Cat in a Diamond Dazzle: A Midnight Louie Mystery [Hardcover]

Carole Nelson Douglas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1996

Tough feline sleuth Midnight Louie and his human sidekick, Temple Barr, investigate when a romance writers' convention, complete with male Hunk pageant, is threatened by theft and the murder of one of the contestants. tour.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

It's amore for Midnight Louie, coolest cat in Las Vegas, as he continues to court the Divine Yvette, a beautiful Siamese, and ends up solving a murder at the G.R.O.W.L.?Great Readers of Wonderful Literature?convention of romance writers. Louie's human companion, freelance publicist Temple Barr, is hardly in the mood for romance. Mystifying Max, her erstwhile boyfriend, has reappeared and complicated her budding relationship with Matt Devine, an indecisive former priest. The attentions of super-hunk Fabrizio, who enjoys literally picking up the diminutive Temple, annoy her further. But she's determined to win the contest to find the pair of high-heeled shoes decorated with crystal cats?Midnight Louie shoes, she calls them?hidden somewhere in one of the hotels. When one of the male models assembled for the convention's Incredible Hunks pageant is murdered during a dress rehearsal, Temple's instinct for snooping goes into high gear, putting her own life in jeopardy. But Louie saves the day again, drawing on his linguistic skills?in this case, pigeon-English?to prove whodunit. While her prose and plotting are sometimes overwrought, Douglas (Cat in a Crimson Haze) tells her tale with such good humor that readers are likely to forgive her the occasional excess.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Red-headed Temple Barr and Midnight Louie, her cat, get involved in another murder investigation, this time at a romance writers' convention. Barr and cat search for the murderer of a male model who entered the convention's Incredible Hunk contest. For cat mystery aficionados.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 414 pages
• Publisher: Forge; 1st edition (May 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312860854
• ISBN-13: 978-0312860851
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,465,491 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Murdered Hunks, March 29, 1999

By 

Patricia Mattos [e-mail] (Minneapolis, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cat in a Diamond Dazzle: A Midnight Louie Mystery (Midnight Louie Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

With the return of her ex-lover, magician Max Kinsella to the Circle Ritz, home of her new beau, Matt Devine, ex-priest and hotline counselor, Temple Barr finds herself in need of a refuge. Accompanied by the colorful Electra Lark and Temple's aunt, romance novelist, Kit Carlson, Temple attends a romance writers convention at the Crylstal Phoenix. However, Temple once again finds herself embroiled in murder as entries in the Incredible Hunk contest begin turning up dead. That ever reliable feline, Midnight Louie springs to the assistance of his favorite roommmate as they work to uncover clues to the identity of the killer. Louie must contend with his spitfire daughter, Midnight Louise, who has little use for ther father, while Temple faces Lt. Carmen Molina who not only searches for the killer of the hunks, but continues her search for the elusive Kinsella, a suspect in yet another murder. All the while, Temple searches for the Midnight Louie shoe which promises its own reward for the high heeled heroin. With each novel, Douglas draws us further into the lives of her charachers and weaves internal mysteries that carry through from book to book. We await the next book to find out more about Matt Devine, Max Kinsella, and the rest of the human characters as well as Louie's romantic and family entanglements.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If the shoe.... or title fits...., April 23, 2000

By 

"shymrod" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cat in a Diamond Dazzle: A Midnight Louie Mystery (Midnight Louie Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

The title in this one is extremely apropos, as the dialogue sparkles and flashes without getting cutesy or self-concious. A large number of sly little asides add to the humor; I frequently found myself laughing at a bit of dialogue, or at Temple's internal thought proccesses. Louie himself is an elegant Greek chorus of one, while behaving at all times like a real live cat. Matt and Max are superb foils for each other in all aspects, and the supporting characters (Fontana Inc, Danny Dove) are delightful while avoiding two-dimensionality. All of her books give a quick, in-depth sketch of life in the real world of various trades or professions...people wanting to become published authors could do worse than to read this particular one.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars every woman's guilty fantasy of 2 men & a lovable tomcat, October 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Cat in a Diamond Dazzle: A Midnight Louie Mystery (Midnight Louie Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

A satisfying excursion in the "Midnight Louie" series, Douglas plays with a secret fantasy women sometimes have of being caught between two attractive (and mysterious) men, with a faithful tomcat for company. While the setting of a romance convention seems a bit similar to earlier plots, adding the subplots of the heroine's two suitors, a long-lost aunt, and the madcap search through Las Vegas for a pair of diamond-studded cat shoes livens the background. Even the mystery at the romance convention features some fascinating background tidbits about the industry, and a truly hissable villian. Another solid outing for the feline Sam Spade and his petite owner!