March 1, 1999
Las Vegas feline detective Midnight Louie and his flamboyant keeper Temple Barr, a noted sleuth in her own right, draw a full hand of excitement in this 10th adventure. Homicide detective and closet chanteuse Carmen Molina finds a dead woman next to her car; the words "she left" spray-painted on the driver's car door seem to be the only clue. Meanwhile, Louie and his daughter, Louise, are enticed by an adorable purebred whose next-door Romeo is missing. Also, Temple's lover, magician Max Kinsella, is getting threatening messages over the Internet, while her friend Matt, a priest turned radio counselor, is seeking comfort and understanding in a group of ex-priests. In this midst of all this, Louie and Louise discover the mangled body of that Romeo cat. Then another (human) body turns up, with the message "she left" inscribed on her chest. When this new victim turns out to be the dead feline's human, Temple and Louie are reluctantly pulled into Molina's case. Were the victims abused women? Wives? Nuns? Although Douglas's (Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt, etc.) trademark dry humor and bon vivant tone keep the action bouncy, following the various strands of this loosely woven story may prove a challenge even to the most astute mystery reader. Author tour.