From Publishers WeeklyAs her 14th hip crime caper to feature Alpha cat Midnight Louie, with his cranky, Columboesque voice shows, Douglas just keeps getting better at juggling mystery, humor and romance. This one unfolds like one of those Russian nesting dolls there's always one more question to answer. With the Stripper Killer still at large in Las Vegas, Midnight Louie's "owner," Temple Barr, discovers that her magician boyfriend, the Mystifying Max Kinsella, is a suspect. Temple's would-be boyfriend, ex-priest Matt Devine, now a radio personality, has his own troubles. The obsessed Kitty the Cutter is stalking Matt, seeking to deflower him and destroy any potential rival who gets in her way. Meanwhile, the Synth, a dangerous cult, continues to punish those who would reveal ancient magic secrets. All have a stake in discovering who's killing whom, but none more than C.R. Molina, ace police sleuth, aka Carmen, jazz diva of the Blue Dahlia. Not only is Rafi Nadir, her ex-husband (and father to a daughter he doesn't know exists), a suspect, but she's convinced that Max, Temple and Matt are all implicated in other crimes. As usual, the author ties up the loose ends only partially, while a final murder sets the stage for the next installment. Those who don't care for the fur-flying antics of talking animals won't pick up this book in the first place. Established fans will welcome another intriguing piece of the puzzle. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalWhile freelance public relations woman Temple Barr (Cat in a Jeweled Jumpsuit) investigates a band of renegade magicians in Las Vegas, her cat Louie and his friends do some sleuthing of their own. A detective friend of Temple, meanwhile, looks for the murderer of a stripper. For all those fans. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Zombies and Witches and Vamps . . . Oh, My! What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas — at least that's Delilah Street's hope. With Sin City's vampire and werewolf mobs wanting to cash in her chips once and for all, she's retreating with her partner Ric Montoya and half-wolfhound Quicksilver to her Kansas birthplace. Unfortunately, when it comes to finding trouble, there's no place like home. . . . It doesn't take long before Delilah realizes she's not in Vegas anymore. Zombie cowboys and spectral cattle drives are kicking up dust, the local weather girls are total witches who forecast perfect storms, and some Hollywood fanatic is recasting zombies as the greatest stars of the silver screen. And speaking of silver, Delilah's special affinity for the all-purpose monster-repellent leads her posse straight down a silver brick road — and into a not-so-fun house of mirrors — putting her face-to-face with her dicey past and a mystery woman named Lilith, who's a real dead ringer for Delilah. The key word being dead .

Midnight Louie, that loveable and feisty feline sleuth returns once again to delight his legions of fans. This time, not only does Louie have to bail out his favorite investigative partner, public relations woman Temple Barr, but he has to save a fellow feline from a charge of Murder One. All of Louie's and Temple's allies and enemies converge on the case when a big-game hunter is found dead with only a leopard for company. And the fun really begins when the unofficial investigators learn that the leopard is Osiris, a performing Big Cat who was kidnapped from his magician owner only days before the murder. Add to the mix a woman who's been surgically altered to resemble a Big Cat, a group of Las Vegas high-rollers who've been paying big bucks to illegally hunt big game at the victim's ranch, and a cadre of ardent animal rights protesters secretly staking out the premises, determined to stop the illegal killing at any price, even their own lives. . . .

Midnight Louie, alley-cat extraordinaire and Las Vegas's hairiest, hard-boiled PI, finds himself literally walking a tightrope when a fabulous museum opening at one of Sin City's swankiest casinos is marred by a little thing like death. Louie's loyal roommate, feisty PR freelancer Temple Barr, has snagged the commission of her career: repping the opening exhibition of the Russian Czars' priceless treasures at the New Millennium Hotel, the apex of which is the Czar Alexander Scepter, a priceless jewel-encrusted artifact. Trouble is, the hotel has booked an aerial magic act right above the exhibition. Temple works at a breakneck pace to coordinate this logistical nightmare. Tragedy ensues when a performer dies right above where the collection will be displayed and the police threaten to shut everything down. But the word "no" isn't one heard often in Las Vegas when money is involved and the show (or shows) must go on. Just as things seem to be working...

Temple Barr is a sharp and sassy public relations ace in Las Vegas whose life is finally taking a turn for the better. Hard-nosed homicide lieutenant Carmen Molina is too busy chasing after her own ex-lover, rogue L.A. cop Rafi Nadir, to pursue Temple's boyfriend, sexy magician Max Kinsella, and nobody Temple knows has been murdered... at least, not in the past few weeks.Temple takes this downtime as a signal she should buy a new pair of Jimmy Choo spike heels, and accept the job of planning a glitzy week of opening events for a trendy new furniture showroom. Dealing with temperamental décor mavens is no problem for a woman who's saved leopards from big game hunters, tracked killers through strip clubs, calmed the cantankerous owners of Las Vegas's most glamorous hotel, and seen the ghost of Elvis-until the life of feng shui expert and media-crowned domestic dominatrix Amelia Wong is threatened. Suddenly Temple is neck deep in trouble... and...