Goldy Schulz
cozy mystery
Series · cozy mystery
Mrs. Murphy
The Mrs. Murphy series by Rita Mae Brown has 34 known books (33 published; 1 with an undated publication record) and is best read in publication order, starting with Wish You Were Here (1990).
- Books
- 34 known books (34 novels)
- Published
- 33
- First published
- 1990
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Mystery & Crime
- Last checked
Start here: Wish You Were Here (1990) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Wish You Were Here
Wish You Were Here is the book that opens Rita Mae Brown's Mrs. Murphy series, published in 1990 at 284 pages. Every book in the series, including this one, is credited on its cover to Brown and her real-life cat Sneaky Pie Brown as co-author. It's the natural place to begin the series, which continues with Rest in Pieces.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Wish You Were Here - Book 2:
Rest in Pieces
Rest in Pieces is the second entry in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 1992 at 347 pages. It follows Wish You Were Here and precedes Murder at Monticello in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Rest in Pieces - Book 3:
Murder at Monticello
Murder at Monticello is the third book in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 1994 at 310 pages. It follows Rest in Pieces and precedes Pay Dirt.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Murder at Monticello - Book 4:
Pay Dirt
Pay Dirt is the fourth entry in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 1995 at 265 pages. It follows Murder at Monticello and precedes Murder, She Meowed in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Pay Dirt - Book 5:
Murder, She Meowed
Murder, She Meowed is the fifth book in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 1996 at 300 pages. It follows Pay Dirt and precedes Murder on the Prowl.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Murder, She Meowed - Book 6:
Murder on the Prowl
Murder on the Prowl is the sixth entry in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 1998 at 377 pages. It follows Murder, She Meowed and precedes Cat on the Scent in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Murder on the Prowl - Book 7:
Cat on the Scent
Cat on the Scent is the seventh book in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 1998 at 322 pages. It follows Murder on the Prowl and precedes Pawing Through the Past.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cat on the Scent - Book 8:
Pawing Through the Past
Pawing Through the Past is the eighth entry in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2000 at 311 pages. It follows Cat on the Scent and precedes Claws and Effect in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Pawing Through the Past - Book 9:
Claws and Effect
Claws and Effect is the ninth book in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2001 at 292 pages. It follows Pawing Through the Past and precedes Catch as Cat Can.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Claws and Effect - Book 10:
Catch as Cat Can
Catch as Cat Can is the tenth entry in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2002 at 396 pages. It follows Claws and Effect and precedes The Tail of the Tip-Off in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Catch as Cat Can - Book 11:
The Tail of the Tip-Off
The Tail of the Tip-Off is the 11th book in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2003 at 338 pages. It follows Catch as Cat Can and precedes Whisker of Evil.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Tail of the Tip-Off - Book 12:
Whisker of Evil
Whisker of Evil is the 12th entry in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2004 at 341 pages. It follows The Tail of the Tip-Off and precedes Cat's Eyewitness in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Whisker of Evil - Book 13:
Cat's Eyewitness
Cat's Eyewitness is the 13th book in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2005 at 389 pages. It follows Whisker of Evil and precedes Sour Puss.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cat's Eyewitness - Book 14:
Sour Puss
Sour Puss is the 14th entry in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2006 at 271 pages. It follows Cat's Eyewitness and precedes Puss 'n Cahoots in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sour Puss - Book 15:
Puss 'n Cahoots
Puss 'n Cahoots is the 15th book in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2007 at 352 pages. It follows Sour Puss and precedes The Purrfect Murder.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Puss 'n Cahoots - Book 16:
The Purrfect Murder
The Purrfect Murder is the 16th entry in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2008 at 331 pages. It follows Puss 'n Cahoots and precedes Santa Clawed in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Purrfect Murder - Book 17:
Santa Clawed
Santa Clawed is the 17th book in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2008 at 288 pages. It follows The Purrfect Murder and precedes Cat of the Century.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Santa Clawed - Book 18:
Cat of the Century
Cat of the Century is the 18th entry in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2010 at 219 pages. It follows Santa Clawed and precedes Hiss of Death in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cat of the Century - Book 19:
Hiss of Death
Hiss of Death is the 19th book in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2011 at 426 pages. It follows Cat of the Century and precedes The Big Cat Nap.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hiss of Death - Book 20:
The Big Cat Nap
The Big Cat Nap is the 20th entry in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2012 at 320 pages. It follows Hiss of Death and precedes Sneaky Pie for President in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Big Cat Nap - Book 21:
Sneaky Pie for President
Sneaky Pie for President is a comedic entry in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2012 at 272 pages. It was numbered by its publisher outside the main sequence, positioned here between The Big Cat Nap and The Litter of the Law with ordinal 20.5 rather than renumbering the surrounding entries.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sneaky Pie for President - Book 22:
The Litter of the Law
The Litter of the Law is the 21st entry in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2013 at 287 pages. It follows Sneaky Pie for President and precedes Nine Lives to Die in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Litter of the Law - Book 23:
Nine Lives to Die
Nine Lives to Die is the 22nd book in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2014 at 308 pages. It follows The Litter of the Law and precedes Tail Gait.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Nine Lives to Die - Book 24:
Tail Gait
Tail Gait is the 23rd entry in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2015 at 416 pages. It follows Nine Lives to Die and precedes Tall Tail in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Tail Gait - Book 25:
Tall Tail
Tall Tail is the 24th book in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2016 at 432 pages. It follows Tail Gait and precedes A Hiss Before Dying.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Tall Tail - Book 26:
A Hiss Before Dying
A Hiss Before Dying is the 25th entry in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2017 at 419 pages. It follows Tall Tail and precedes Probable Claws in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Hiss Before Dying - Book 27:
Probable Claws
Probable Claws is the 26th book in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2018 at 376 pages. It follows A Hiss Before Dying and precedes Whiskers in the Dark.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Probable Claws - Book 28:
Whiskers in the Dark
Whiskers in the Dark is the 27th entry in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2019 at 288 pages. It follows Probable Claws and precedes Furmidable Foes in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Whiskers in the Dark - Book 29:
Furmidable Foes
Furmidable Foes is the 28th book in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2020 at 304 pages. It follows Whiskers in the Dark and precedes Claws for Alarm.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Furmidable Foes - Book 30:
Claws for Alarm
Claws for Alarm is the 29th entry in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2021 at 288 pages. It follows Furmidable Foes and precedes Hiss and Tell in the reading order.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Claws for Alarm - Book 31:
Hiss and Tell
Hiss and Tell is the 30th book in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2022 at 336 pages. It follows Claws for Alarm and precedes Feline Fatale.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hiss and Tell - Book 32:
Feline Fatale
Feline Fatale is the 31st book in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2024. It follows Hiss and Tell and precedes Sealed With A Hiss.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Feline Fatale - Book 33:
Sealed With A Hiss
Sealed With A Hiss is the 32nd book in the Mrs. Murphy series, written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2025 at 240 pages. It follows Feline Fatale and precedes Clawed and Dangerous.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Sealed With A Hiss - Book 34:
Clawed and Dangerous
Clawed and Dangerous is the 33rd numbered book in the Mrs. Murphy series (its 34th entry counting Sneaky Pie for President's unnumbered slot), written by Rita Mae Brown and published in 2026. It follows Sealed With A Hiss in the reading order and is, to date, the most recent release; no further title has been announced.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Clawed and Dangerous
About the Mrs. Murphy series
In the small Virginia town of Crozet, postmistress Mary Minor "Harry" Haristeen keeps finding dead bodies along her mail route — and her real crime-solving partners are her own pets: Mrs. Murphy, a sharp-witted tiger cat, Tucker, a loyal Welsh corgi, and Pewter, a vain and food-obsessed gray cat. The animals see, hear, and deduce more than the humans around them, and much of each book's charm comes from their private conversations and running commentary on the two-legged investigation happening in parallel — Harry and her ex-husband, the local vet, and the county sheriff all catching up eventually to what the animals worked out chapters earlier.
Rita Mae Brown (credited alongside her real-life cat, Sneaky Pie Brown, as co-author) built the series around small-town Virginia hunt-country life — foxhunting, farming, church suppers, old-money and new-money friction — with the animal chapters giving the cozy formula a genuinely distinctive gimmick rather than just cute pet-shop-front dressing. It's a long-running favorite for readers who want their amateur-sleuth mystery narrated partly from the animals' point of view, set in a richly recurring small-town cast that has evolved gently across more than three decades of books.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Mrs. Murphy series?
There are 34 published Mrs. Murphy titles, from Wish You Were Here (1990) to Clawed and Dangerous (2026).
What order should I read the Mrs. Murphy books in?
Publication order, starting with Wish You Were Here. Most mysteries are self-contained, but Harry's life and the animal characters develop gradually across the series.
Is the Mrs. Murphy series finished?
No. Clawed and Dangerous was published in April 2026 and the series remains active.
Who is Sneaky Pie Brown?
Sneaky Pie Brown is Rita Mae Brown's real-life cat, credited as co-author on every Mrs. Murphy book since the series began — a running conceit reflecting the animals' central role in solving each mystery.
Do the Mrs. Murphy books stand alone from Rita Mae Brown's other series?
Yes. It's separate from her Sister Jane foxhunting mysteries and her other fiction, with its own cast and Crozet, Virginia setting.
If you like the Mrs. Murphy series
Reading order last verified .