anthologies, all very entertaining: CAT CRIMES, CT CRIMES II, CAT CRIMES III, CAT CRIMES FOR THE HOLIDAYS, and CAT CRIMES THROUGH TIME. Cats dogs, (and to a lesser extent) horses all seem to be staples in much crime fiction. As far as I can tell, there are no crimes stories about such animals as hedgehogs or llamas, although Fredric Brown did write one about an armadillo.
Jerry, Bill Crider included an armadillo in one of his novels if I remember correctly.
So are you off to Ohio already? Have a good time.
This anthology looks good; I would buy it just for the Bill Crider story but there are other authors there I would enjoy too. And I am going to look into some of the Cat Crimes books that Jerry mentioned too.
Tracy, we made it to OHIO Wednesday afternoon after fighting winds all the way from Western NY. Today, the temps in Ohio are in the 60s and it’s sunny. Tomorrow, Diane and her sister Carol plan to go shopping. I, of course, will be reading. I sent some of those Cat Crime books to Rick Robinson who was also a cat lover like Bill Crider.
I am a cat lover too. Forgot to say that. I have some of the Catfantastique anthologies edited by Andre Norton & Greenberg.
I miss Rick.
Tracy, I miss Rick Robinson, too.
Dog in the family as a kid. Consider myself pro-canine, though never owning one, but never hostile to cats. However, recently a couple of neighborhood strays have been vistiting my front yard around dinner time, and I watch them from my kitchen window, usually snoozing in the shade. When we had 100+ temps this summer I worried about them, so put out water, which they gratefully (I imagine) took advantage of. Now I’m putting out cat food as well. I’ve always assumed that some local cat lady has been feeding them right along – they’ve always looked well-fed. However, any friendly attempt to approach them, and they’re off into the bushes like a shot. So no cuddles likely in future. Still, I seem to have committed myself to the welfare of Tiger Tail & Fatso Furball. Bill would be proud of me . . .
Art, are you claiming to be a childless cat gentleman?