Caitlin Mullen Books In Order

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Caitlin Mullen is a reputed American writer of thriller, suspense, mystery, and fiction stories. She has recently started her writing career and has published her debut book called Please See Us. Mullen entered the world of writing in 2017 by writing and publishing a short story Deep Enough. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Creative Writing and English from Colgate University. Mullen also holds a Master of Arts degree in English from New York University. She followed it up with an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Stony Brook, Southampton. When Mullen was studying at Stony Brook, she had started teaching an undergraduate course in creative writing. While she was at it, she also worked as an editor and served as a contributing writer at The Southampton Review. Mullen has also worked Greenpoint-based WORD as a bookseller.

Author Mullen was brought up in the Jersey Shore and upstate New York. Currently, she resides in Brooklyn and is at work on her next book. Mullen is expected to finish the writing part of her next novel and release it soon. She is also looking forward to developing several short stories and publishing them in the form of a collection. Mullen’s earlier works have appeared in The Southampton Review, Joyland, Day One, Meridian, Blackbird, and the Baltimore Review. During her studying days, Mullen had received residencies and fellowships from the Vermont Studio Center and the Saltonstall Foundation. Recently, Mullen has given birth to her first child and is cherishing her motherhood, though her infant doesn’t let her sleep at night. Author Mullen’s debut novel is set over the course of a summer season in Atlantic City.

There are several main characters mentioned by Mullen in this novel, including Clara, Lily, and a few others. Clara is introduced as a recent dropout from high school. She runs a shop with her aunt, where she works as a boardwalk psychic. But, with casinos shutting down and reduction in the number of tourists visiting Atlantic City, she struggles to keep up with the increasing demands of life. To make matters worse, Clara starts getting disturbing, powerful, violent visions, which she doesn’t seem to understand. Thereafter, the story introduces the second main protagonist named Lily. She has recently arrived in Atlantic City after experiencing a failed start to her career in the art field in NYC. Just after arriving in Atlantic City, Lily takes the role of a receptionist to keep things going for her.

When Clara and Lily meet, they form a close bond and set out to find out the meaning of the disturbing visions seen by Clara. Author Mullen says that the events described in the book are inspired by real events. While growing up outside Atlantic City she once came to know about the discoveries of 4 dead bodies of women in the marshy area of the city in 2006. The mystery has not been solved yet and so, no one knows that really happened. Whenever Mullen drove by the scene, she would feel heartbroken and haunted. It was during her MFA days that she decided to use the story as a foundation for her first book and explore the brutal crime. Mullen claims to have been bookish and quiet when she was small. She used to spend hours reading books, but never thought of writing one on her own. Eventually, she realized that it doesn’t require special talents for a person to become a writer and so, she thought of giving it a try. During her twenties, Mullen was a part of publishing, which allowed her to be surrounded by books and understand how the world of publishing works.

A popular book written by author Caitlin Mullen is known as ‘Deep Enough’. It was released by Day One publication in 2017. The central characters mentioned in this book include Eileen, Avery, and Doyle. Mullen has set the story in Boston and Pine Barrens of New Jersey. Initially, Eileen is introduced as a widow, who struggles with her life following the death of her husband. She moves out of Boston and takes shelter in one of the isolated stretches of the Pine Barrens. Eileen seems disturbed by the fact that she did not get a chance to build a future with Avery and begins dating unknown men through online platforms as a means of distraction. In spite of meeting and dating numerous men, Eileen thinks that her taciturn, gruff neighbor named Doyle might be the one who could understand her situation well.

Doyle’s wife died recently, making him grief for his loss. However, he doesn’t look indulge in unknown women to get rid of his pain. They come together to provide each other with the support they badly need and thereby indulge in a relationship. Then, Eileen ends up doing something that makes it look like she has crossed the line and it threatens to destroy everything between her and Doyle. This vivid and honest story describes the strange forms taken by mourning, sometimes and the transformations caused by pain to people and the world around them.

Another mind-blowing book penned by Mullen is entitled ‘Please See Us’. It was released in March 2020 by Gallery Books. This novel’s story takes place in Atlantic City, New Jersey and revolves around the lives of the primary characters named Lily and Clare. The book opens by mentioning that summer arrives in Atlantic City, but there are hardly any tourists. The lights of casinos have dimmed and there is not much nightlife in the city that used to be before. Later, a couple of women are found dead in the marshy region behind a motel and it spreads a wave of panic among people.

In the meantime, Clara finds it difficult to attract tourists for a tarot reading, thereby making it harder for her to pay rent. Then, she starts getting weird visions and suspects that they could be linked to the recent deaths of the two women. When Clara comes across Lily, an art gallery enthusiast working at a casino spa and going through a personal tragedy, she hopes that Lily might help her. However, Lily is focused on dealing with her own demons. Later, the girls learn that if they succeed in solving the mystery behind Clara’s disturbing visions and the two dead women, they might end up saving the life of another innocent lady. But, they seem to be worried about attracting perilous attention in their attempt to unravel the mystery.