Claire Donally
Claire Donally has published 5 books. The recommended reading order starts with The Big Kitty (2012).
Claire Donally writes cozy mysteries, operating under a carefully guarded anonymity. The pen name debuted in 2012 with The Big Kitty, which launched the Sunny and Shadow Mysteries series. This series puts feline sleuthing front and center, a signature that fans have come to expect. The author behind Claire Donally is already known for cozy mysteries written under another identity, bringing that same expertise to this deliberately mysterious persona. Readers receive the craft of the storytelling without the biography, with the mystery extending beyond the page to the author herself. Not much is known about Claire Donally, and that is likely intentional, allowing the books to speak for themselves.
Shelf & Shadows
Order of Sunny & Shadow Mystery Books
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionWhat happens when a small-town columnist's cat becomes the key witness to a murder? In this cozy mystery, the line between feline intuition and human investigation blurs in the most charming way. Claire Donally invites us into a world where a curious cat named Shadow and his owner Sunny navigate the darker undercurrents of their coastal Maine community. The atmosphere is quintessentially cozy—think misty harbors, local gossip over coffee, and the kind of neighborly familiarity that makes secrets impossible to keep. But beneath the quaint surface, something sinister stirs. When Shadow's nocturnal wanderings lead him to a crime scene, Sunny finds herself pulled into a mystery that threatens the peace of their tight-knit town. The stakes feel personal here, intimate in the way only small-town mysteries can be. Donally writes with warmth and wit, crafting a mystery that cat lovers will devour. Shadow isn't just a prop—he's a fully realized character whose feline perspective adds genuine intrigue to the investigation. The mystery unfolds at a comfortable pace, giving readers time to savor both the puzzle and the relationships at its heart. If you're looking for a mystery that feels like curling up with a warm blanket and a purring companion, this one delivers. Cozy, clever, and surprisingly sharp-clawed when it needs to be.Publication dateMay 1, 2012Amazon rating4.4/5Print length304LanguageEnglishPublisherBerkley
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionThis cozy mystery understands that small-town grudges run deep, and that money between exes can turn lethal. When Sunny Coolidge finds herself tangled in a bitter financial feud between two veterinarians who used to share a marriage, she's just trying to stay neutral. But neutrality isn't an option when one of them ends up dead. Now the quiet rhythms of her coastal town have been shattered, and Sunny—along with her sharp-eyed cat Shadow—is pulled into a hunt for answers that no one else seems willing to pursue. Claire Donally crafts a mystery that feels lived-in and warm even as the stakes climb. Shadow isn't just a sidekick; he's an investigator in his own right, sniffing out clues with feline precision while Sunny navigates the messy human terrain of jealousy, betrayal, and unresolved love. The veterinary world provides a fresh backdrop—think needles and kennels instead of tearooms—and the ex-spouse angle adds emotional weight to every suspect. This is comfort reading with teeth, a story that knows how to balance charm with genuine tension. If you love your mysteries with a side of purring and a protagonist who solves crimes without losing her humanity, Cat Nap delivers.Publication date2013
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionThis is a cozy mystery that understands the peculiar bond between a woman and her cat, and how sometimes the most unlikely partnerships crack the toughest cases. When Sunny Coolidge's cantankerous boss Oliver Barnstable ends up in rehab with a broken leg, she finds herself playing chauffeur between their Maine offices and his recovery facility, enduring his legendary bad moods and dodging the advances of his flirtatious roommate, Gardner Scatterwell. But when Scatterwell turns up dead in the middle of the night, Ollie smells something fishy and deputizes Sunny to investigate whether the old charmer's death was really natural. The case gets stranger when Shadow, Sunny's cat and unofficial detective partner, becomes fascinated with Portia, the rehab's resident calico who has an eerie habit of curling up with patients just before they die. Is Portia some kind of feline harbinger of doom, or does her presence near Gardner's deathbed point to something more sinister? Donally weaves together small-town intrigue, sharp humor, and genuine warmth as Sunny and Shadow follow the trail of clues through Kittery Harbor's rehab center. The question at the heart of it all is whether Gardner's decades of womanizing finally caught up with him, or if there's a darker explanation lurking behind Portia's uncanny predictions. It's the kind of mystery that invites you in with a purr and keeps you guessing until the very last page.Publication date2014
- TagscrimemysteryDescriptionClaire Donally's *Hiss and Tell* arrives as part of the Sunny & Shadow Mystery series, a title that signals both feline intrigue and small-town secrets. The premise hinges on a cat—Shadow, presumably—whose instincts and observations become central to unraveling a crime that disrupts the quiet rhythms of everyday life. The book operates in that satisfying space where cozy mystery meets amateur detection, where the domestic and the dangerous collide. A murder, a clue, a community thrown into suspicion: the architecture is familiar, but Donally's execution depends on character warmth and the particular charm of a cat who sees what humans miss. Shadow isn't just a pet; he's a witness, a catalyst, a thread pulling the story forward. What makes this work is the balance between comfort and tension. The reader gets the pleasure of a puzzle without the weight of graphic violence, the intimacy of a small cast without claustrophobia. Donally writes with an eye for detail—the way a tail flicks, the way gossip spreads—and trusts her audience to follow both the human and the animal logic at play. This is a book for readers who want their mysteries gentle but not toothless, who appreciate a protagonist with fur and a supporting cast with motives. It's about what gets revealed when someone—or something—refuses to stay silent.Publication date2015
- TagsmysterycrimeDescriptionThis is a cozy mystery that understands the pull of small-town loyalty and the complications of dating the law. Claire Donally sets her story in Kittery Harbor, Maine, where the salt air and fishing boats create a world both charming and claustrophobic. Sunny's cat Shadow has his nose to the ground when Neil Garrett opens a new seafood shop. The promise of fresh fish is irresistible. But the shop's debut is ruined when Sunny stumbles on a body in the freezer. Not a fish. A man. Her boyfriend Will Price is the Chief Investigator. He does his job. He arrests Neil. The evidence points one way, and Will follows it. But Sunny knows Neil. She trusts her instincts more than she trusts circumstantial evidence. So she starts digging. The investigation puts her at odds with Will, testing the boundaries of their relationship. Donally plays this tension smartly, letting the personal stakes rise alongside the mystery. Sunny isn't a detective by trade, but she's stubborn and observant, and she won't let an innocent man take the fall. The result is a mystery that balances small-town atmosphere with genuine suspense, anchored by a protagonist who refuses to look away when things get uncomfortable.Publication date2016
Frequently Asked Questions about Claire Donally
Claire Donally writes the Order of Sunny & Shadow Mystery series. The books should be read in the order they were published to follow the continuing story of Sunny and Shadow. The series begins with The Big Kitty, published in 2012. It is followed by Cat Nap in 2013, Last Licks in 2014, Hiss and Tell in 2015, and Catch as Cat Can in 2016. Reading them in this sequence will provide the full narrative arc and character development planned by the author.
To begin with Claire Donally, readers should start with the first book in the Order of Sunny & Shadow Mystery series. This book is titled The Big Kitty, and it was published in 2012. It introduces the main characters, Sunny and Shadow, and sets up the central premise of the series. Following this book with the subsequent entries in chronological order will allow a reader to experience the full unfolding of the mysteries and the characters' lives.
Yes, it is advisable to read Claire Donally's Order of Sunny & Shadow Mystery books in order. The series features a continuing storyline and character progression that is best appreciated when experienced chronologically. Each book builds upon the events and relationships established in the previous installments. While individual mysteries might offer some self-contained elements, the overarching narrative and the development of Sunny and Shadow's lives are best understood by adhering to the publication order, starting with The Big Kitty.
Claire Donally writes series, not standalone novels. All of the books listed, The Big Kitty (2012), Cat Nap (2013), Last Licks (2014), Hiss and Tell (2015), and Catch as Cat Can (2016), are part of the Order of Sunny & Shadow Mystery series. This means they are intended to be read in sequence to fully understand the characters and plot developments that carry through the books. There are no standalone novels by this author within the known catalog.
Claire Donally has written five books within the Order of Sunny & Shadow Mystery series. These include The Big Kitty (2012), Cat Nap (2013), Last Licks (2014), Hiss and Tell (2015), and Catch as Cat Can (2016). All of these titles are part of a single, connected series, and no other books by this author are listed at this time. The series focuses on the adventures and mysteries encountered by Sunny and Shadow.
The first book Claire Donally wrote that is available is The Big Kitty, published in 2012. This novel is the initial entry in the Order of Sunny & Shadow Mystery series. It introduces the main characters, Sunny and Shadow, and establishes the setting and the premise for their adventures. Following The Big Kitty, readers can continue with Cat Nap, Last Licks, Hiss and Tell, and Catch as Cat Can, all of which were released in subsequent years.
The most recent book by Claire Donally, based on the available information, is Catch as Cat Can, published in 2016. This is the fifth and final book listed in the Order of Sunny & Shadow Mystery series. The series began with The Big Kitty in 2012 and continued annually through Cat Nap (2013), Last Licks (2014), and Hiss and Tell (2015). As of the last listed publication, Catch as Cat Can concludes the current narrative arc.
Claire Donally writes mystery novels. Specifically, the author writes cozy mysteries, as indicated by the titles and themes in the Order of Sunny & Shadow Mystery series. These books typically feature amateur sleuths, a focus on puzzle-solving, and often include animal characters or settings, as suggested by the names Sunny and Shadow and titles like The Big Kitty and Cat Nap. The genre emphasizes intrigue and deduction without graphic violence.
Ginger Bolton
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We verified the reading order for Claire Donally's books by cross-referencing official publication dates, ISBN databases, and publisher catalogs.
Last verified: April 2026
Shelf & Shadows. (…). “Claire Donally Books in Order.” Retrieved …, from https://www.shelfandshadows.com/authors/claire-donally