Jennie McGrady Books in Order
Part ofPatricia H Rushford Books in OrderFind the Jennie McGrady books by Patricia H Rushford in order, with quick summaries, series background, and an easy guide to where to begin.
Last updated: July 2, 2026
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Publication Order
15 books
Silent Witness
by Patricia H Rushford
1993
A bomb threat delays Jennie's Florida trip and introduces her to a girl haunted by her father's murder. By the time Jennie reaches the dolphin lab, she is already chasing a killer.
Too Many Secrets
by Patricia H Rushford
1993
Jennie's perfect summer shatters when her globe-trotting grandmother disappears with stolen diamonds. With Ryan Johnson beside her, she starts digging and finds more family secrets than she expected.
Deceived
by Patricia H Rushford
1994
Hot on the trail of clues about her missing father, Jennie escapes on a Caribbean cruise with her grandmother. Instead of rest, she walks into lies, new suspects, and a growing threat.
Pursued
by Patricia H Rushford
1994
Still chasing answers about her missing father, Jennie finds herself swept into another dangerous mystery. Someone is watching her moves, and the search quickly turns personal.
Dying to Win
by Patricia H Rushford
1995
When a pharmacist's daughter begs for help, Jennie uncovers a case tangled with drugs, sports, and fierce pressure to succeed. The closer she gets, the uglier the competition looks.
Without a Trace
by Patricia H Rushford
1995
Jennie's little brother disappears along with a neighbor child, and panic takes over. Following the clues means questioning adults, hidden violence, and the man next door.
Betrayed
by Patricia H Rushford
1996
After a bomb injures her uncle at Dancing Waters Ranch, Jennie heads to Montana to find the attacker. Family tension, land disputes, and a chilly cousin make every clue feel dangerous.
In Too Deep
by Patricia H Rushford
1996
A chemistry teacher's apparent overdose doesn't sit right with Jennie, especially after a string of school break-ins. Soon stolen chemicals and murder pull her deeper than ever.
From the Ashes
by Patricia H Rushford
1997
A fire destroys Trinity Center and leaves a family friend badly hurt. As rumors spread about hate and revenge, Jennie hunts the person who turned fear into arson.
Over the Edge
by Patricia H Rushford
1997
The mayor's daughter is murdered, and the prime suspect is one of Ryan's closest friends. Jennie wants the truth, even if it drives a wedge between her and Ryan.
Desperate Measures
by Patricia H Rushford
1998
Jennie's holiday at a fur farm goes bad fast when animals are released, tempers flare, and the owner disappears. Old activism, family conflict, and suspicion put one of her friends in the crossfire.
Abandoned
by Patricia H Rushford
1999
When a school newspaper story reveals Annie Phillips was abandoned as a baby, Annie disappears. Jennie suspects the truth about Annie's past is powerful enough to get someone hurt.
Forgotten
by Patricia H Rushford
2000
A simple hike turns into a nightmare when Jennie is taken hostage by a teen on the run. Nearby, an injured girl with no memory may hold the key to a much bigger mystery.
Stranded
by Patricia H Rushford
2001
After a plane crash during a flying lesson with her grandmother, Jennie McGrady is cut off from help. The isolated community she turns to may be hiding more than it offers.
Grave Matters
by Patricia H Rushford
2002
Jennie McGrady heads to Ireland with her grandmother to settle a family estate. What starts as family business turns sinister when a death and tangled history refuse to stay buried.
Series background & context
The Jennie McGrady books are built around a classic mystery setup, a bright teenager with a nose for trouble and just enough courage to keep walking toward it. Jennie is sixteen when the series begins, and she feels real from page one. She likes mystery novels, worries about boys, gets frustrated with adults, and still cannot leave a question alone once it starts bothering her.
Family is a big part of the hook. Jennie's grandmother, Helen McGrady, is a travel writer with unusual connections and sharp investigative instincts of her own. Her missing father hangs over the early books, giving the series an emotional thread that runs alongside the individual cases. Ryan Johnson, first crush and later serious boyfriend, adds another steady presence, especially once the mysteries start colliding with Jennie's personal life.
Jennie gets in over her head a lot.
The books move fast and cover a wide range of setups. Too Many Secrets opens with a missing grandmother and stolen diamonds. Silent Witness brings an old murder case into a Florida trip. Later books involve missing children, school break-ins, drug pressure in sports, a bombing at a Montana ranch, arson at a church and school center, animal-rights conflict at a fur farm, a plane crash, and finally a trip to Ireland in Grave Matters. Rushford keeps the structure varied, so the series never feels stuck in one kind of puzzle.
Setting matters here too. Many of the books stay close to the Pacific Northwest and the Oregon coast, but Jennie also travels. That gives the series a nice balance between familiar recurring characters and fresh surroundings. School, home, church, vacations, and family visits all become believable entry points into danger. The mysteries are serious, but the books still feel readable and accessible for younger teens.
The tone is clean, quick, and strongly plot driven. These are not dark or graphic books, even when the stakes are high. What readers tend to get is tension without a lot of grit, plus a lead character whose moral center stays intact. Jennie makes mistakes, gets scared, and sometimes charges ahead too fast, but she keeps trying to do the right thing.
That steadiness is probably why the series lasted so long. If you want young adult mysteries with family threads, real jeopardy, light romance, and a heroine who grows without losing herself, Jennie McGrady is easy to settle into. Start at the beginning and you get both the cases and the life around them, which is a big part of the fun.
Edited by
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