Catnap: A Midnight Louie Mystery (Midnight Louie Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Carole Nelson Douglas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1992 | Series: Midnight Louie Mysteries

Free-lance public relations expert Temple Barr teams up with Midnight Louie, the sleuthing tomcat, to investigate the murder of a publisher at the Las Vegas ABA and the kidnapping of Baker & Taylor's feline corporate mascots from their ABA booth.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

In the first of a projected series, Douglas enters the feline-as-protagonist subgenre. Midnight Louie, whose cat-memoirs bracket the discovery of a murdered book publisher at the American Booksellers Association meeting, "helps" public relations person Temple Barr discover the murderer's identity. Las Vegas provides a slightly surreal backdrop for Temple's smooth friends and sly acquaintances, who alternately provide assistance or muck things up. Midnight Louie's viewpoint adds humor (the Baker & Taylor cats have Scottish accents) without straining the reader's credibility too much, so share this with Braun fans and other librarians.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Why would the killer of detestable publisher Chester Royal, after dispatching him with a knitting needle at the American Booksellers' convention in Las Vegas, tag him with a note reading ``STET,'' and then, for good measure, kidnap a pair of cats, the corporate mascots of rival imprint Baker & Taylor? Clearly no-nonsense Lt. R. C. Molina, one unsympathetic female, isn't interested, so it's up to PR frontwoman Temple Barr, still smarting from the recent disappearance of her magician lover, to dig up the motive from Chester's client/victims and old friends (ha)--aided at crucial moments by Midnight Louie, a big black tomcat who fancies himself another Philip Marlowe but who writes (yes, those interpolated chapters are written in his voice) like a pulp novelist who's been force-fed a dictionary. Reassuringly predictable feminine flutters and detection (``I didn't expect to be found out,'' the killer obligingly announces on being unmasked)--but Midnight Louie adds a fatal dose of the cutes. Douglas (Good Night, Irene, 1991, etc.) is already at work on a sequel that should appeal to cats everywhere. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 241 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; 1st edition (March 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312852177
• ISBN-13: 978-0312852177
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #933,481 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Catnap does not include sleeping, April 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Catnap: A Midnight Louie Mystery (Midnight Louie Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

This first of the "Midnight Louie" series introduces the reader to the world of Las Vegas hoopla through the eyes of a never-say-die, young free-lance PR woman, Temple Barr, and "Midnight Louie," the 20 lb. black cat who decides to adopt a new human. Temple demonstrates a talent for stumbling over dead bodies and, instead of being frightened, must investigate *whodunit.* Midnight Louie does have his say, and demonstrates his feline logic and methods of helping her be at the right place at the right time. Carol Nelson Douglas turns a dandy phrase that's fun to read. This non-fiction addict, and spouse, are now hooked onto Midnight Louie.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Catnap, January 26, 2000

By 

"larcan37" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Catnap: A Midnight Louie Mystery (Midnight Louie Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

A fan of the mystery, Catnap allows for the "purr-fect" twists that keeps you guessing. Not only do you get the clues and the chance to figure out the murder, you get a "cat's eye" view of the "purr-dicament." Being a cat lover as well I found that to be an enjoyable touch. "Midnight Louie" has a way of putting his mark on things; the type of mark that doesn't stink up the story line, but instead inhances it. I would recomend this book and any in the series to any avid mystery or cat lover.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is where it all began, November 10, 2003

By 

Carol Wallace "Gardenwriter" (Clarks Summit, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Catnap: A Midnight Louie Mystery (Midnight Louie Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Both the adventures if Midnight Louie and my addiction to said cat and his "roommate", the petite but very professional PR specialist, Temple Barr. Little does she (or the new reader) know that when Temple sets off in her trademark high heel shoes after a black cat on the loose at the American Booksellers Association convention in Las Vegas that this is the beginning of not just a mystery and murder but one of the most intriguing partnerships in mystery books.

Not only is Louie - the back cat that Temple pursues - intent on leading her to discover the body of Pennyroyal Press publisher Chester Royal- he also manages to squirm hs way into her heart - especially when he does a Sidney Carton and risks life and limb to help rescue Baker and Taylor - two cats who have been catnapped at that same ill-fated convention.

Temple is a Mighty Mite - small but brave and ferociously curious. Following Louie's lead, and with a bit of martial arts training from her divine new neighbor, Matt Devine - she manages to solve all the crimes. In the process she acquires a roommate and protector - the somewhat oversized but magnificent Midnight Louie.

It is the rollicking beginning to an aphabetical series of Midnight Louie mysteries - what could be looked on as the first chapter of one very long and entertaining mystery saga. While each book in this series stands on its own merits as a good read, it is great fun to start at the beginning and read the books in order. Then the real structure of this series becomes evident and the entertainment value triples.

Louie is not your ordinary cat detective. He plays an active part in solving the mysteries he encounters, whether it is simply calling attention to the most vital clues or by intervening tooth and claw to preserve and protect. He's tough talking, with an amusing way with words - a sort of feline Sam Spade but with a heart of gold - although he'd prefer that you not notice that. And Temple Barr is not your typical small female with a shoe obsession, but an intrepid investigator full of courage and heart.

Along the way we get some intriguing glimpses into the world of publishing as well as the vagaries of human nature. The Midnight Louie series may read like light cozy mysteries on one level, but read carefully. They are also insightful on a number of levels - and that insight keeps growing as the mystery progresses.