Cat in a Vegas Gold VendettaCarole Nelson Douglas |
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 10/22/2011 |
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Temple Barr is hired to put her amateur sleuthing hobbies to real work. Savannah Ashleigh, the actress, has a dying aunt in Las Vegas. Her aunt Violet lives at the edge of the city. Her aunt's handy man died after he fell over a cliff edge. Savannah wants to know if the man fell or was pushed. He was one of the few people her rich aunt could trust. Temple accepts the job. She needs something to distract her from her personal problems. Her fiancee, Matt, is in Chicago. He has been approached about a television talk show. Her ex-lover Max is returning to Las Vegas after nearly getting killed in a fall someone rigged. Max was in a coma and all his memories are from when he woke up. He doesn't remember his life in Las Vegas or before that, including his international espionage work. His legs had been broken in the fall, so are still weak and painful. When Max flies in, Temple meets him at the airport and takes him the to his home inherited from his mentor. She couldn't refuse when Matt had called the night before. Now Temple has to tell Matt that Max is back in town and that she is helping him. She knows Matt will agree eventually, but first she'll have to reassure him that Max is no threat to his place in her life. Midnight Louie follows Temple to Aunt Violet's home. She has dementia and is being cared for be a faith healer of sorts. Her house is overflowing with cats. Her daughter had died in a random killing. She took here daughter's cat, then kept collecting them. Her handyman had been caring for the cats - feeding, cleaning and burying litter, etc. Now her daughter's boyfriend does some of that, but the house is getting bad. All of Violet's relatives are trying to talk to her and befriend her. She is rich and they want to be her heir. Only Savannah is not worried about the money - she's too far distant to inherit. She is also the only person in the family checking on and caring for Violet. Temple starts looking into the handy man's death but isn't getting far. Max takes on a private job for Lt. Carmen Molina of the Las Vegas police. Matt comes home. Midnight Louie wants to rescue Savannah's abandoned Persian cats from Violet's house. They have been neglected - a far cry from the pampering they had received from Savannah. Max thinks the Irish terrorist they thought dead is actually alive. Lt. Molina asks Temple's help with a serial killer that may have been in the older woman's daughter's bedroom. Max and Matt have to meet to work things out between them. Someone may be trying to kill Aunt Violet. Is it any wonder Temple is stressed? Cat in a Vegas Gold Vendetta is fun. I quickly knew who killed the handy man. Even so, I enjoyed the ins and outs Carole Nelson Douglas makes in the tale to uncover the person. That story isn't enough to hold the interest of someone who hasn't read any books in this series, though. With Cat in a Vegas Gold Vendetta we are nearing the end of Temple's, Matt's and Max's series long relationships. Temple makes her position with the men very well known in this book. But there are still problems to be solved. It is possible that a new reader may be able to catch on to the past story in Carole Nelson Douglas' series because Midnight Louie gives a good summation at the beginning. Those of us who are vested in the series will enjoy Cat in a Vegas Gold Vendetta. Despite the handy man's predictability, there are enough twists and turns in the other story lines to keep the reader pulled in and guessing. Has Kitty the Cutter really returned??? |
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Midnight Louie Series: Catnap |
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These reviews are personal opinions only and in no way reflect other readers' opinions of the books discussed.
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