Sofie Kelly Books in Order
Explore Sofie Kelly books in order, with Magical Cats and Darlene Ryan guides, short summaries, series background, and simple where-to-start tips.
Last updated: June 10, 2026
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Publication Order
17 books
Curiosity Thrilled the Cat
by Sofie Kelly
2011
Kathleen moves to Mayville Heights and takes in strays Owen and Hercules. When murder hits the summer music festival and she becomes a suspect, she discovers her new cats are magical, and very useful investigators.
Sleight of Paw
by Sofie Kelly
2011
Kathleen is still getting used to magical cats Owen and Hercules when elderly Agatha Shepherd is found dead near her favorite cafe. To uncover the truth, she will need invisibility, wall-walking, and a lot of careful snooping.
Copycat Killing
by Sofie Kelly
2012
After flooding threatens the local artists' co-op, Kathleen helps move artwork to safety, then finds mask maker Jaeger Merrill dead downstairs. As secrets about the victim pile up, Kathleen and her cats hunt a killer hiding in plain sight.
Cat Trick
by Sofie Kelly
2013
Mayville Heights hopes a tourism deal will put the town on the map, until loudmouthed Mike Glazer turns up dead on the boardwalk. Kathleen, Owen, and Hercules dig into old grudges and fresh motives to catch the killer.
Final Catcall
by Sofie Kelly
2013
A theatre festival brings plenty of drama to Mayville Heights, and not just in Kathleen's personal life. When director Hugh Davis is found shot, blackmail, fraud, and a crowded suspect list pull Kathleen and her magical cats into the case.
A Midwinter's Tail
by Sofie Kelly
2014
While organizing a holiday fundraiser for the library's Reading Buddies program, Kathleen is blindsided when a guest dies at the gala. With winter closing in and everyone hiding connections to the victim, she and her cats have to work fast.
Faux Paw
by Sofie Kelly
2015
An art exhibition turns Kathleen's library upside down with tight security and an impossible curator. Then the curator is found dead and a valuable sketch is missing, sending Kathleen, Marcus, Owen, and Hercules after a killer with expensive taste.
No More Pussyfooting Around
by Sofie Ryan
2016
Kathleen's friend Maggie thinks someone at the artists' co-op is stealing small but troubling items, and she does not want the police involved. Kathleen and her two magical cats take on the quiet little mystery before suspicion tears friendships apart.
Paws and Effect
by Sofie Kelly
2016
Kathleen is happy to meet three old friends of Marcus Gordon, until one of them is murdered and the evidence points straight at Marcus. To clear him, Kathleen and her cats must untangle old loyalties, secrets, and a very personal frame-up.
A Tale of Two Kitties
by Sofie Kelly
2017
The return of the Janes brothers revives a scandal Mayville Heights never forgot. When Leo Janes is killed and Kathleen's friend Simon is blamed, Kathleen, Owen, and Hercules dig into decades-old history to prove the wrong man is not taking the fall.
The Cats Came Back
by Sofie Kelly
2018
A music festival fills Mayville Heights with visitors, performers, and trouble. When Kathleen and her cats find a dead woman by the river, a striking resemblance between the victim and a cabaret singer points to a puzzle of identity and motive.
A Night's Tail
by Sofie Kelly
2019
Kathleen's brother Ethan comes to town with his band, but the visit sours when one musician is tied to a dead businessman. To help her family and find the truth, Kathleen turns to Owen and Hercules for another round of feline sleuthing.
A Case of Cat and Mouse
by Sofie Kelly
2020
A rebooted baking show brings cameras, catering, and chaos to Mayville Heights, with Kathleen advising on local history. When a judge is found dead, Kathleen and her magical cats have to sort real clues from reality TV noise.
Hooked on a Feline
by Sofie Kelly
2021
After a local music festival concert, a band member turns up dead and Kathleen suspects it was no simple robbery. As she traces the victim's family history, she begins to wonder whether an older death is tied to the new murder.
Whiskers and Lies
by Sofie Kelly
2022
Kathleen is helping plan a library Halloween event when baker Georgia Tepper is threatened by her former mother-in-law. After the woman is found dead and Georgia is implicated, Kathleen, Owen, and Hercules step in to save a friend.
Paws to Remember
by Sofie Kelly
2023
A repair job at the artists' co-op uncovers a body hidden inside the walls, and Marcus suspects it may belong to a woman who vanished decades ago. Kathleen and her cats are pulled into a cold case that suddenly feels very alive.
Furever After
by Sofie Kelly
2024
Kathleen is juggling library work and wedding plans when she finds a dead man in the library during an attempted art theft. With Owen and Hercules on the case, she has to untangle murder, stolen paintings, and danger closing in fast.
Where should I start?
If you want the series from the beginning: Curiosity Thrilled the Cat → Sleight of Paw → Copycat Killing
If you like library life and town events: Curiosity Thrilled the Cat → Cat Trick → Faux Paw
If you want a later jumping-on point: A Night's Tail → A Case of Cat and Mouse → Hooked on a Feline
If you want the newest stretch: Whiskers and Lies → Paws to Remember → Furever After
Author bio
Sofie Kelly is the mystery-writing name of Darlene Ryan, a Canadian author born in Fredericton, New Brunswick, who spent much of her childhood outside Saint John. Reading started early for her. She has said that library trips came every two weeks, and the pile of books she brought home still never felt big enough.
Her path to a writing career was anything but straight. She started university in forestry, switched to biology at the University of New Brunswick, then later earned a degree in education from St. Thomas University. Science, teaching, and books were all in the mix before she published a novel.
She has always sounded like someone who learned by doing.
Before readers met her cats and sleuths, Ryan worked a long list of jobs, including lab instructor, teacher, late-night disk jockey, producer, entertainment columnist, consumer reporter, news reader, and copywriter. That background helps explain the clear, talky ease of her fiction. She writes like someone who listens closely to how people actually speak.
Her first book was the nonfiction A Mother's Adoption Journey, published in 2001. She has talked about writing early on while her husband worked away from home and her daughter was still very young, squeezing pages into the tired hours after bedtime and chores. It was not glamorous, but it got the work done.
Under her own name, Darlene Ryan, she wrote young adult novels such as Rules for Life, Saving Grace, Responsible, Five Minutes More, and Pieces of Me. Those books tackle grief, bullying, pregnancy, homelessness, and family strain in a direct, readable way. Readers often respond to the honesty of the teen voices and the sense that even hard stories can still make room for humor and hope.
Then came murder, libraries, and magic cats.
Writing as Sofie Kelly, she launched the Magical Cats series with Curiosity Thrilled the Cat, introducing librarian Kathleen Paulson and the memorable feline pair Owen and Hercules. The books mix cozy mystery, small-town life, and a light supernatural touch. They also found a big audience, and Kelly's cat mysteries went on to become New York Times bestsellers. Under the name Sofie Ryan, she writes another cat-centered mystery series, the Second Chance Cat books.
Even across her different pen names, there is a pattern. She likes ordinary people under pressure, close communities, and characters who have to decide what they owe the people around them.
There is an artist's side to her life, too. Ryan is a mixed-media artist, and she has said she loves reading, cooking, practicing Wu style tai chi, and poking around thrift stores. These days she lives on the East Coast with her husband and daughter. Whether she is writing about troubled teens or a librarian with two uncanny cats, her stories keep circling back to family, community, and people trying to make a better choice than the one in front of them.
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