2books
Hollow Graves Duet
dark romance
Series · romance
Cat and Mouse Duet
The Cat and Mouse Duet series by H. D. Carlton has 5 books and is best read in publication order, starting with Satan's Affair (2021).
- Books
- 4 novels + 1 novella
- First published
- 2021
- Status
- ongoing
- Last checked
Start here: Satan's Affair (2021) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The order the books were released — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Satan's Affair
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Satan's Affair - Book 2:
Haunting Adeline
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Haunting Adeline - Book 3:
Hunting Adeline
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hunting Adeline - Book 4:
Where's Molly
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Where's Molly - Book 5:
Phantom
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Phantom
About the Cat and Mouse Duet series
The Cat and Mouse Duet is the book that turned H.D. Carlton into a BookTok phenomenon: Adeline Reilly moves into a decrepit Victorian house and quickly realizes someone is living inside its walls, watching her undress, leaving notes, rearranging her things while she sleeps. That someone is Zade Meadows, a masked stalker with his own violent history, and what starts as home-invasion horror curdles into an obsessive, monster-romance love story built on voyeurism, control and a body count. Carlton writes it as full dark romance with no apology — stalking, dubious consent, graphic violence and explicit sex are the point, not a twist — and the story is really one continuous novel split across two books, so Haunting Adeline ends on a hard cliffhanger that Hunting Adeline resolves.
The duet sits inside a wider C&M Universe that Carlton has kept building: the novella Satan's Affair is a spicy Halloween-set prequel featuring a masked stranger and a costume party, the standalone historical Phantom is a 1940s-set companion linked only by tone and imprint, and Where's Molly is a direct spinoff following Molly — a survivor glimpsed in Hunting Adeline — and the man who helps her escape a trafficking ring. Readers come to this series for extreme dark romance tropes done with genuine craft: stalker/monster love interests, found family among trauma survivors, and a will-they-survive-each-other tension that made it one of the defining dark romances of the 2020s.
How to read this series
Haunting Adeline and Hunting Adeline are a single story told in two books — read them back to back, since the first ends mid-crisis. Satan's Affair is a prequel novella set before Haunting Adeline and is commonly read first, though it isn't required to understand the duet. Phantom is a standalone historical romance set in 1944 that shares the C&M brand and dark tone but no characters or plot connection to Adeline and Zade — treat it as optional flavor, not required reading. Where's Molly is a true spinoff: it follows a side character from Hunting Adeline and works best read after finishing the duet, since it references events and revelations from book two. New readers who just want the viral story should start with Haunting Adeline and can decide on the extras afterward.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Cat and Mouse Duet?
The core duet is two books, Haunting Adeline and Hunting Adeline. Counting the wider C&M Universe, there are also the prequel novella Satan's Affair, the standalone companion Phantom, and the spinoff Where's Molly.
What order should I read the Cat and Mouse books in?
Satan's Affair (optional prequel), then Haunting Adeline, then Hunting Adeline, which directly continues the cliffhanger. Where's Molly is best read last, after Hunting Adeline, since it follows on from that book's events. Phantom can be read anytime — it shares only tone, not plot.
Does Haunting Adeline end on a cliffhanger?
Yes. Haunting Adeline and Hunting Adeline were written and are best read as one continuous story; the first book ends mid-crisis and the second picks up immediately.
Is Where's Molly a direct sequel to Hunting Adeline?
It's a spinoff rather than a direct sequel: it follows Molly, a character introduced in Hunting Adeline, and Cage, in their own standalone romance, with light connections back to the duet.
How dark is the Cat and Mouse Duet?
Very dark by design: stalking, kidnapping, graphic violence and dubious-consent elements are central to the plot, not incidental. It's written for established dark-romance readers rather than as an entry point to the genre.
Reading order last verified .