Kat Colorado Reading Order
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Katwalk | 1988 | Buy |
| Katapult | 1990 | Buy |
| Kat’s Cradle | 1992 | Buy |
| Copy Kat | 1990 | Buy |
| Wild Kat | 1994 | Buy |
| Alley Kat Blues | 1995 | Buy |
| Honky Tonk Kat | 1996 | Buy |
| Kat Scratch Fever | 1997 | Buy |
| Stray Kat Waltz | 1998 | Buy |
Karen Kijewski is an American mystery author best known for her Kat Colorado series, which ran for nine novels between 1988 and 1998. The series follows Kat Colorado, a Sacramento-based private investigator who navigates cases with a sharp, independent voice that was distinctive in the landscape of 1990s crime fiction.
Kijewski’s debut, Katwalk, won both the Shamus and Anthony Awards, establishing the series on a strong footing from the start. The subsequent books maintained the character’s appeal through the following decade, with Kijewski developing Kat’s relationships and personal life alongside the cases she investigates. The series is noted for its humor, its California setting, and its female protagonist at a time when female private detectives were still relatively rare in genre fiction.
The Kat Colorado books are out of their original print runs but available through used booksellers and libraries. The series is complete at nine books, ending with Stray Kat Waltz in 1998. Kijewski did not publish further novels after the series concluded.