Carole Douglas: Cat in an Alphabet Soup

CONTENTS

Cover

Back cover

About the Midnight Louie Mysteries

Start Book

About the Author

Also by Carole Nelson Douglas

CHAPTERS

Prologue: Midnight Louie, P.I.

Chapter 1: Chester’s Last Chapter

Chapter 2: An Editor Edited

Chapter 3: Nothing but a Pack of Flacks

Chapter 4: New Boy in Town

Chapter 5: The Fall Guy

Chapter 6: Authors on Parade

Chapter 7: Writers Anonymous

Chapter 8: Feline Follies

Chapter 9: Lost and Found

Chapter 10: A Little Night Music

Chapter 11: Catastrophe...

Chapter 12: ...And Apostrophe

Chapter 13: Enter Ingram

Chapter 14: Behind the Eight Ball

Chapter 15: Hunter on the Prowl

Chapter 16: The Ultimate Sacrifice

Chapter 17: Missing Purrsons

Chapter 18: A Mavis in Flight

Chapter 19: Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Thief

Chapter 20: Midnight Louie, Dead Matter

Chapter 21: Alone at Last

Chapter 22: Temple on Ice

Chapter 23: Cool Hand Louie

Chapter 24: The Name of the Game is... Murder

Chapter 25: Killer Exit

Chapter 26: Louie’s Last Meow

Tailpiece: Midnight Louie Bites the Hand that Feeds Him

.Carole Nelson Douglas Strikes Back

Excerpt

:

Cat in an Aqua Storm,

book 2

“TO PARAPHRASE THE COOL CAT DETECTIVE INTRODUCED IN THIS SCINTILLATING NEW MYSTERY,

Carole Nelson Douglas

is on a roll. After garnering considerable acclaim for her delicious Irene Adler historical adventures, Ms. D. reveals yet another brilliant facet of her amazing versatility in this equally delightful contemporary puzzler.”

—Melinda Heifer, RT BookReviews

CAT IN AN ALPHABET SOUP

(formerly titled Catnap )

THE MIDNIGHT LOUIE ALPHABET SAGA BEGINS . . .

from this novel, move on to A to Z

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Since Midnight Louie’s mystery adventures began in 1992, the series offers a Time Travel experience. It’s a retro-modern saga that portrays twenty-five years of amazing Las Vegas Strip reinvention from the early 1990s to today. Yet, the foreground story only covers two years in the characters’ lives. Think of the old movies that filmed a couple walking on a treadmill against a constantly changing background.

So be warned: you will see “dead people” in the pop culture references, and also see how the Las Vegas Strip, cell phones, and recent technologies evolved through the series as it happened.

The MIDNIGHT LOUIE Feline PI series

Cat in an Alphabet Soup... Cat in an Aqua Storm... 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 Topaz Tango... Cat in a Sapphire Slipper... Cat in anUltramarine Scheme... Cat in a Vegas Gold Vendetta... Cat in a White Tie and Tails... Cat in an Alien X-Ray... Cat in a Yellow Peril... Cat in a Zebra Zoot Suit

Praise forCAT IN AN ALPHABET SOUPfrom Primates:

“[Perhaps] there should be only two categories of mysteries: those with cats and those without. This is a ‘with’, big time. Midnight Louie [is] one of my favorite hep cats. Douglas has always written strong women characters and has always been before her time... Several thumbs up.”

— Mystery News

“AMONG THE MANY APPEALING FELINES ON THE MYSTERY SCENE, MIDNIGHT LOUIE STANDS OUT AS THE COOLEST CAT OF ALL. You don’t have to be a cat lover to appreciate his savoir faire as he strolls the streets of Las Vegas, not to mention his sleek looks and keen intelligence. No doubt about it, CND has hit the jackpot again with her nifty new sleuth and his intrepid investigations.”

—Melinda Heifer, RT BookReviews

ATTENTION!ALL YOU AILUROPHILES ADDICTED TO LILIAN JACKSON BRAUN’SThe Cat who ... mysteries can latch onto a new purrivate eye: Midnight Louie... slinking an sleuthing on his own á la Mike Hammer.”

— Fort Worth Star-Telegram

“Carole Nelson Douglas takes anthropomorphism to elegant heights as Midnight Louie, a tom who’s a private dick, harries Las Vegas malefactors.”

— Publishers Weekly

“ THE READER WILL ABSOLUTELY LOVE MIDNIGHT LOUIEand his feline friends in this hilarious satire of the American publishing industry at work.”

— Andrew M. Greeley

And Praise from Felines:

“MIDNIGHT LOUIE IS ONE HEAVY DUDE. Gourmand, ladies’ man and world-class dog-baiter, this feline detective attacks crime tooth and nail. But if he lays a paw on my lasagna, he’ll tangle with a real heavyweight.”

— Garfield, as told to Jim Davis

“A felony against felines has been purrpetrated! As corporate mascots, catnapping is something we enjoy, but not when we are the catnapees! The fur flies as this furmidable feline detective gets inside the book publishing scene to solve the mystery and save our tails. Midnight Louie is one cool cat!”

— Bakerand Taylor, mascots of Baker & Taylor Book Distributors

The adventures of Baker and Taylor—the cats—as depicted in Midnight Louie’s memoirs are purely fictional.

COPYRIGHT

Cat in an Alphabet Soup

First Kindle edition Copyright October 2013 Carole Nelson Douglas

Previously published and copyrighted as Catnap Copyright March 1992

Proofreader: Pat Martin

Images Copyright iStock.com

Cover and interior book design Copyright Carole Nelson Douglas

Author photo Copyright Sam Douglas

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.