Professor Madeline McPhee has perfected the art of pursuing pollution, not criminals. But terrified residents of Dunnett Village don't appreciate that distinction when a murder turns the tranquil village upside down. An adorable Maine Coon kitten is found early one morning snuggled next to a body in the middle of the village bookstore. Despite Madeline's reluctance to get involved, the villagers prefer her sleuthing skills to those of the taciturn detective assigned to the case. Madeline and her eighty-something Aunt Fiona foster the kitten and search for his owner, hoping to reunite him with his human and discover clues about the identity of the killer. But Madeline's curiosity draws the killer's attention and a couple of close calls with death before she helps police end his reign of terror.

THE WRECK OF THE HISS PURR HISS is the first installment in the Madeline McPhee mystery series, stories that embrace the quirky characters of a small village in the Pacific Northwest, the antics of a kitten, and an amateur sleuth with the calm demeanor of Jessica Fletcher and the deductive skills of Sherlock Holmes.