cover image Cat in a Sapphire Slipper: A Midnight Louie Mystery

Cat in a Sapphire Slipper: A Midnight Louie Mystery

Carole Nelson Douglas, . . Forge, $24.95 (396pp) ISBN 978-0-7653-1861-9

The fur-flying 20th entry in Douglas's cat whodunit series (Cat in a Red Hot Rage , etc.) reveals that magician Mystifying Max Kinsella, Temple Barr's former sweetie, has been secretly whisked away to a European hospital, where he suffers from amnesia and is attracted to his sexy doctor. Meanwhile, Temple, who believes Max is dead, has become engaged to Matt Devine, former priest turned radio self-help guru, Mr. Midnight. Temple is also helping her romance novelist aunt, Kit Carlson, prepare to wed, but when a bachelor party prank goes awry, Matt and various members of the groom's family wind up at the Sapphire Slipper, “the finest and classiest little licensed brothel” in Nye County, Nev., where Matt stumbles on a murdered prostitute. Midnight Louie, feline sleuth, offers his considerable expertise in solving crimes of passion. Douglas explores the campy, lighter side of “chicken ranches” at the same time she exposes their seamier aspects. (Sept.)