Cat in a Midnight Choir: A Midnight Louie Mystery

by Carole Nelson Douglas

Overview

In Cat in a Midnight Choir, the fourteenth Midnight Louie Mystery, both feline and human evil-doers and crime-solvers work overtime to make Las Vegas the Capital of Noir Suspense. This time our feisty black cat detective is hunting a mysterious and possibly murderous organization of renegade magicians called the Synth, which has been making Las Vegas too hot to hold for some of Louie's human friends, particularly ex-magician Max Kinsella. Louie's on the case . . . but the trick may be on him this time.

And just to make things interesting, while Louie and his furred cohorts battle black magic, both human and not-so-human, Louie's cherished roommate, plucky PR freelancer Temple Barr, is investigating the murderous side of the Synth despite the intense discouragement of female homicide lieutenant C. R. Molina. Molina herself is secretly moonlighting as an undercover operative to nail the killer of a sad, young stripper, and the search has boiled down to two suspects: Temple's current significant other, Max Kinsella, and Molina's long-gone ex-lover, Raf Nadir. Unfortunately, proving either man guilty will seriously impact the lives of Molina and her daughter, Mariah.

As Louie and his human friends sink deeper into a lose-lose situation of crime and punishment, there doesn't seem to be any way out of this escalating crisis, except another murder.

Can Louie solve some nagging past mysteries, find out just what some mad magicians have in store and stop the stripper killer before he claims another victim? And what will Louie do if he finds that the killer is someone Louie knows . . . and likes?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250767387
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/18/2003
Series:	Midnight Louie Series , #14
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	882,399
Product dimensions:	4.25(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.93(d)

About the Author

Carole Nelson Douglas is the author of the bestselling Midnight Louie series, which include Cat in a Leopard Spot, Cat in a Kiwi Con, Cat in a Jeweled Jumpsuit, and many more. She is also the author of the historical mystery series featuring Irene Adler, the only woman ever to have "outwitted" Sherlock Holmes. She resides in Fort Worth, Texas.

Editorial Reviews

Feline PI Midnight Louie prowls the alleys of Las Vegas solving crimes and romancing runaways like a furry Sam Spade.” —People

“Carole Nelson Douglas has taken anthropomorphism to elegant heights . . . . Nine lives wouldn't be nearly enough for this dude” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

As her 14th hip crime caper to feature Alpha cat Midnight Louie, with his cranky, Columboesque voice shows, Douglas just keeps getting better at juggling mystery, humor and romance. This one unfolds like one of those Russian nesting dolls there's always one more question to answer. With the Stripper Killer still at large in Las Vegas, Midnight Louie's "owner," Temple Barr, discovers that her magician boyfriend, the Mystifying Max Kinsella, is a suspect. Temple's would-be boyfriend, ex-priest Matt Devine, now a radio personality, has his own troubles. The obsessed Kitty the Cutter is stalking Matt, seeking to deflower him and destroy any potential rival who gets in her way. Meanwhile, the Synth, a dangerous cult, continues to punish those who would reveal ancient magic secrets. All have a stake in discovering who's killing whom, but none more than C.R. Molina, ace police sleuth, aka Carmen, jazz diva of the Blue Dahlia. Not only is Rafi Nadir, her ex-husband (and father to a daughter he doesn't know exists), a suspect, but she's convinced that Max, Temple and Matt are all implicated in other crimes. As usual, the author ties up the loose ends only partially, while a final murder sets the stage for the next installment. Those who don't care for the fur-flying antics of talking animals won't pick up this book in the first place. Established fans will welcome another intriguing piece of the puzzle. (May 6) FYI: Douglas is also the author of Chapel Noir (Forecasts, Sept. 24, 2001) and other adventures in her Irene Adler series. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

While freelance public relations woman Temple Barr (Cat in a Jeweled Jumpsuit) investigates a band of renegade magicians in Las Vegas, her cat Louie and his friends do some sleuthing of their own. A detective friend of Temple, meanwhile, looks for the murderer of a stripper. For all those fans. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

The 14th adventure in an ambitious, alphabetical series finds feline gumshoe Midnight Louie back in the heart of Las Vegas. Series characters leap into a gonzo noir world where radio waves pulsate virtual advice into the deadly night, over the strip clubs behind the Strip, and across the deeper shade of Los Muertos, a magician's estate that crouches behind a phony cemetery and focuses the series frame tale of cloaked conjurors and international intrigue. Amateur sleuth Temple Barr works the strip clubs undercover to clear her rogue fiance of a series of prostitute slayings; radio shrink/ex-priest Matt Divine battles a femme fatale lured by his virginal virtue; professional sleuths Max Kinsella and hard-boiled Lt. Carmen Molina battle each other, never managing the gender detente of their feline counterparts; and streetwise Louie and his probable daughter Louise formalize their relationship as Midnight, Inc., a partnership allied with the alley cats of the 24th Street irregulars. At this pivotal point, one pending case is finally solved, but all characters are "in transition . . . changing emotional models and personal identities like cars": a Las Vegas Nancy Drew finds Circus-Circus; a Sam Spade, family ties; a Father Brown, sex; a James Bond, monogamy; a V.I., a daughter. Douglas (Cat in a Leopard Spot, 2001, etc.) provides a fresh corpse only at the fadeout, where it provides a terrific cliffhanger-and compensation for a disappointing solution and some awkward prose. But the wordplay (e.g., "feline fatale" and "martial/marital arts") is still great fun.

Kirkus Reviews