The Cat and Mouse Series in Order

About the Cat and Mouse series

Series Premise

Adeline Reilly, a successful but reclusive author living in a haunted manor inherited from her grandmother, becomes the target of Zade Meadows, a dangerously obsessive and morally ambiguous man who is both a vigilante and a criminal mastermind. Zade stalks Adeline relentlessly, breaking into her home, leaving threatening notes, and watching her every move — all while claiming she belongs to him. What begins as a terrifying game of predator and prey slowly evolves into a deeply toxic, all-consuming obsession on both sides. Adeline fights to resist and escape Zade’s control, while Zade battles his own demons and a larger criminal underworld (involving human trafficking rings he secretly dismantles).

Main Characters

> Adeline Reilly — Protagonist; successful dark romance author in her late 20s. Intelligent, independent, and traumatized; becomes the obsession of Zade. Fights to reclaim her autonomy while grappling with her own dark desires.
> Zade Meadows — Co-lead / anti-hero; powerful, dangerous vigilante and criminal mastermind. Ruthless, obsessive, possessive, and morally gray; stalks Adeline with terrifying intensity but is also dismantling human trafficking rings. One of the most extreme "stalker hero" characters in dark romance.
> Supporting — Adeline’s best friend, family members, Zade’s underground team (loyal operatives), and various antagonists (traffickers, corrupt officials, or personal enemies).

Setting

Modern-day United States, primarily:
> A secluded, historic manor house in rural Washington state (Adeline’s inherited home, filled with secrets and ghosts).
> Seattle and surrounding areas (urban nightlife, warehouses, criminal underbelly).
> Hidden criminal operations (trafficking rings, safe houses, underground clubs).
The atmosphere is moody, gothic, and dangerous — rainy Pacific Northwest nights, foggy forests, opulent yet eerie mansions, and the constant sense of being watched.

Tone & Themes

Extremely dark, raw, and intensely erotic — unapologetically toxic dark romance with very high spice (explicit, kinky, often non-consensual/dub-con scenes), heavy angst, possessiveness, psychological torment, and moral ambiguity. The tone is obsessive, disturbing, and addictive, with heavy triggers (stalking, captivity, dub-con/non-con, graphic violence, trauma, degradation, revenge killing). It balances brutality, danger, and darkness with eventual devotion, redemption, and a hard-won HEA — polarizing and highly triggering, designed for adult dark romance readers who enjoy "villain gets the girl" and stalker tropes.

The series is hugely popular on BookTok for its extreme dark romance tropes (stalking, obsession, enemies-to-lovers, "he falls first and harder"), scorching chemistry, and intense emotional/sexual tension — ideal for fans of dark romance like Rina Kent or Pepper Winters. It has very heavy content warnings (dub-con/non-con, stalking, graphic violence, trauma, captivity, explicit kink, degradation).