Catnap

Carole Nelson Douglas

Midnight Louie is an 18 pound black tomcat roaming Las Vegas. He is adopted by Temple Barr, and independent public relations person. She is running a convention at the convention center in Las Vegas for the American Booksellers Association. Midnight Louie leads her on a chase that has her fall on a dead body. He was the owner/editor of a small, independent press for medical murder mysteries.

Chester Royal, the dead editor, was nasty to everyone. As the PR person, Temple feels obliged to ask around. Soon she is doing a bit of detective work. The man had so many enemies that the list of suspects starts quite long. While the murder is being investigated, Temple has another PR problem. The mascots of one large wholesale company, two Scottish fold cats named Baker and Taylor, have been "catnapped". She helps set up a swap for the cats in between running a huge convention, checking out murder suspects, and trying to set up a place for Louie.

This is a cute fluff mystery novel, the beginning of a series. The mystery is not riveting, but does have an interesting twist in it. I'm sure this novel is more for the story set up than the mystery. Louie is a lovable rogue. About a fifth of the chapters are written in first person by him, the rest in third person about Temple. Although this is not "edge of the seat" mystery, it is fun, a series that I will continue.

Midnight Louie Series:

Catnap
Pussyfoot
Cat on a Blue Monday
Cat in a Crimson Haze
Cat in a Diamond Dazzle
Cat with an Emerald Eye
Cat in a Flamingo Fedora
Cat in a Golden Garland
Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt
Cat in an Indigo Mood
Cat in a Jeweled Jumpsuit
Cat in a Kiwi Con
Cat in a Leopard Spot
Cat in a Midnight Choir
Cat in a Neon Nightmare
Cat in an Orange Twist
Cat in a Hot Pink Pursuit
Cat in a Quicksilver Caper
Cat in a Red Hot Rage
Cat in a Sapphire Slipper
Cat in a Topaz Tango
Cat in an Ultramarine Scheme
Cat in a Vegas Gold Vendetta