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Series · romance
Cat and Mouse Duet
The Cat and Mouse Duet series by H. D. Carlton has 5 known books (5 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Satan's Affair (2021). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is Phantom.
- Books
- 5 known books (2 novels + 1 novella + 2 companions)
- Published
- 5
- First published
- 2021
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Romance
- Last checked
Start here: Satan's Affair (2021) — 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:
Satan's Affair
Satan's Affair is the spicy, Halloween-set prequel novella to the Cat and Mouse Duet, following a masked stranger and a costume party in the same dark, voyeuristic register as Haunting Adeline . At 192 pages, published 26 April 2021, it's commonly read first but isn't required to follow Adeline and Zade's story.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Satan's Affair - Book 2:
Haunting Adeline
Haunting Adeline , the first full novel at 615 pages, published 12 August 2021, opens the core duet as Adeline Reilly moves into a decrepit Victorian house and discovers a masked stalker, Zade Meadows, living inside its walls. Carlton writes it as unapologetic dark romance -- stalking, dubious consent and violence are the point, not a twist -- and the book ends on a hard cliffhanger that Hunting Adeline resolves.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Haunting Adeline - Book 3:
Hunting Adeline
Hunting Adeline , published 26 January 2022 at 685 pages -- the longest book in this record -- picks up immediately where Haunting Adeline 's cliffhanger left off, continuing Adeline and Zade's obsessive, blood-soaked romance as effectively the second half of one continuous story.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Hunting Adeline - Book 4:
Where's Molly
Where's Molly is a direct spinoff following Molly -- a survivor first glimpsed in Hunting Adeline -- and the man who helps her escape a trafficking ring, told as its own standalone dark romance. At 256 pages, it arrived 16 February 2024, more than two years after the core duet closed.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Where's Molly - Book 5:
Phantom
Phantom is a standalone historical romance set in 1944, sharing the C&M Universe's dark tone and imprint but no characters or plot connection to Adeline and Zade. Numbered 0 on the combined series listing despite being the newest release, it runs 368 pages and was published 14 January 2025.
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.
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.
If you like the Cat and Mouse Duet series
Reading order last verified .