Shirley Rousseau Murphy Books in Order
Shirley Rousseau Murphy has written 48 books, published between 1967 and 2018. The first book is The Sand Ponies (1967) and the newest is Cat Chase the Moon (2018). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 48
- Published
- 1967–2018
- Confirmed
- 48 of 48 titles
- Pages on record
- 8,356 in 35 of 48 books
- Reading time
- 139–209 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 8,356 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 35 of 48 titles with a page count on record.
Shirley Rousseau Murphy wrote mysteries and children's fantasy across 48 books between 1967 and 2018. The Joe Grey mysteries, set in California, are the longest run, with Dulcie tagged alongside Joe Grey and cats threaded through the subjects; Cat Chase the Moon (2018) is the last title listed. Murphy's earlier work is fantasy for younger readers, including the Children of Ynell and Dragonbards sequences and picture books such as The Pig Who Could Conjure The Wind (1978). The Sand Ponies (1967) opens the catalogue.
How many Shirley Rousseau Murphy books are there?
Shirley Rousseau Murphy has 48 books, released between 1967 and 2018. They include 5 separate series.
Shirley Rousseau Murphy Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 48 Shirley Rousseau Murphy books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 119671763/4
- 21969–3/4
- 31973–3/4
- 4Poor Jenny, Bright As A PennyShirley Rousseau Murphy Standalone Novels #41974 · 174 pages · confirmed 3/419741743/4
- 519762443/4
- 619772323/4
- 719771213/4
- 81978583/4
- 919791823/4
- 101979843/4
- 1119801723/4
- 1219801743/4
- 1319811693/4
- 14Elmo Doolan and the Search for the Golden MouseShirley Rousseau Murphy Standalone Novels #81982 · confirmed 3/41982–3/4
- 151983323/4
- 1619831643/4
- 171984483/4
- 181985–3/4
- 1919872503/4
- 2019882493/4
- 21Medallion of the Black HoundShirley Rousseau Murphy Standalone Novels #111989 · 182 pages · confirmed 3/419891823/4
- 22The Song of the Christmas MouseShirley Rousseau Murphy Standalone Novels #121990 · 87 pages · confirmed 3/41990873/4
- 2319924143/4
- 2419962743/4
- 2519962443/4
- 2619972883/4
- 2719983203/4
- 2819993043/4
- 292000–3/4
- 3020013513/4
- 312003–3/4
- 3220043843/4
- 332005–3/4
- 3420054003/4
- 352007–3/4
- 3620073363/4
- 3720093683/4
- 382009–3/4
- 392010–3/4
- 402010–3/4
- 412011–3/4
- 422011–3/4
- 4320123203/4
- 4420143143/4
- 4520153133/4
- 4620163363/4
- 4720183043/4
- 4820182883/4
Shirley Rousseau Murphy books grouped by series
Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.
Joe Grey in order
22 books- 1. Cat on the Edge
- 2. Cat Under Fire
- 3. Cat Raise the Dead
- 4. Cat in the Dark
- 5. Cat To The Dogs
- 6. Cat Spitting Mad
- 7. Cat Laughing Last
- 8. Cat Seeing Double
- 9. Cat Fear No Evil
- 10. Cat Cross Their Graves
- 11. Cat Breaking Free
- 12. Cat Deck the Halls
- and 10 more in the table above
Shirley Rousseau Murphy Standalone Novels
14 books14 titles published under this heading without a numbered place in a series.
Children of Ynell in order
5 booksDragonbards in order
3 booksShirley Rousseau Murphy Picture in order
2 booksLee Fontana in order
2 booksDo you have to read Shirley Rousseau Murphy books in order?
You only need to read Shirley Rousseau Murphy books in order within each series: the books listed here span 5 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with Shirley Rousseau Murphy
Start with The Sand Ponies (1967), the earliest published title.
What is the newest Shirley Rousseau Murphy book?
Cat Chase the Moon (2018) is the newest Shirley Rousseau Murphy book released so far.
Is there a new Shirley Rousseau Murphy book coming?
No next Shirley Rousseau Murphy book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Shirley Rousseau Murphy at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest Shirley Rousseau Murphy title on record dates from 2018, 8 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- Shirley Rousseau Murphy books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 8,356 pages across the 35 of 48 books with a recorded length, a median of 249 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Shirley Rousseau Murphy books, 11 of 48, were published in the 1980s.
What the Shirley Rousseau Murphy books are about
45 of the 48 Shirley Rousseau Murphy books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: cats is tagged on 18 of 45. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Cats 18 of 45 books
- Mystery & detective 17 of 45 books
- Grey, joe (fictitious character) 15 of 45 books
- Children's fiction 14 of 45 books
- Fantasy 13 of 45 books
- Joe Grey (Fictitious character) 12 of 45 books
- California 11 of 45 books
- Dulcie (fictitious character : murphy) 6 of 45 books
- Fairy tales 4 of 45 books