Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Phone Calls | 1972 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
| 2 | Don’t Wear Your Wedding Ring | 1973 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
| 3 | Dial 577 R-A-P-E | 1974 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
| 4 | The Baby Merchants | 1975 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
| 5 | Leisure Dying | 1976 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
| 6 | No Business Being a Cop | 1978 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
| 7 | The Children’s Zoo | 1981 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
| 8 | Cop Without a Shield | 1983 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
| 9 | Ladykiller | 1984 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
| 10 | Casual Affairs | 1985 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
| 11 | Shadow in Red | 1986 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
| 12 | The Other Side of Door | 1988 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
| 13 | A Good Night to Kill | 1989 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
| 14 | A Private Crime | 1991 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
| 15 | Pushover | 1992 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
| 16 | Lockout | 1994 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
| 17 | Blue Death | 1998 | Lillian O’Donnell | Buy |
The Norah Mulcahaney series follows a female detective in the New York City Police Department across seventeen novels published between 1972 and 1998. When the series began, female protagonists in police procedural fiction were almost unheard of. Lillian O’Donnell wrote Mulcahaney as a professional working real cases, not as a sidekick or romantic interest, and the character’s career arc across the series reflected the actual challenges women faced in police work during that era.
The novels cover a range of crimes from phone harassment to murder, with New York City as a constant backdrop. Mulcahaney rises through the department ranks over the course of the series, and her personal relationships develop alongside the cases. The books combine procedural detail with character-driven storytelling, and they were recognized by the Mystery Writers of America during their run.