Norah Mulcahaney is the protagonist of Lillian O’Donnell’s longest-running mystery series. She works as a detective in the New York City Police Department and first appeared in The Phone Calls (1972). Over the course of seventeen novels, Mulcahaney investigates a range of crimes across New York City while advancing through the department’s ranks. When the series began, she was one of very few recurring female police detectives in published fiction.
The Norah Mulcahaney series ran from 1972 to 1998 and follows both Mulcahaney’s professional casework and her personal life. O’Donnell wrote her as a fully realized character rather than a novelty, and the series earned recognition from the Mystery Writers of America during its run.
Reading Order
See the complete Norah Mulcahaney reading order for all books in the series.