Norah Mulcahaney Books In Order

Publication Order of Norah Mulcahaney Books

Norah Mulcahaney is the main character in a series of novels written by an Italian-American author of mystery and thrillers. Norah is a homicide detective based in New York City where she spends her time-solving crimes for her clients. She is described as a smart and intelligent cop living in a time when being a cop was considered as a man’s job.

The character was created as a result of two situations in real life: a catastrophe of obscene phone calls and the first blackout in New York City. According to the author, Lillian O’Donnell, one of the remarks made by the officers sparked the birth of her character, Norah. From that moment she decided that her heroine would be a female cop. Norah cases closely followed the headlines and even to wait for them in anticipation. Additionally, these stories also give the readers an insight to the very many developments that took place in the New York City police department. It is in 1972 that Norah joined Homicide department although in the real-life women were not allowed to join until 1978. The senior citizens special unit in Leisure and the one used to combat rape in Dial are very similar to the real ones.

Norah Mulcahaney debuted in 1972 when The Phone Calls the first book in Norah Mulcahaney series was published. Blue Death released in 1998 marked series conclusion.

The Phones Calls

The phone calls is the first book in Norah Mulcahaney series by Lillian O’Donnell. The novel introduces the readers to the main character Norah. She is introduced as an energetic young woman of 28 years old. She had spent one year on the force. She is a woman who speaks her mind and also very hasty. In a few cases she fails to follow the procedures put in place, and as a result of it, she loses her gun after being reckless with a suspect she trusts. In spite of all that she still gets to learn very fast the fundamental characteristic of police officers is that they all work together as a team.

The first novel in the series is a brilliant read and one of the most fabulous masterpiece creations of Lillian O’Donnell. Norah makes her debut as a cop based in New York, even though she is a detective, she often takes matters into her own hands in pursuit of justice.

No Business Being a Cop

There is a person who is out and determined to female cops in New York City. Even though the killer uses different techniques taking down his victims, all the victims happen to be police officers. It is not long after that Norah Mulcahaney herself barely escapes death. While her new husband goes out of the city on business trips, Norah is given the assignment of hunting down the killer who seems to be targeting only women. Norah is a dedicated detective, and nothing is going to stand in her way until every single mystery in the case is solved.

No Business Being a Cop creates suspense, mystery and red herrings interspersed throughout the story. It brings out the good, old-fashioned procedures of the police but featuring a feminist sparkle in it. The book portrays how the early years of the women’s movement were and the struggle that women went through to get into professions that were traditionally considered to belong to the male. The characters are well-drawn and very realistic, and the storyline is not only good but also easy to follow.

A Good Night to Kill

In New York City, two deaths occur at the same time. Lieutenant Norah Mulcahaney, a homicide detective, is called upon so that she can conduct the investigations and find out the victims died and unraveled the mystery man behind these two cases. What could be the connection between a low-rent subway shooting and the assassination of the wife of a wealthy mafia? Will Norah figure it out?

The first homicide case in the story concerns a young man is shot by a young woman who intended to be his victim during a robbery. Stefanie Altman shoots a burglar, and according to her statement she claims that they were three of them, two managed to escape but shot one. Lieutenant Norah has so much faith in Stefanie, and she believes that she was the victim, the fact that she seems like she is one side causes some negative energy in her office.

In the second case, the young, beautiful wife of a mafia boss is found drowned in their exclusive pool on their rooftop. Dario Valente finds his wife, who had been bred for him, drowned in their penthouse pool. Lieutenant Norah is assigned to investigate the two homicides; she conducts several interviews that she believes would help her track down the killers of these two seemingly unconnected murders.

The Baby Merchants

The Baby Merchants is the fourth novel in Norah Mulcahaney series by Lillian O’Donnell. Again the story introduces the readers to the heroine, Norah Mulcahaney who has been married to her husband, Joe Capretto, for six years. She desperately craves to have a child to call her own but the miscarriages that she gets one after the other convince her that she will never be able to conceive a child. According to Norah, the only best option is adopting a child; however, even adoption luck proves not to be on her side and finding a child to adopt almost an impossible task to Norah.

After several unsuccessful attempts to conceive a child with her man, she finally gets a chance to adopt a three-year-old. However, according to Norah, this opportunity to eventually have a child of hers appears so good to be true. Her suspicions are confirmed by a brutal murder, one that even stains Marks (boy to be adopted).

Fortunately, Norah and her husband are both detectives based New York City. Joe is dealing with a case involving a notorious drug smuggling ring, and the connection that Norah and Joe are bound to uncover between the two cases is not only startling but also frightening.