Midnight Louie

Midnight Louie is the name of a slightly overweight (20 pounds) fictional black cat in a series of mystery novels by author Carole Nelson Douglas, and the general title for the same series. Each volume of the series is told from the point of view of the cat's "owner", Temple Barr, a freelance public relations consultant, and from the point of view of Midnight Louie, the cat himself. Midnight Louie's chapters are written in what the author describes as a style reminiscent of Damon Runyan^{[citation needed]}. He was also a character in the author's early romance novel series, initially referred to as the Crystal series. The author at the time accepted the publisher's severe editing of the manuscripts, but later purchased the rights to the original books and reissued them without the cuts made by the original publisher, in what is referred to as the Cat and a playing card series.

Titles

Crystal series

• Crystal Days (1990)
• Crystal Nights (1990)

Cat and a playing card series

• Cat and the King of Clubs (1999)
• Cat and the Queen of Hearts (1999)
• Cat and the Jill of Diamonds (1999)
• Cat and the Jack of Spades (1999), ISBN 0-7862-2896-2

Midnight Louie series novels

• Catnap (1992) ISBN 0-7927-1644-2
• Pussyfoot (1993), ISBN 0-312-85218-5
• Cat on a Blue Monday (1994), ISBN 0-312-85607-5
• Cat in a Crimson Haze (1995), ISBN 0-8125-4414-5
• Cat in a Diamond Dazzle (1996), ISBN 0-8125-5506-6
• Cat with an Emerald Eye (1996), ISBN 0-312-86228-8
• Cat in a Flamingo Fedora (1997), ISBN 0-8125-6535-5
• Cat in a Golden Garland (1997), ISBN 0-312-86386-1
• Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt (1998), ISBN 0-312-86634-8
• Cat in an Indigo Mood (1999), ISBN 0-312-86635-6
• Cat in a Jeweled Jumpsuit (1999), ISBN 0-312-86817-0
• Cat in a Kiwi Con (2000), ISBN 0-8125-8425-2
• Cat in a Leopard Spot (2001), ISBN 0-8125-7022-7
• Cat in a Midnight Choir (2002), ISBN 0-312-85797-7
• Cat in a Neon Nightmare (2003), ISBN 0-7653-4592-7
• Cat in an Orange Twist (2004), ISBN 0-7653-4593-5
• Cat in a Hot Pink Pursuit (2005), ISBN 0-7653-1399-5
• Cat in a Quicksilver Caper (2006), ISBN 0-7653-1400-2
• Cat in a Red Hot Rage (2008), ISBN 0-7653-5270-2
• Cat in a Sapphire Slipper (2008), ISBN 0-7653-1861-X
• Cat in a Topaz Tango (2009), ISBN 0-7653-1862-8
• Cat in an Ultramarine Scheme (2010), ISBN 0-7653-1863-6
• Cat in a Vegas Gold Vendetta (2011), ISBN 0-7653-2746-5

Short Stories

• Maltese Double Cross (1992), printed in Cat Crimes II, and Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories, 2nd Annual Edition
• Sax and the Single Cat (1993), printed in Danger in D.C., A Treasury of Cat Mysteries, Felonious Felines, ISBN 0-7862-2689-7, and White House Pet Detectives, ISBN 1-58182-243-X
• Coyote Peyote (1994), printed in Mysterious West, ISBN 0-06-017785-3, and Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories, 4th Annual Edition
• Dog Collar (1996), published in Great Writers and Kids Write Mysteries, ISBN 0-679-87939-0
• Iä Iä Iä Iä Cthulouie! (1997), published in Cat Crimes for the Holidays, reprinted as Something Fishy
• A Baker Street Irregular (1998), printed in Midnight Louie's Pet Detectives, ISBN 0-312-86435-3
• The Mummy Case (1999), printed in Cat Crimes Through Time and The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories
• Something Fishy (reprint of Iä Iä Iä Iä Cthulouie!)
• License to Koi (2004), printed in Death Dines In, ISBN 0-425-19262-8
• Junior Partner in Crime (2005), printed in Creature Cozies ISBN 0-425-20127-9
• The Riches There That Lie (2006), printed in Poe's Lighthouse, ISBN 1-58767-128-X

Trivia

The author of the series has previously worked as a television reporter in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. During her time there, she was assigned to work on a story about a local animal shelter, and featured one of the cats there, called Midnight Louie, in the reports. The cat did not survive. Each of the volumes of the Midnight Louie series includes the dedication "For the real and original Midnight Louie. Nine lives were not enough."^{[citation needed]}

References

• Midnight Louie booklist