Magical Cats Mysteries in Order (Sofie Kelly)

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What if your cats really could do more than knock things off the counter? In the Magical Cats Mysteries by Sofie Kelly, librarian Kathleen Paulson shares her home in Mayville Heights, Minnesota, with two cats who have very unusual talents. Owen can make himself invisible. Hercules can walk straight through walls. Neither skill is much use for catching mice, but both come in handy when a murder needs solving.

The series ran with Berkley from 2011 to 2024 and wrapped up with its 16th book. Below you will find every book in order with a short, spoiler-free note on each, plus where the novella fits, where to start, and what to read once you have said goodbye to Owen and Hercules.

Magical Cats Mysteries Books in Order

1. Curiosity Thrilled the Cat (2011). Kathleen is still the new librarian in town when a death during the summer music festival lands her on the suspect list. It is also where we first meet Owen and Hercules and begin to suspect these two strays are anything but ordinary.
2. Sleight of Paw (2011). An elderly woman is found dead near a local café, and Kathleen is not convinced the official explanation adds up. Owen and Hercules start to prove just how useful a pair of unusual cats can be.
3. Copycat Killing (2012). Floodwaters threaten the town’s artists’ co-op, and a mask maker is found drowned. A rainy, atmospheric read with a strong sense of community.
4. Cat Trick (2013). A businessman visiting Mayville Heights is found on the boardwalk, and the list of people with a reason to dislike him is long. A good one for readers who like a twisty suspect list.
5. Final Catcall (2013). A theater festival brings actors, egos and plenty of drama to town, and not all of it stays on stage. Fans of backstage mysteries will feel right at home.
6. A Midwinter’s Tail (2014). A glittering winter gala ends with a death, and Kathleen is pulled into a puzzle full of old grudges. Save this one for a snowy January evening.
7. Faux Paw (2015). An art exhibition comes to Mayville Heights, along with a missing sketch worth a small fortune. Art lovers and readers who enjoy a good theft-plus-murder setup will enjoy it.
8. Paws and Effect (2016). The evidence in a new case starts pointing somewhere very uncomfortable for Kathleen, which raises the personal stakes. One of the more emotional entries in the series.

Novella: Two Tall Tails (ebook, September 2016). Two novellas in one: The Cat Burglar, a short Magical Cats case about thefts at the artists’ co-op, paired with a Second Chance Cat novella. Goodreads places it between books 8 and 9. Optional, but a nice bonus for fans.

9. A Tale of Two Kitties (2017). Two estranged brothers finally try to patch things up, and the reunion goes about as badly as possible. A thoughtful story about family and second chances.
10. The Cats Came Back (2018). The music festival returns, and so does trouble, this time around a photographer working the event. The riverside setting gives it an easy late-summer feel.
11. A Night’s Tail (2019). A visiting band holding a songwriting workshop in town makes an unwelcome discovery. Music is never far from the heart of this series, and this book leans right into it.
12. A Case of Cat and Mouse (2020). A TV baking show is filming in Mayville Heights, and one of the judges does not make it to the finale. A treat if you love baking competitions as much as mysteries.
13. Hooked on a Feline (2021). A rock band is reuniting for a big concert, and old tensions come along for the ride. Fun for anyone who grew up with a favorite band’s posters on the wall.
14. Whiskers and Lies (2022). A local baker is caught up in legal trouble, and when a death follows, suspicion falls close to Kathleen’s circle of friends. Loyalty is at the center of this one.
15. Paws to Remember (2023). Renovation work at the artists’ co-op uncovers remains that have been hidden for decades. A great pick if you enjoy cold cases and small-town secrets.
16. Furever After (2024). Kathleen is finally planning her wedding when art theft and a body in the library get in the way. The author’s own site introduces it with the line “The Magical Cats say farewell,” so it reads as the series finale.

A note on dates: we list the year each book was first published, checked against the author’s series page, FantasticFiction and FictionDB. The order is the same on every source we checked.

Meet Kathleen, Owen and Hercules

Kathleen Paulson is the head librarian in Mayville Heights, a small town in Minnesota. She is practical, kind and curious, and she has no intention of telling anyone that her cats are magical. Who would believe her?

Owen and Hercules are the stars of the show. Owen’s disappearing act makes him a natural spy, while Hercules can slip through a closed door as if it were not there. Kathleen never quite knows what they understand, and the cats never quite explain. Add detective Marcus Gordon, a close-knit group of friends and the town’s artists’ co-op, and you have a cast that feels like home after a book or two.

The magic is gentle. There are no spells or witches here, just two cats with secrets and a librarian who has learned to trust their instincts. If you usually prefer realistic cozies, this is an easy series to try.

Do You Need to Read Them in Order?

Each book has its own case that wraps up by the final chapter, so you can enjoy any single title on its own. But Kathleen’s friendships and her relationship with Marcus grow slowly across the series, and the last book pays off threads that start in book one. If you plan to read more than a couple, begin at the beginning.

Where Should I Start?

Curiosity Thrilled the Cat (2011) introduces the town, the cats and their talents, so it is the natural first stop. If you would rather read with the seasons, try A Midwinter’s Tail (book 6) on a cold winter night and A Case of Cat and Mouse (book 12) if you are a baking-show fan. Long-time fans who missed the ending can go straight to Furever After, though it is best enjoyed after the books before it.

If You Like the Magical Cats Mysteries

Sofie Kelly also writes the Second Chance Cat Mysteries under the name Sofie Ryan, featuring Sarah Grayson, a secondhand shop owner in Maine, and her black cat Elvis. The publisher confirms both names belong to the same author, so the tone will feel familiar. For more feline sleuths, see our guides to The Cat Who books in order and Cat in the Stacks books in order, or browse our list of the best cozy mysteries with cats. Love a librarian heroine? Try the Library Lover’s Mysteries in order, and if gentle magic is your thing, our witch cozy mystery series list is a good next stop.

FAQ

How many Magical Cats Mysteries are there?
There are 16 novels, from Curiosity Thrilled the Cat (2011) to Furever After (2024), plus the novella The Cat Burglar, published in the 2016 ebook Two Tall Tails.

Is Furever After the last Magical Cats book?
It appears so. The author’s website introduces it with “The Magical Cats say farewell,” and no book 17 has been announced as of October 2026. We will update this page if that changes.

What are the cats’ magical powers?
Owen can turn invisible, and Hercules can walk through walls and doors. Kathleen keeps their abilities to herself.

Where are the Magical Cats Mysteries set?
In Mayville Heights, a fictional small town in Minnesota, with a library, an artists’ co-op and a lively summer music festival at its heart.

Have a cat who seems to know more than they let on? Follow The Teacup Sleuth on Facebook for new series guides, reading lists and cozy mystery chat, and tell us whether you are Team Owen or Team Hercules!

Sources

For reading order and publication years on this page our source of record is Penguin Random House’s Magical Cats series page. We checked the newest entries on this page against it on 27 October 2026. Books that are announced but have no confirmed release date are marked as such rather than given a year. If anything here is out of date, tell us in the comments and we will fix it.

Keep reading: cozy mysteries with cats · The Cat Who in order · every cozy series in order (full index)