Joe Grey Books in Order
Part ofShirley Rousseau Murphy Books in OrderSee the Joe Grey books in order by Shirley Rousseau Murphy, with short summaries, reading order, series background, and tips on where to start.
Last updated: July 13, 2026
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Joe Grey books in publication order
22 books
Cat on the Edge
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
1996
When Joe Grey becomes the only witness to a murder, his new ability to speak turns him into the hunted. Hiding out in Molena Point, he teams up with clever tabby Dulcie to expose the killer.
Cat Under Fire
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
1996
Joe Grey and Dulcie chase proof that a man has been wrongly accused. Their cat-sized view of hidden places lets them uncover the clues the police missed.
Cat Raise the Dead
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
1997
Volunteer visits to a nursing home lead Joe Grey and Dulcie into a string of grim murders. What begins as a kindly errand turns into one of their darkest cases.
Cat in the Dark
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
1998
A sinister stranger cat named Azrael prowls Molena Point, predicting death and spreading fear. Joe and Dulcie must stop the human crimes around him without exposing their own secret.
Cat To The Dogs
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
1999
After a car plunges off a cliff, Joe Grey suspects murder, not accident. As Dulcie fusses over two orphaned puppies, the cats follow the trail into a tense small-town investigation.
Cat Spitting Mad
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2000
When evidence seems to frame Police Chief Max Harper for murder and a young girl vanishes, Joe Grey refuses to stay out of it. He and Dulcie race a killer, and a prowling cougar, through the hills.
Cat Laughing Last
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2001
A yard sale, an online auction, and a killing pull Joe and Dulcie into a case that keeps widening. Their rooftop spying and feline break-ins uncover greed, theft, and murder.
Cat Seeing Double
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2003
On the eve of a wedding, a small feral kit helps stop a bombing, then another murder points toward Ryan Flannery. Joe, Dulcie, and Kit hunt the truth before the wrong human takes the blame.
Cat Fear No Evil
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2004
A waiter dies at Charlie Harper's art opening, and old enemy Azrael slips back into Molena Point. Joe and Dulcie find murder, fear, and bad company circling close to home.
Cat Breaking Free
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2005
A gang from Los Angeles brings burglaries, caged feral cats, and murder to peaceful Molena Point. Joe, Dulcie, and Kit dive in fast, while Kit faces painful questions about freedom and home.
Cat Cross Their Graves
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2005
The discovery of graves tied to vanished children gives Joe Grey and Dulcie a haunting case. What looks like buried history soon becomes present danger.
Cat Deck the Halls
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2007
Christmas cheer fades when Joe Grey and friends are drawn into a hard new case. Holiday lights, village gatherings, and sharp danger make for a tense seasonal mystery.
Cat Pay the Devil
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2007
An escaped convict, a state's witness, and a string of shootings put Molena Point on edge. Joe, Dulcie, and Kit have to move quickly before the killer strikes again.
Cat Playing Cupid
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2009
As Clyde and Ryan prepare for a Valentine's wedding, two bodies and an old disappearance threaten the celebration. Joe and his feline partners chase the link between a cold case and fresh murder.
Cat Striking Back
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2009
Joe finds signs of a murder in an empty swimming pool, even though there is no body. With burglaries spreading and a feral cat joining the hunt, the trio faces a killer still close by.
Cat Coming Home
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2010
A grieving grandmother returns to Molena Point with her orphaned grandson while attacks on local women unsettle the village. An old prison cat named Misto links the human mysteries and steals the heart of the story.
Cat on the Money
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2010
In this short novella, Joe and Dulcie stumble onto a murder and a hidden cache of cash near the coast. It fits neatly between Cat Spitting Mad and Cat Laughing Last.
Cat Telling Tales
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2011
A suspicious fire, a sudden death, and unexpected human and feline guests put Joe, Dulcie, and Kit on alert. The case also touches the quiet sorrow of pets left behind.
Cat Bearing Gifts
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2012
A crash on the coast, a missing treasure, and a dead thief pull Joe Grey's circle into trouble. Past and present collide as Kit and the others try to sort murder from old secrets.
Cat Shout for Joy
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2016
While Joe and Dulcie wait for their kittens to arrive, they hunt a predator targeting vulnerable people in Molena Point. Joy and grief travel together as old yellow Misto nears the end of his life.
Cat Chase the Moon
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2018
Courtney, Joe and Dulcie's calico daughter, disappears just as a beating and a burglary stall the police. Joe's frantic search turns into a three-way mystery with family at the center.
Cat Shining Bright
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2018
Joe is busy learning fatherhood when a salon murder and a stalker near Dulcie's home drag him back into detective work. The new kittens make the danger, and the fun, even livelier.
Joe Grey books in chronological order

Cat on the Edge
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
1996Joe Grey, Book 1
Cat Under Fire
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
1996Joe Grey, Book 2
Cat Raise the Dead
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
1997Joe Grey, Book 3
Cat in the Dark
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
1998Joe Grey, Book 4
Cat To The Dogs
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
1999Joe Grey, Book 5
Cat Spitting Mad
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2000Joe Grey, Book 6
Cat Laughing Last
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2001Joe Grey, Book 7
Cat Seeing Double
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2003Joe Grey, Book 8
Cat Fear No Evil
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2004Joe Grey, Book 9
Cat Cross Their Graves
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2005Joe Grey, Book 10
Cat Breaking Free
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2005Joe Grey, Book 11
Cat Deck the Halls
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2007Joe Grey, Book 12
Cat Pay the Devil
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2007Joe Grey, Book 13
Cat Playing Cupid
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2009Joe Grey, Book 14
Cat Striking Back
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2009Joe Grey, Book 15
Cat on the Money
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2010Joe Grey, Book 16
Cat Coming Home
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2010Joe Grey, Book 17
Cat Telling Tales
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2011Joe Grey, Book 18
Cat Bearing Gifts
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2012Joe Grey, Book 19
Cat Shout for Joy
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2016Joe Grey, Book 20
Cat Shining Bright
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2018Joe Grey, Book 21
Cat Chase the Moon
by Shirley Rousseau Murphy
2018Joe Grey, Book 22
Series background & context
The Joe Grey books start with a great mystery-novel hook: one gray tomcat wakes up able to speak, read, and think in human language, but he never stops being a cat. Joe still prowls fences, hunts when he feels like it, and looks at people with a mix of love, impatience, and superiority. That balance is the charm of the series. The books are fantasy, but they are also very grounded crime stories.
Joe lives in the seaside village of Molena Point with Clyde Damen, a mechanic who becomes one of the first humans forced to accept that his cat can talk. Soon Joe is joined by green-eyed tabby Dulcie, and later by Kit, a young tortoiseshell whose rough beginnings give the series extra emotional pull. As the books go on, the cat cast widens to include Pan, old yellow Misto, and eventually a younger generation of feline troublemakers.
They are not cute mascots.
These cats solve murders, track thieves, overhear secrets, and slip through spaces no detective in shoes could ever reach. They listen at windows, cross rooftops above the town, read papers and police reports when they can get near them, and pass anonymous tips to the department. Because they move through the world at cat height, the mysteries often feel fresh even when the crimes are classic ones, murder, kidnapping, burglary, blackmail, hidden bodies, old grudges.
Molena Point matters as much as the cats do. The town is a softened version of the California coast Murphy knew well, full of cottages, gardens, little shops, ocean fog, and trees that let a cat travel half the village without touching the ground. The human cast, people like Clyde, Wilma Getz, Max Harper, Charlie Harper, and Ryan Flannery, are woven tightly into that setting. They are not just there to be rescued. They are the cats' family, friends, and frequent sources of worry.
That is what gives the series its staying power. Each book has its own mystery, but underneath runs an ongoing story about loyalty, chosen family, and the odd bargains between people and animals. The cats want to help, yet their secret has to stay hidden, so every investigation carries a double tension. Who committed the crime, and will some human finally see too much?
The books are often called cozy mysteries, and the village warmth is real, but Murphy never makes danger feel weightless. Some cases involve missing children, prison history, violent predators, or families cracked open by grief. Even so, the tone stays companionable because Joe and the others meet all that darkness with nerve, wit, and very catlike stubbornness.
If you read the series in order, you get both pleasures at once: solid stand-alone mysteries and the long, satisfying sense of a secret feline community growing older together.
Edited by
Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.
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