Where's Molly

Where’s Molly? is H. D. Carlton’s sixth novel, and it is considered a spin-off of the Cat & Mouse Duet series, which includes Haunting Adeline and Hunting Adeline. Where’s Molly? takes place in the same universe as these novels. In the Cat & Mouse Duet, Adeline, the protagonist, develops a romance with Zade Meadows, the leader of an organization called Z, which is dedicated to disrupting human trafficking and sexual abuse outside of normal legal channels. In Where’s Molly?, Molly works for Z’s sister organization, Legion, which targets criminals in key positions of criminal activities for assassination, ranging from direct offenders to criminal masterminds. The two organizations work together, and Where’s Molly? introduces yet another organization, the Basilisk Brotherhood, which seeks to harvest organs from assassinated criminals. In all three situations, Carlton emphasizes the ability of each organization to perform illegal or violent actions toward ethical ends, such as protecting survivors from their abusers or providing an escape for those who protect themselves outside the law.

There are many similarities between Molly and Cage’s romance and Adeline and Zade’s romance, as each follows a similar pattern in which the male partner violates the boundaries of consent. Much like Adeline, Molly is reluctant to love Cage, and Cage, like Zade, forces himself on Molly under the assumption that she is in love with him. Common topics across the works include instances of sexual assault (which the texts treat as ambiguous in the romantic context), the delicate balance between obsession and true love, and the need for help in overcoming trauma.