MysteryBookCats.com

Companion Mystery Cats

Lots of mysteries include cats who are essential companions to human crime-solvers! We've divided the cats into groups based on the kinds of books that they appear in:

• Cozies
• Page Turners
• Humor
• Vintage
• Great cats, but not mysteries

Cozies

• Agatha and Dorothy L

  Two cats make this series about mystery bookstore owner Annie Darling doubly cozy. The feisty Agatha holds court in Annie's bookstore, sleeping above the shelves for Agatha Christie. The affectionate Dorothy L, introduced part-way through the series, lives in Annie's home, where she dotes on Annie's handsome husband, Max.

• Sweetums

  The antics of this orange and yellow cat make life a little more challenging for Judith Grover McMonigle Flynn, crime-solving owner of a bed-and-breakfast in the Pacific Northwest. Still, we suspect that Judith secretly dotes on this spunky companion.

  You can find out about the inspiration for Sweetums by reading our interview with Mary Daheim.

• Boy Cat Zukas

  Boy Cat Zukas, a scruffy former alley cat, seems an unlikely companion for Helma Zukas, a seemingly prim and proper librarian. Yet as her crime-solving adventures reveal, there is far more to Miss Zukas than meets the eye.

• Scout

  We think that Scout, a white, tan, and brown former stray, must be hiding under the bed for much of this series featuring Colorado caterer Goldy Bear Schulz. However, we do know he's a friendly cat taken in by Goldy and her endearing son Arch in the second book of this series, Dying for Chocolate. In that book, he watches Goldy make brownies without contributing any cat hairs to the batter, and is rewarded when Goldy names the recipe "Scout's Brownies."

• Champion Myanmar Chocolate Yonkers

  This mischievous purebred Birman adds to the mayhem in this new series, which also features a maker of luxury chocolates.

• Macavity

  Gillian Robert's schoolteacher detective Amanda Pepper has an elderly male companion cat whose métier seems to be relaxation. However, he wakes up and purrs when the other male in Amanda's life, her significant other C.K. Mackenzie, is present. Macavity is a big fan of police detective Mackenzie-maybe the kitty will even coax Mackenzie to reveal what "C.K." stands for, something Amanda has yet to discover

• Marian Babson's cats

  Marian Babson's cats American-born, British-based Marian Babson has written several books featuring cats with distinctive personalities. Among them are: 

  • Pandora

    Pandora, a sweet but demanding Siamese, is adopted by young public-relations man Doug Perkins in Murder at the Cat Show (which also features a dozen or so other exceptional felines.) Pandora accompanies Doug, his partner Gerry, and assistant Penny on two other adventures in In the Teeth of the Evidence and Tourists are for Trapping.

  • Errol and Esmond

    Tough-guy Errol and gentleman-cat Esmond are the source of culture shock for the American Harper family and the English Blake family, who exchange houses and cat-sitting duties for a summer. Esmond bewilders the Americans in Paws for Alarm and Errol positively intimidates the Brits in Whiskers and Smoke.

  • Lief Eriksson

    Lief and eleven-year-old Robin overhear the murder of Lief's owner in To Catch a Cat. Both cat and boy are in danger, so Robin catnaps and hides Lief while he tries to solve the murder.

  • Sally, Salvadore, and Sassy

    Sally is a wealthy cat in The Company of Cats-her murdered millionaire owner leaves his fortune to her. His greedy relatives all want to adopt Sally, but interior decorator Annabel Hinchby-Smythe suspects that Sally's life will not be a long one if any of the relatives succeed. So Annabel catnaps Sally along with street cat Salvadore and spoiled Sassy, who also end up sharing Annabel's apartment.

  • Enza, Bluebell, Pasha, and Adolf

    In Diamond Cat Bettina Bilby volunteers to board cats belonging to four of her neighbors, but isn't prepared when one of the cats involves her in a jewel robbery.

  • Had I, But Known, and Roscoe

    These three adventurous kitties belong to members of a colony of mystery writers living in an English village in Canapes for the Kitties. It sound idyllic, but the some of the writers don't get along very well and of course they all know so much about murder…

  • Monty

    Monty is a tuxedo cat, which is appropriate because he lives in a theater and is always well dressed for opening nights. In Nine Lives to Murder Monty has the adventure of his nine lives when he accidentally exchanges personalities with the theater's leading man.

• Moishe

  Moise is a one-eyed, orange and white tomcat with a torn ear who lead a hard life until Hannah Swenson adopted him. He now steals Hannah's pillow during the night, insists that his food bowl is full at all times, and raids the cat food cupboard when Hannah forgets to padlock it. In her spare time when not catering to Moishe, Hannah bakes cookies for her Minnesota bakery and solves crimes.

• C.C.

  C.C., short for Cool Cat, is aptly named for a resident of California's ultra New Age Marin County. Plus, one of the black markings on her otherwise all-white fur looks like a rakish beret. C.C. is a true friend to human crime-solver Kate Jasper, a food-loving vegan and owner of a gag gift business.

Page Turners

• Piedmont

  The yellow-gold Piedmont is a purring presence in most although not all books in this acclaimed series featuring Anna Pigeon, a crime-solving park ranger with a wry sense of humor. Author Nevada Barr, a real-life park ranger, is clearly a cat person and works kittens into her plots at every opportunity (as in Track of the Cat and Liberty Falling).

• Cyril

  The wily Cyril, who lives in Scotland Yard, is smart enough to solve crimes, but fortunately for us, he'd rather make life miserable for the repellant Chief Superintendent Racer. Racer keeps vowing to eliminate the "mangy furball," but between Cyril's superior brainpower and the protection of homicide detective Richard Jury and secretary Fiona Clingmore, Racer hasn't a prayer of winning this unequal contest.

• Mrs. Parnell's Cat

  Crusty attorney and victim advocate Camilla McPhee pretends not to like cats, but in the first book of this Canadian series she's saddled with six of them — one of which gives birth to four kittens. In the subsequent books only one cat remains, and Camilla insists that the little calico belongs to Mrs. Parnell, her eccentric, sherry-swilling, elderly neighbor. However, Camilla is the one who feeds, houses, and even cuddles with the kitty-obviously someone is in denial, and it certainly isn't the cat.

• Thumbs

  Despite having six toes and coming from Key West, Florida, Thumbs is not a descendant of Hemingway's famous six-toed cats. But he's an adorable grey and white tabby who looks like a plush toy, and having been introduced in the first book of a new series by Elaine Viets, will no doubt help his human Helene Hawthorne solve crimes in future Floridian mysteries.

• Musetta

  This black and white kitten shares a home with Theda Krakow, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based crimesolver, independent journalist, rock music aficionado, and most of all, cat-lover. Musetta and Theda are creations of Clea Simon.

• Ghost

  Ghost is a silver-blue Abyssinian receiving care from law-enforcer turned pet-sitter Dixie Hemingway. Don't be fooled by her sweet personality – she can be fierce when protecting the people she loves!

Humor

• Prozac

  In this hilarious new series, Prozac the cat is the housemate, confidant, and antidepressant for crime-solving, Los Angeles-based Jaine Austen, writer for hire. Jaine recounts her adventures to Prozac, and Prozac responds with sarcastic commentary. Well, actually Jaine supplies the sarcasm-Prozac mainly eats designer cat food five times a day and looks bored. But how could Jaine solve crimes without her?

Vintage

• Ruffy, Martini, Gin, and Sherry

  These rambunctious cats, who appear singly or in pairs in mysteries by Frances and Richard Lockridge, provide a glimpse into life in New York's Greenwich Village during the 1940s. Their human "staff" are the delightfully ditzy crime-solver Pam North and her publisher husband Jerry (who is more grounded but still fun). All of these vivid cat characters are based on the Lockridges' own cats, and the Lockridges have written two nonfiction books about cats.

Great Cats, But Not Mysteries

• Austin and Sam

  Austin is a elderly tuxedo cat who might be called ordinary (if there were such things as ordinary cats) except for one thing-he can talk to humans in their own language. Austin uses his communication talents mainly to make sarcastic comments and run his human's love life. His human, Claire, isn't ordinary at all. She's a Keeper whose job it is to repair holes in the fabric of the universe before dark forces can escape. The two of them plus Claire's impetuous teenaged sister Diana and her cat Sam (who started out as an angel) keep readers riveted in this hilarious fantasy series.

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