We are back with another post on H.D. Carlton’s BookTok polarizing, dark, twisted, and at times disturbing Haunting Adeline and its younger sister Hunting Adeline. With a long list of trigger warnings, including violence and sexual assault, this dark romance is not everyone’s cup of tea. And that is perfectly fine! One of the tips we give our novice bookworms—namely No. 3—when they want to become a better reader, is to read only what brings you pleasure.
In case you are into dark romance books, we got you! Check our Punk 57 summary and the reading order for the whole Devil’s Night series, one of the must-reads of dark romance. For those with a penchant for darkness, yet a more sophisticated palate, we recommend our Wuthering Heights summary or our One Dark Window summary.
So buckle up, dear bookworms, cause there is a lot to unpack in this post. We will focus on the summary of the first book of the Cat and Mouse Duet and its main themes. If you want to know more about Haunting Adeline, check our characters’ breakdown and stay tuned for our best quotes collection!
As always, spoilers ahead!
From the jump, we know that Adeline is being watched while lying in bed. She should be scared, but she is actually excited to be watched by her “Shadow”. Adeline Reilly is a best-selling author in her mid-twenties and the new owner of Parsons Manor after her grandmother’s passing. Despite the mansion being outdated and quite isolated, and—according to her mother—haunted, she stubbornly moves in and refuses to leave. And sure enough, she soon witnesses eerie, unexplainable things. But instead of running, she doubles down.
At her book-signing event, she lays eyes on an enchanting stranger, who she thinks she will never see again. After that, she meets with her best friend Daya, who is supportive, intelligent and very loyal. Daya sets Addie up with an old flame. Adeline decides to meet Greyson in her new house, but soon a few ghastly noises interrupt them. When Addie asks Greyson to leave, he gets frustrated and punches a hall in her wall—very mature of him. But thanks to his childish rage, Addie finds her great-grandmother Gigi’s journals in there.
In the meantime, we see the “Shadow’s” POV. Zade Meadows is a vigilante with his own hacking organization Z. He wants to eradicate human trafficking and even moved to another area after receiving a video of a sort of “sacrifice” of an innocent by a trafficking ring. That’s when he stumbles upon Adeline’s book signing. He immediately becomes obsessed with her and decides to make her his.
After successfully interrupting her encounter with Greyson, he reminds Addie he is always watching her. Zade enters her house as he pleases and leaves a note and a red rose behind. He also infiltrates one of the secret houses the traffickers use and eliminates them, saving all the girls they hold—he is indeed a good Samaritan when he wants.
Addie reports her stalker to the police many times to no avail, so she decides to go clubbing with Daya. There she meets Archibald Talaverra, a member of an elite mafia group. Long story short, Addie and Arch go home, and things get heated. However, they are interrupted by a loud knock and like the mafia boss Arch is, he goes out to the woods to investigate and—surprise—he does not come back. At least not whole. The next morning, Addie receives Arch’s hand as a present for having let him touch her.
Despite her fear, Addie secretly enjoys his attention. As she reads more of Gigi’s journals, she realizes Gigi also had a stalker and was brutally murdered in her own home. Addie thinks the stalker must have been the culprit. She decides to look for the killer, seeing it as a murder mystery that could also potentially save her life. Daya, who is also a hacker and works for an independent company called Z—yep, that Z—helps Addie install cameras all over the house to catch Zade in the act. Addie discovers the name of her great-grandmother’s stalker and is apparently led by her grandmother’s apparition, she discovers more evidence regarding the murder.
That’s when Zade and Adeline have their first face-to-face encounter, and let’s say that it’s possibly one of the most, if not the most, disturbing ones. Can’t go into too much detail, but it involves a weapon and Addie's nether region. This leaves Adeline feeling violated and disgusted with herself for not only allowing it to happen, but for physically enjoying it. Max, Arch’s cousin, also comes knocking on Addie’s door after finding out about Arch’s hands being delivered to her.
Zade and Addie once again share some intimacy, no weapon involved this time, just tongue and teeth and a lot of pleasure. This leaves Adeline reeling but for different reasons. Zade knows how wrong it was of him to take something without consent, but he doesn’t regret it, since he knows Addie is the one for him. We don’t know if that’s oddly reassuring or deeply disturbing, we’ll let you be the judge of that.
After this, Zade weirdly becomes Addie’s confidante. She tells him about Gigi’s story as a direct parallel to theirs, which Zade finds dramatic, swearing his plans involve marrying her and having children, not killing her. To prove his devotion, Zade pays a visit to Max and warns him to stay away from Addie and Daya. He also continues with his chase of the sex-trafficking ring by befriending a high-profile politician called Mark Williams.
In a turn of events, while spying on Adeline from afar, Zade stumbles upon Mark. When Mark sees her, he snaps a photo of her, which pisses Zade off. To protect her, Zade pretends they are dating. Adeline is less than enthusiastic when forced to play-act as her stalker’s girlfriend.
Mark then proceeds to invite them to an elite event at his mansion. Addie is happy to go as Mark appears to have information on Gigi’s murder. Addie learns that Zade is the secretive Z, and her feelings for him begin to change. At the party they meet countless people, including Mark’s seemingly abused wife Claire. Addie learns that her great-grandfather was the main suspect in Gigi’s case, but they could never prove it, while his best-friend, Mark’s father, was the main investigator.
This revelation and their shared secret mission bring them closer, and Zade even starts training Addie in hand-to-hand combat. On Halloween, Adeline visits Satan’s affair, a travelling fun fair, with Daya. While enjoying the houses, Adeline stumbles on Mark. Mark and his buddies plan to abduct both Addie and Daya. Thankfully, Zade is lurking close by keeping an eye on Addie, and steps in at just the right moment. But before he can deal with them, he meets Sybil, a troubled young woman who apparently enjoys murdering predators, and he lets her take care of Mark and his buddies. This allows him to spend time with Addie in the House of Mirrors. There they have sex for the first time, and it is quite the experience—look out for chapters 29 and 30.
Strangely enough, Zade takes a liking to Sybil and takes her under his protection. Adeline tries to get away from him by running into the woods, but he finds her, and let’s say the rain is not why she is dripping wet. This is the turning point, and Adeline realizes she has actually fallen for her stalker.
We see them later drinking coffee and even discussing the future and the video of the “sacrifice” that haunts Zade. Adeline’s mother also lends a hand in solving Gigi’s murder, whose real culprit was Mark’s father and not her stalker, Ronaldo.
The story reaches its crescendo when Zade is finally ready to attend another sacrifice as an initiate for the Society—the sex-trafficking ring—and he manages to kill a few of them while saving the little girl who was supposed to be sacrificed. But it is soon revealed to be a trap. The real head of the operation is revealed, and Zade realizes Addie is in danger.
We see Addie driving to Daya’s house after a few weird messages. On the way though, she gets into a car crush and is kidnapped, leaving us with a great cliffhanger for the second book.
Haunting Adeline may seem like another romance novel, but there are many hidden messages and symbols in the story.
Zade explains that roses were his mother’s favorite. He was afraid that when his mother died, all the roses would die with her, so she gifted him a plastic rose to be forever by his side. For Zade the red rose symbolizes eternal love. Him giving it to Addie shows his devotion to her. It could also be argued that red symbolizes their endless passion and the bloodshed that follows Zade.
Gigi’s ghost and all the other eerie phenomena in Parsons Manor are a testament to Addie’s psychological instability. They symbolize Addie’s worst fears and the secrets that literally hide behind walls. The haunted house is usually one of decay and the moral corruption that surrounds Addie.
A simple home appendage no longer, mirrors are a tool in Haunting Adeline. In the House of Mirrors, everything is not what it seems; the image is distorted and seems to haunt you. But it can also be said that a mirror reflects the true, the chaotic and twisted truth of Zade’s love for Addie. The stalker parallel is also another mirror of Adeline’s tragic ending, like Gigi’s.
Rather obvious and self-explanatory, but one is the prey and the other is the predator. Forced in an eternal chase, the cat is almost untouchable with its nine lives, and the mouse, although vulnerable, constantly slips right off the cat's paws. However, considering that Adeline’s feelings guide the plot at times, and she is the “manipulator,” their positions could also be reversed—especially in the second book.
Parsons Manor is full of locked doors and secrets. Locked doors are Adeline’s fears and boundaries that she has set on herself. When she opens them, secrets are revealed and as she crosses their threshold, no longer in denial or ignorance, she is faced with the reality of her feelings for Zade.
This is not a book-club read for sure—the storyline is heavy on content warnings, and it flirts with Stockholm Syndrome like any dark romance. The everlasting bad-boy appeal is definitely there and Zade has many redeeming qualities as well, but like we always say, you should log into Amazon, grab your kindle and form your own opinion on Haunting Adeline.
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If you like spice, then you are in luck because there is plenty in the Cat and Mouse Duet. Watch out for chapters 8, 16,18,21,23,25,30,33,34,38 and 40. And for its sequel Hunting Adeline, chapters 31,32,32,34,35,37,40,42 and the Epilogue.
This series consists of two books, but there is also a prequel and a couple of spin-offs that are not necessary for the rest of the story. If you want to get the full taste, though, we suggest you start with 1. Satan’s Affair (Sybbi’s introduction), then go on to 2. Haunting Adeline, 3. Phantom (Gigi and Ronaldo’s story), then 4. Hunting Adeline and finish with 5. Where’s Molly? (Molly’s story). The author is set to release Sybbi’s story after she leaves Parsons Manor at some point as well.
Always living in her own enchanted little world, Christina discovered the magic that can be hidden within the pages of a book when one dares to take a closer look from a tender age. An avid reader, she is constantly inspired to delve into the secrets woven between the lines and challenges herself to find her own voice amidst the chaos. She is a dedicated fan of the classics, but the supernatural creatures that have tormented readers for years are her kryptonite. The mastery it takes to infuse the author's essence, molded by the era they grew up in to their innermost desires fascinates her. Undoubtedly, putting her passion and knowledge on paper has a mesmerizing allure on her, and following the steps of so many other dreamers before her she wishes to leave her mark in the literary world. Guided by T.S Eliot’s haunting words: “I will show you fear in a handful of dust” she intends to wreak havoc in the minds of her future readers.
