Shirley Rousseau Murphy Books In Order
Book links take you to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn money from qualifying purchases.Publication Order of Joe Grey Books
Cat on the Edge | (1996) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Under Fire | (1996) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Raise the Dead | (1997) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat in the Dark | (1998) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat To The Dogs | (1999) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Spitting Mad | (2000) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Laughing Last | (2001) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Seeing Double | (2003) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Fear No Evil | (2004) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Cross Their Graves | (2005) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Breaking Free | (2005) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Deck the Halls | (2007) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Pay the Devil | (2007) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Playing Cupid | (2009) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Striking Back | (2009) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat on the Money | (2010) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Coming Home | (2010) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Telling Tales | (2011) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Bearing Gifts | (2012) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Shout for Joy | (2016) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Shining Bright | (2018) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Cat Chase the Moon | (2018) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Children of Ynell Books
The Ring of Fire | (1977) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Wolf Bell | (1979) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Castle of Hape | (1980) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Caves of Fire and Ice | (1980) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Joining of the Stone | (1981) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Dragonbards Books
Nightpool | (1985) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Ivory Lyre | (1987) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Dragonbards | (1988) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Lee Fontana Books
The Cat, The Devil, and Lee Fontana | (2014) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Cat, the Devil, the Last Escape | (2015) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Standalone Novels
The Sand Ponies | (1967) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
White Ghost Summer | (1969) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Wind Child | (1973) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Poor Jenny, Bright As A Penny | (1974) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Grass Tower | (1976) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Silver Woven in My Hair | (1977) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Soonie and the Dragon | (1979) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Elmo Doolan and the Search for the Golden Mouse | (1982) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Flight of the Fox | (1983) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Valentine for a Dragon | (1984) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Medallion of the Black Hound | (1989) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Song of the Christmas Mouse | (1990) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
The Catswold Portal | (1992) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Unsettled | (2011) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Picture Books
The Pig Who Could Conjure The Wind | (1978) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Tattie's River Journey | (1983) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Publication Order of Anthologies
The Unicorn Treasury: Stories, Poems, and Unicorn Lore | (1988) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Motherhood Is Murder | (2003) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Christmas Cats | (2005) | Hardcover Paperback Kindle |
Shirley Rousseau Murphy is an American author, most well-known for her Joe Grey Mysteries, featuring an anthropomorphic cat detective. The first book, Cat on the Edge, was published in 1996. Cat Chase the Moon, #21 and the last in the series, was published in 2019.
In 2020, Shirley turned 92. In March 2022, a note was posted on her website stating that due to advancing age and health problems, Cat Chase the Moon would be the last of the Joe Grey books.
Shirley Rousseau Murphy was born in Oakland, California, in 1928. She grew up in Southern California, where she enjoyed riding and showing the horses that her father trained.
Shirley attended San Francisco Art Institute and soon after graduation, married Marine veteran Pat Murphy. She was a commercial artist and worked in interior design while Pat attended USC under the GI Bill. When her husband finished college, Shirley began to exhibit paintings and welded metal sculpture in West Coast shows.
When her husband agreed to help establish the first federal probation office in the Panama Canal Zone, they moved to Panama. During their time there, she felt called to a different creative outlet and began to write. After leaving Panama, they moved to Oregon and then Atlanta, Georgia. They eventually returned to California when Pat retired as Chief U.S. Probation Officer for Northern District of Georgia.
In the Joe Grey Mysteries, Shirley Rousseau Murphy created an unusual approach to the feline mystery tales. Joe Grey is a cat who discovers that he can understand humans and can speak. He witnesses a murder and after discovering that he is being hunted by the killer, Joe leaves home to protect his owner.
As the story continues, we meet another cat, Dulcie. The cats team up to bring the murderer to justice. Other than some characters being cats, the story is a typical crime novel involving car theft, murder, and counterfeiting.
The two cats, Joe and Dulcie, are charming. Shirley Rousseau Murphy manages to entertain and subtly weave moral lessons into the adventures of Joe Grey and Dulcie. Her books are highly appealing to fans of cats, fantasy and mysteries.
Book Series In Order » Authors »
I really loved that series too. I sadly read that Shirley Rousseau Murphy passed away on September 23rd. 2022 She was 94. I will surely miss her books
Joe grey came into my life in the most difficult times. He saved me emotionally… he and his cat friends, and his human friends as well. Molina Point seems lovely, for CA. More pleasant, kind and peaceful. I like to open these books and escape from the world at times. I’ve read the entire series multiple times, and I’m not done yet! Thank you, Ms. Murphy. You’ve made the world a better place. With love and respect…
I loved all the Joe Grey books. thank you your stories. I do miss them,