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See 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

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22 books

1

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.

2

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.

3

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.

4

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.

5

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.

6

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.

7

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.

8

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.

9

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.

10

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.

11

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.

12

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.

13

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.

14

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.

15

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.

16

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.

17

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.

18

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.

19

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.

20

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.

21

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.

22

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

  1. Book cover for "Cat on the Edge"

    Cat on the Edge

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    1996Joe Grey, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Cat Under Fire"

    Cat Under Fire

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    1996Joe Grey, Book 2
  3. Book cover for "Cat Raise the Dead"

    Cat Raise the Dead

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    1997Joe Grey, Book 3
  4. Book cover for "Cat in the Dark"

    Cat in the Dark

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    1998Joe Grey, Book 4
  5. Book cover for "Cat To The Dogs"

    Cat To The Dogs

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    1999Joe Grey, Book 5
  6. Book cover for "Cat Spitting Mad"

    Cat Spitting Mad

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    2000Joe Grey, Book 6
  7. Book cover for "Cat Laughing Last"

    Cat Laughing Last

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    2001Joe Grey, Book 7
  8. Book cover for "Cat Seeing Double"

    Cat Seeing Double

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    2003Joe Grey, Book 8
  9. Book cover for "Cat Fear No Evil"

    Cat Fear No Evil

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    2004Joe Grey, Book 9
  10. Book cover for "Cat Cross Their Graves"

    Cat Cross Their Graves

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    2005Joe Grey, Book 10
  11. Book cover for "Cat Breaking Free"

    Cat Breaking Free

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    2005Joe Grey, Book 11
  12. Book cover for "Cat Deck the Halls"

    Cat Deck the Halls

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    2007Joe Grey, Book 12
  13. Book cover for "Cat Pay the Devil"

    Cat Pay the Devil

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    2007Joe Grey, Book 13
  14. Book cover for "Cat Playing Cupid"

    Cat Playing Cupid

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    2009Joe Grey, Book 14
  15. Book cover for "Cat Striking Back"

    Cat Striking Back

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    2009Joe Grey, Book 15
  16. Book cover for "Cat on the Money"

    Cat on the Money

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    2010Joe Grey, Book 16
  17. Book cover for "Cat Coming Home"

    Cat Coming Home

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    2010Joe Grey, Book 17
  18. Book cover for "Cat Telling Tales"

    Cat Telling Tales

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    2011Joe Grey, Book 18
  19. Book cover for "Cat Bearing Gifts"

    Cat Bearing Gifts

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    2012Joe Grey, Book 19
  20. Book cover for "Cat Shout for Joy"

    Cat Shout for Joy

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    2016Joe Grey, Book 20
  21. Book cover for "Cat Shining Bright"

    Cat Shining Bright

    by Shirley Rousseau Murphy

    2018Joe Grey, Book 21
  22. Book cover for "Cat Chase the Moon"

    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

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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