The Cats and Curios Mystery Books in Order

Rebecca M. Hale's Cats and Curios books start with a simple cozy mystery setup and then happily wander into stranger territory. Oscar's niece inherits the Green Vase antique shop in San Francisco after his sudden death, along with the apartment above it, a jumble of antiques, and two memorable cats, Rupert and Isabella. What looks at first like an unexpected fresh start quickly turns into a long, twisty search for the truth about Oscar, his hidden past, and the valuables he left behind.

The shop is the heart of the series.

From there, the books move through back rooms, old walls, city landmarks, government offices, and Gold Rush history. Rupert and Isabella are not just pets trotting through the background. They are active troublemakers, clue finders, and in many scenes the sharpest observers in the room. A hidden stash of money, a green vase tucked in a wall, a note about frogs, or a painted clue can send the whole story in a new direction.

Each novel has its own immediate mystery, but the bigger draw is the running puzzle around Uncle Oscar. How to Wash a Cat opens the door. Nine Lives Last Forever follows a frog trail through City Hall. How to Moon a Cat sends the cast to Nevada City on a treasure hunt. How to Tail a Cat, How to Paint a Cat, and How to Catch a Cat keep widening the story with public art, waterfront history, missing people, and fresh danger. The books work best when read in order, because Oscar's story keeps building in the background.

And yes, the cats often steal the scene.

The tone is cozy in one sense, there is an antique shop, a tight circle of odd recurring characters, and a lot of cat personality, but Hale also likes eccentric detours. These are not neat village puzzles. They are busy, layered San Francisco mysteries, full of local history, side streets, old scandals, and clues that connect the present to the Gold Rush and the city's civic life. Neighbors, city employees, and local eccentrics keep widening the cast, which gives the series its shaggy charm. San Francisco feels less like wallpaper and more like an accomplice.

That is a big part of the fun. If you like cat mysteries where the animals matter, if you enjoy history folded into the plot, and if you do not mind a series that gets a little weird now and then, Cats and Curios has a lot to offer. Come for the antique shop and the cats. Stay for the long game Oscar set in motion before the first book even begins.