Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amateur City | 1984 | Katherine V. Forrest | Buy |
| 2 | Murder at the Nightwood Bar | 1987 | Katherine V. Forrest | Buy |
| 3 | The Beverly Malibu | 1989 | Katherine V. Forrest | Buy |
| 4 | Murder by Tradition | 1991 | Katherine V. Forrest | Buy |
| 5 | Liberty Square | 1996 | Katherine V. Forrest | Buy |
| 6 | Apparition Alley | 1997 | Katherine V. Forrest | Buy |
| 7 | Sleeping Bones | 1999 | Katherine V. Forrest | Buy |
| 8 | Hancock Park | 2004 | Katherine V. Forrest | Buy |
| 9 | High Desert | 2013 | Katherine V. Forrest | Buy |
| 10 | Delafield | 2022 | Katherine V. Forrest | Buy |
The Kate Delafield series by Katherine V. Forrest is one of the longest-running and most respected lesbian mystery series in print. It began in 1984 with Amateur City, which introduced readers to a sharp, disciplined LAPD homicide detective who also happens to be a closeted lesbian. The early novels are set against the backdrop of 1980s Los Angeles, and Forrest uses the procedural format to explore both the city’s criminal underworld and the personal toll of hiding one’s identity in a hostile workplace.
As the series progresses through titles like The Beverly Malibu, Liberty Square, and Hancock Park, Kate gradually becomes more open about her sexuality. The cases themselves cover a wide range of territory, from bar murders to political conspiracies, but the personal thread running through all ten books is Kate’s evolving relationship with herself and the people around her. The final entry, Delafield, arrived in 2022, nearly four decades after the series debut, and brought Kate’s story to a close.