Cat to the Dogs — Shirley Rousseau Murphy

"For your information," said Joe Grey, "if that car wreck yesterday turns out to be a murder, I'm the one who put the cops onto it. Me. The cat you are booting out into the cold for no reason!"

Ever since the earthquake, things have been going from bad to worse in Molena Point, usually the most traquil little town on the North California coast. It started with that suspicious "accident" on Hellhag Hill. The police might write it off to the night fog, but Joe Grey knows a cut brake line when he sees it--he my be a cat, but he's already solved more murders than your average police detective!

Then there's Clyde, Joe's erratic but loveable human. He thinks cats should stay out of police work (as if humans could handle it on their own!), and to make his point, he's locking Joe and his lady friend Dulcie out of the house when Officer Harper comes over to play poker. But Joe isn't about to give up the chase. Not until the "ghost" of Hellhag Hill is tracked down and brought to justice.