Cat in a Kiwi Con: A Midnight Louie Mystery (Hardcover)

by Carole Nelson Douglas (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Even diehard fans may have trouble keeping the various narrative voices and story strands straight in Nelson's 11th mystery to feature Las Vegas's Temple Barr and her gumshoe cat, Midnight Louie. When homicide detective Carmen Molina asks former priest Matt Devine to take her daughter Mariah to the TitaniCon, a science fiction convention, little does she know she's putting her only child in the middle of a murder investigation. When Louie finds a dead man on a catwalk at the con, he tries to make the man's murder apparent by pushing the body to the ground, but the police consider the death accidental. Only after the star of Khatlord, a popular SF TV show, is electrocuted by falling into a neon sign do Molina and her men work to catch a killer amid the bizarrely costumed convention attendees. Some green-dyed kiwis give Louie a valuable tip. Meanwhile, the stabbing death of a professor who studies magicians leads to a search for the prototype of the ornate knife worn in replica by the futuristic Khatlord warriors as part of their body armor. Readers picking up this volume will be understandably confused and mystified by many of the references, which have their roots in past books. The professor's murder, for those who care, presumably awaits a solution in a future Midnight Louie mystery.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Las Vegas feline "private investigator" Midnight Louie and his human partner, Temple Barr, face a daunting prospect. Murder strikes during the world's largest sf convention, providing the pair with multitudinous disguised suspects. For cat mystery fans.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Forge Books; 1st edition (May 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031286955X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312869557
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.9 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,155,304 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 12 in The Midnight Louie Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This series and this author is great, April 22, 2000

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This year's TitaniCom, the world's largest science fiction and fantasy convention, is being held at the Las Vegas New Millennium Hotel and Casino. Mariah, daughter of police lieutenant C.R. Molina wants to attend. Former priest Matt Devine is willing to escort the young girl because he needs to get away from his troubling thoughts involving his first date with police sketch artist Janice Flanders. Also attending the convention is publicist Temple Barr's cat Midnight Louie who seeks the individuals who kidnapped and neutered him.

Ex-spy and retired magician Max Kinsella gives Temple a sketch of a man he plans to watch, who is allegedly staying at the hotel. He wants Temple to locate the man for him. Always eager to help her lover, Temple visits the New Millennium where she meets Matt, Mariah, and Louie. The group stumbles upon the murdered corpse of a conventioneer, which should not surprise anyone since there is a high correlation between dead bodies and Temple. Once again, the cast seeks to solve a murder.

There is no finer amateur sleuth than Midnight Louie, the feline equivalent to Spencer (or perhaps Hawk). Carole Nelson Douglas infuses humor throughout her story line, which keeps readers alternating between grinning and laughing. Told from the various perspectives of the major players, a dangerous technique for a lesser talent, the plot contains snappy insight into the thinking of several charcaters, which in turn leads to multiple surprises. Enthusiasts will realize that CAT IN A KIWI CON is one of the better works in this long running series which is filled with superb novels. With his charm and appeal still reaching out towards the reader, Midnight Louie continues to steal readers' hearts.

Harriet Klausner

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Writers Rant, August 12, 2000

By	booksforabuck "BooksForABuck.com" (Dallas) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

When Science Fiction writers get together, they complain about getting ripped off--even as murder runs through the convention. Carole Nelson Douglas has written another funny, quirky mystery. Again, Midnight Louie, the cat, plays the staring role.

Louie, along with Temple and Max, solve the crime, but there is a bigger crime here--one left to be solved in a later book in the series. Read this one for the fun of it, not to have all the loose ends tied up.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but enough of the Science Fiction references, May 18, 2001

By A Customer

The book started off alright but quickly became dragged down. There was not enough of Louie and too many Buffy references. This is a mystery/comedy novel. To many plot lines that need to be connected and finished. Unfortunately if you are a big fan, which I am, you will need to read this book to catch up on the many different trains of thought Temple/Max/Matt/Molina/Louie have before reading "...Leopard Spot".