The Best Way to Read the Black Cat Bookshop Mysteries
Because the Black Cat Bookshop Mysteries follow a continuous narrative detailing Darla Pettistone's journey as she inherits her great-aunt's Brooklyn bookstore, the recommended reading path is the publication order. The publication sequence matches the chronological timeline perfectly, allowing readers to watch the bond grow between Darla and her sleuthing cat, Hamlet, without any confusing time jumps.
Black Cat Bookshop Mysteries in Order
Here is the sequence of the six novels in the series:
- Double Booked for Death (2011) – Darla inherits Pettistone's Fine Books and is thrust into a murder investigation when a bestselling author dies.
- A Novel Way to Die (2012) – Hamlet helps vet a new clerk and discovers a murder tied to a local building renovation.
- Words with Fiends (2013) – Darla takes up karate, only to end up investigating a dojo-related murder with Hamlet.
- Literally Murder (2014) – The bookstore plays host to a writers' group that becomes the center of a deadly investigation.
- Plot Boiler (2015) – A neighborhood Fourth of July block party turns fatal, prompting Hamlet to sniff out the culprit.
- Twice Told Tail (2016) – The final book in the series where Darla and Hamlet crack their last bookstore mystery.
Chronological Caveats and Related Series
There are no prequels, short stories, or novellas in this series, so readers do not have to worry about chronological inconsistencies. The series concluded in 2016 with Twice Told Tail. However, fans of Ali Brandon (a pen name for author Diane A.S. Stuckart) can check out her Tarot Cats Mysteries, which also features feline detectives, though it has no narrative connection or crossover with Pettistone's Fine Books.