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Midnight Louie #25
Cat in an Alien X-Ray
Carole Nelson Douglas's Cat in an Alien X-Ray takes the Las Vegas gang on a science-fictional roller-coaster ride, as Midnight Louie, feline PI, and company encounter UFO enthusiasts, conspiracy nuts who are too bizarre even for tin foil hat therapy. An Area 51 attraction on the Strip threatens to bring more than starry-eyed enthusiasts to town. Once again it is up to that furballed PI Midnight Louie to keep his crew in line and save them from the attack of the creatures from the beyond…or common criminals that prey on the innocent.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published August 6, 2013
13 people are currently reading
308 people want to read
About the author
Carole Nelson Douglas
163 books568 followersCarole Nelson Douglas is the author of sixty-four award-winning novels in contemporary and historical mystery/suspense and romance, high and urban fantasy and science fiction genres. She is best known for two popular mystery series, the Irene Adler Sherlockian historical suspense series (she was the first woman to spin-off a series from the Holmes stories) and the multi-award-winning alphabetically titled Midnight Louie contemporary mystery series. From Cat in an Alphabet Soup #1 to Cat in an Alphabet Endgame #28.
Delilah Street, PI (Paranormal Investigator), headlines Carole's noir Urban Fantasy series: Dancing With Werewolves, Brimstone Kiss, Vampire Sunrise, Silver Zombie, and Virtual Virgin. Now Delilah has moved from her paranormal Vegas to Midnight Louie, feline PI's "Slightly surreal" Vegas to solve crimes in the first book of the new Cafe Noir series, Absinthe Without Leave. Next in 2020, Brandi Alexander on the Rocks.
Once Upon a Midnight Noir is out in eBook and trade paperback versions. This author-designed and illustrated collection of three mystery stories with a paranormal twist and a touch of romance features two award-winning stories featuring Midnight Louie, feline PI and Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator in a supernatural-run Las Vegas. A third story completes the last unfinished story fragment of Edgar Allan Poe, as a Midnight Louie Past Life adventure set in 1790 Norland on a isolated island lighthouse. Louie is a soldier of fortune, a la Puss in Boots.
Next out are Midnight Louie's Cat in an Alphabet Endgame in hardcover, trade paperback and eBook Aug. 23, 2016.
All the Irene Adler novels, the first to feature a woman from the Sherlock Holmes Canon as a crime solver, are now available in eBook.
Carole was a college theater and English literature major. She was accepted for grad school in Theater at the University of Minnesota and Northwestern University, and could have worked as an editorial assistant at Vogue magazine (a la The Devil Wears Prada) but wanted a job closer to home. She worked as a newspaper reporter and then editor in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. During her time there, she discovered a long, expensive classified advertisement offering a black cat named Midnight Louey to the "right" home for one dollar and wrote a feature story on the plucky survival artist, putting it into the cat's point of view. The cat found a country home, but its name was revived for her feline PI mystery series many years later. Some of the Midnight Louie series entries include the dedication "For the real and original Midnight Louie. Nine lives were not enough." Midnight Louie has now had 32 novelistic lives and features in several short stories as well.
Hollywood and Broadway director, playwright, screenwriter and novelist Garson Kanin took Carole's first novel to his publisher on the basis of an interview/article she'd done with him five years earlier. "My friend Phil Silvers," he wrote, "would say he'd never won an interview yet, but he had never had the luck of you."
Carole is a "literary chameleon" who's had novels published in many genres, and often mixes such genre elements as mystery and suspense, fantasy and science fiction, romance with mainstream issues, especially the roles of women.
Delilah Street, PI (Paranormal Investigator), headlines Carole's noir Urban Fantasy series: Dancing With Werewolves, Brimstone Kiss, Vampire Sunrise, Silver Zombie, and Virtual Virgin. Now Delilah has moved from her paranormal Vegas to Midnight Louie, feline PI's "Slightly surreal" Vegas to solve crimes in the first book of the new Cafe Noir series, Absinthe Without Leave. Next in 2020, Brandi Alexander on the Rocks.
Once Upon a Midnight Noir is out in eBook and trade paperback versions. This author-designed and illustrated collection of three mystery stories with a paranormal twist and a touch of romance features two award-winning stories featuring Midnight Louie, feline PI and Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator in a supernatural-run Las Vegas. A third story completes the last unfinished story fragment of Edgar Allan Poe, as a Midnight Louie Past Life adventure set in 1790 Norland on a isolated island lighthouse. Louie is a soldier of fortune, a la Puss in Boots.
Next out are Midnight Louie's Cat in an Alphabet Endgame in hardcover, trade paperback and eBook Aug. 23, 2016.
All the Irene Adler novels, the first to feature a woman from the Sherlock Holmes Canon as a crime solver, are now available in eBook.
Carole was a college theater and English literature major. She was accepted for grad school in Theater at the University of Minnesota and Northwestern University, and could have worked as an editorial assistant at Vogue magazine (a la The Devil Wears Prada) but wanted a job closer to home. She worked as a newspaper reporter and then editor in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. During her time there, she discovered a long, expensive classified advertisement offering a black cat named Midnight Louey to the "right" home for one dollar and wrote a feature story on the plucky survival artist, putting it into the cat's point of view. The cat found a country home, but its name was revived for her feline PI mystery series many years later. Some of the Midnight Louie series entries include the dedication "For the real and original Midnight Louie. Nine lives were not enough." Midnight Louie has now had 32 novelistic lives and features in several short stories as well.
Hollywood and Broadway director, playwright, screenwriter and novelist Garson Kanin took Carole's first novel to his publisher on the basis of an interview/article she'd done with him five years earlier. "My friend Phil Silvers," he wrote, "would say he'd never won an interview yet, but he had never had the luck of you."
Carole is a "literary chameleon" who's had novels published in many genres, and often mixes such genre elements as mystery and suspense, fantasy and science fiction, romance with mainstream issues, especially the roles of women.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
August 12, 2013
Visiting with Midnight Louie, Temple Barr and all their colleagues is always—ALWAYS—a treat and Cat in an Alien X-Ray is certainly no exception. After so many books (this is #25!), this series has cemented itself in my affections and has become, over the years, one of my favorite comfort reads. I don’t expect that to be true with all mystery readers; after all, some can’t handle cats who think and act in a human-like manner even if they don’t speak to us. Still, a hardboiled detective who harks back to the likes of Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe is nothing but fun when said detective is a feline, especially when he tells his side of the story. In Louie’s own words—
>>>>>
Being short, dark, and handsome…really short…gets me overlooked and underestimated, which is what the savvy operative wants anyway. I am your perfect undercover guy. I also like to hunker down under the covers with my little doll. So would some other guys, but they do not have my lush hirsute advantages.
>>>>>
Public relations expert Temple Barr has met some crazy people in her time in Las Vegas but, in a city full of aggressive and flashy dream peddlers, Silas T. Farnum stands out in a crowd. That tip of the nomenclative hat to P. T. Barnum tells you a lot about who this little gnome of a man might be but Temple finds that he’s also sort of irresistible so she signs on to promote his UFO attraction. Unfortunately, the building site soon becomes a crime scene and the very subject of UFOs brings out the, er, nutjobs. Meanwhile, Temple is also doing a juggling act with her former and current love interests and a serial killer with intent to do harm to them all may be back in town.
Midnight Louie, of course, is on the case from day one, even before Temple agrees to rep Farnum’s project, and his long experience with snooping and sniffing out the facts stands him in good stead. The Strip and the off-Strip are Louie’s territory and no one knows the city like he does but his efforts at getting answers are hampered somewhat by the continual intrusions of his so-called off-spring (plausible deniability!), Midnight Louise. Louise, who wants to follow in Pops’ footsteps, is on her own case but the two are intertwined so Louie reluctantly engages Louise and the two set out to solve the crime(s) with a little help from some temporary agents (the Cat Pack) and a few feathered friends.
One thing I especially like about this series is that time moves glacially. As a result, only two years plus have gone by since we first met Temple and Louie and, although that means they’re finding bodies and other criminal goings-on seemingly every month or so (shades of Cabot Cove!), that is perfectly okay with me. Sometimes, I want my sleuths to age along with me but there are also times when I’ll give up that nod to reality because it means I can hang on to my beloved characters as long as the author can keep writing their stories. I look forward to sharing many more adventures with this Las Vegas crew, furry and otherwise.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, August 2013.
>>>>>
Being short, dark, and handsome…really short…gets me overlooked and underestimated, which is what the savvy operative wants anyway. I am your perfect undercover guy. I also like to hunker down under the covers with my little doll. So would some other guys, but they do not have my lush hirsute advantages.
>>>>>
Public relations expert Temple Barr has met some crazy people in her time in Las Vegas but, in a city full of aggressive and flashy dream peddlers, Silas T. Farnum stands out in a crowd. That tip of the nomenclative hat to P. T. Barnum tells you a lot about who this little gnome of a man might be but Temple finds that he’s also sort of irresistible so she signs on to promote his UFO attraction. Unfortunately, the building site soon becomes a crime scene and the very subject of UFOs brings out the, er, nutjobs. Meanwhile, Temple is also doing a juggling act with her former and current love interests and a serial killer with intent to do harm to them all may be back in town.
Midnight Louie, of course, is on the case from day one, even before Temple agrees to rep Farnum’s project, and his long experience with snooping and sniffing out the facts stands him in good stead. The Strip and the off-Strip are Louie’s territory and no one knows the city like he does but his efforts at getting answers are hampered somewhat by the continual intrusions of his so-called off-spring (plausible deniability!), Midnight Louise. Louise, who wants to follow in Pops’ footsteps, is on her own case but the two are intertwined so Louie reluctantly engages Louise and the two set out to solve the crime(s) with a little help from some temporary agents (the Cat Pack) and a few feathered friends.
One thing I especially like about this series is that time moves glacially. As a result, only two years plus have gone by since we first met Temple and Louie and, although that means they’re finding bodies and other criminal goings-on seemingly every month or so (shades of Cabot Cove!), that is perfectly okay with me. Sometimes, I want my sleuths to age along with me but there are also times when I’ll give up that nod to reality because it means I can hang on to my beloved characters as long as the author can keep writing their stories. I look forward to sharing many more adventures with this Las Vegas crew, furry and otherwise.
Reviewed by Lelia Taylor, August 2013.
April 9, 2016
Originally posted on the blog: What the Cat Read
Let me first start off by saying that the one thing I have always loved about this series is that it takes place in modern-day Las Vegas (even though the timeline of events have only spanned roughly two years since those in the first book). So as hotels come and go, technology changes, and the thrill and excitement of Vegas grows and wanes, Douglas does a wonderful job of blending today’s Vegas landmarks with her fictional ones. Her off the cuff pop culture references, both in the story and the chapter names, are also fun to see scattered amongst the pages. My personal favorite this time around was her heading for chapter 33, Synth You’ve Been Gone. Yeah it resulted in my having the original song stuck in my head the rest of the evening, but it was worth it and it made me chuckle the first time I saw it. Heehee
Now for those readers who are new to this series, and for those who started reading but decided to wait until the series comes to a close (I know of some folks who fit into this category), I wouldn’t recommend making this your first foray into the series. If you want to do the books justice, start with the first book, Catnap, and work your way up the chain of events. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did! That being said, Douglas does a great job of providing just the right amount of backstory to remind long time readers of what has gone on in the previous novels. I actually greatly appreciated this because while I recently reread the series, there were connections that I forgot or completely didn’t catch originally on the recent read through.
Douglas’s characters still continue to delight me just as much now as they always have, though it’s no secret that Midnight Louie is my favorite out of all them, with Midnight Louise and Ma Barker and her clowder coming in closely behind him. I only wish there were more chapters devoted to him and his ilk. All hail to the real solver of all of Las Vegas’s crimes, Midnight Louie! May I offer purrs and tail waves in your honor. He’s one feline I wouldn’t mind curling up next to on a cool Vegas evening. ~purrs~
And of course it would be remiss of me not to give some attention to Douglas’s human characters, so permit me to say that my appreciation of Temple has pretty much held steady throughout the series. I don’t think there is really anything that she could do that would ever make me not like her. The same with Detective Molina, though it has been nice to watch her lighten up as the series has progressed. The lunch scene between her and Temple, and the initial phone call that preceded it, made me smirk several times because as much as they both don’t want to admit it, Molina and Temple really would make great girlfriends. The ladies aside, Matt was sadly a bit hit and miss with me this time around, mostly because I didn’t like that he wasn’t upfront with Temple about what he was really doing after his show ended for the night. Yes, I get that he didn’t tell her because he didn’t want her to worry, etc., but it still didn’t mean I liked it. There was something else that kept bugging me about him as I was, but I’m finding it hard to pin point exactly what it was. It’s odd though because when he first appeared in the series I thought he was perfect and instantly loved him, but the more I’ve seen of him and learned, the more on the fence I’ve become towards him. In contrast my views on Max have continued to grow with the recent books to the point where I can comfortably say that I quite like him now. I guess it took him losing his memory for me to really start to appreciate his character.
As for secondary characters: Silas T. Farnum…okay, if you don’t think of P.T. Barnum upon being introduced to this guy, there’s something wrong with you. The minute he showed up in the book all I could think of was “There is a sucker born every minute.” I shared Temple’s frustration where he was concerned and actually cringed every time he showed up in the book. The man is just beyond exasperating to say the least. And as for Kathleen O’Connor, aka Kitty the Cutter, well I’m sure she’d hate me for saying this, but I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her the entire book. This may sound strange, but I kind of want her to redeem herself before the series ends. Yeah she’s killed folks, yes there’s no question that she should be punished for the crimes she committed, but as screwed up as this character is, I’m hoping that Douglas will allow her one moment of happiness before she takes her final curtain call.
Since this is the 25th book in the series, you might think that at this point the storyline would be getting stale and the books less captivating, but I tell you this is not the case. Douglas’s Midnight Louie series is still going strong! Right from the start I found I couldn’t put the book down…there was just too much going on that as soon as I finished one chapter, something would happen that made me want to read the next one and the next and the next. Yes, this is definitely a page turner novel. Don’t believe me? Get a copy of the book and find out for yourself, you won’t be disappointed.
So as I bring this review to a close, let me simply say that I greatly enjoyed returning to the world that Douglas has created with these books and I’m greatly looking forward to the next installment of the series. Though at the same time it’s been rather bittersweet as well because since I first heard that Douglas was going to be taking each title of her series and basing it on a letter in the alphabet, I knew eventually there would come a time when the alphabet would end and thus the series with it. And with this being book number 25 and representing the letter X in the alphabet, I do have to wonder just how many more books remain in the series. But as long as there are Midnight Louie novels being written, I can say with certainty this feline will be reading them. =^.^=
Let me first start off by saying that the one thing I have always loved about this series is that it takes place in modern-day Las Vegas (even though the timeline of events have only spanned roughly two years since those in the first book). So as hotels come and go, technology changes, and the thrill and excitement of Vegas grows and wanes, Douglas does a wonderful job of blending today’s Vegas landmarks with her fictional ones. Her off the cuff pop culture references, both in the story and the chapter names, are also fun to see scattered amongst the pages. My personal favorite this time around was her heading for chapter 33, Synth You’ve Been Gone. Yeah it resulted in my having the original song stuck in my head the rest of the evening, but it was worth it and it made me chuckle the first time I saw it. Heehee
Now for those readers who are new to this series, and for those who started reading but decided to wait until the series comes to a close (I know of some folks who fit into this category), I wouldn’t recommend making this your first foray into the series. If you want to do the books justice, start with the first book, Catnap, and work your way up the chain of events. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did! That being said, Douglas does a great job of providing just the right amount of backstory to remind long time readers of what has gone on in the previous novels. I actually greatly appreciated this because while I recently reread the series, there were connections that I forgot or completely didn’t catch originally on the recent read through.
Douglas’s characters still continue to delight me just as much now as they always have, though it’s no secret that Midnight Louie is my favorite out of all them, with Midnight Louise and Ma Barker and her clowder coming in closely behind him. I only wish there were more chapters devoted to him and his ilk. All hail to the real solver of all of Las Vegas’s crimes, Midnight Louie! May I offer purrs and tail waves in your honor. He’s one feline I wouldn’t mind curling up next to on a cool Vegas evening. ~purrs~
And of course it would be remiss of me not to give some attention to Douglas’s human characters, so permit me to say that my appreciation of Temple has pretty much held steady throughout the series. I don’t think there is really anything that she could do that would ever make me not like her. The same with Detective Molina, though it has been nice to watch her lighten up as the series has progressed. The lunch scene between her and Temple, and the initial phone call that preceded it, made me smirk several times because as much as they both don’t want to admit it, Molina and Temple really would make great girlfriends. The ladies aside, Matt was sadly a bit hit and miss with me this time around, mostly because I didn’t like that he wasn’t upfront with Temple about what he was really doing after his show ended for the night. Yes, I get that he didn’t tell her because he didn’t want her to worry, etc., but it still didn’t mean I liked it. There was something else that kept bugging me about him as I was, but I’m finding it hard to pin point exactly what it was. It’s odd though because when he first appeared in the series I thought he was perfect and instantly loved him, but the more I’ve seen of him and learned, the more on the fence I’ve become towards him. In contrast my views on Max have continued to grow with the recent books to the point where I can comfortably say that I quite like him now. I guess it took him losing his memory for me to really start to appreciate his character.
As for secondary characters: Silas T. Farnum…okay, if you don’t think of P.T. Barnum upon being introduced to this guy, there’s something wrong with you. The minute he showed up in the book all I could think of was “There is a sucker born every minute.” I shared Temple’s frustration where he was concerned and actually cringed every time he showed up in the book. The man is just beyond exasperating to say the least. And as for Kathleen O’Connor, aka Kitty the Cutter, well I’m sure she’d hate me for saying this, but I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her the entire book. This may sound strange, but I kind of want her to redeem herself before the series ends. Yeah she’s killed folks, yes there’s no question that she should be punished for the crimes she committed, but as screwed up as this character is, I’m hoping that Douglas will allow her one moment of happiness before she takes her final curtain call.
Since this is the 25th book in the series, you might think that at this point the storyline would be getting stale and the books less captivating, but I tell you this is not the case. Douglas’s Midnight Louie series is still going strong! Right from the start I found I couldn’t put the book down…there was just too much going on that as soon as I finished one chapter, something would happen that made me want to read the next one and the next and the next. Yes, this is definitely a page turner novel. Don’t believe me? Get a copy of the book and find out for yourself, you won’t be disappointed.
So as I bring this review to a close, let me simply say that I greatly enjoyed returning to the world that Douglas has created with these books and I’m greatly looking forward to the next installment of the series. Though at the same time it’s been rather bittersweet as well because since I first heard that Douglas was going to be taking each title of her series and basing it on a letter in the alphabet, I knew eventually there would come a time when the alphabet would end and thus the series with it. And with this being book number 25 and representing the letter X in the alphabet, I do have to wonder just how many more books remain in the series. But as long as there are Midnight Louie novels being written, I can say with certainty this feline will be reading them. =^.^=
October 30, 2020
A fun read
October 23, 2013
The latest in this long running series, Midnight Louie is still on the prowl, protecting his person, Temple Barr as she gets pulled into murder off the strip. Her fiancé, Matt Devine, former Catholic priest and former lover, Max Kinsella are still being stalked and manipulated by Kathleen O'Conner better know as Kitty the Cutter for her talent of using a straight razor on people. Just when we think Kitty the Cutter is taken care she manages to elude and continue to wreak havoc in the lives of Temple, Matt, and Max. It is easier to understand this story if you are familiar with the history of the many character. As a long time fan of the suave and savvy black tomcat, Midnight Louie I always look forward to the next installment. Will this series have a happy ending? I think many would like to see this when it comes to an end if it does, but our author likes to keep us guessing. How many times have we thought Kitty the Cutter was out of the picture? A great series, a great read!
November 3, 2013
Why am I still reading this series? This one did not annoy me as much as the last so I guess it was better. I'm pleased to see signs that we are finely reaching the end and some answers to what is happening. I've always loved Louie and he had a little more to say here. Molina and Max are fun together. Is just me or is there some sexual tension growing there. On the down side nothing much really happens. Certainly nothing is resolved. Only two more books if the alphabet is a guide. I'll probably finish the series now that I've come this far.
March 7, 2014
Another great Midnight Louie book! I now have a big, fat black cat but he doesn't quite compare with Midnight Louie but I do enjoy reading Carole Nelson Douglas's books.
February 28, 2018
How can anyone resist a "short, dark, and handsome PI that happens to be a cat named Midnight Louie. He seems to be there just when Temple, Matt or Max needs help or has one of his friends watching them. In this book, Max has lost a lot of his memories and has brief flashes of things that had happened. Max remembers that he did love Kitty the cutter at one time.
Kitty has been forcing Matt to visit her late at night. Louie follows Matt and learns that Matt was not responsible for a girl's death - it was truly an accident. Midnight along with other cats manages to save the group from Kitty. To find out how and where, you must read the book.
Kitty has been forcing Matt to visit her late at night. Louie follows Matt and learns that Matt was not responsible for a girl's death - it was truly an accident. Midnight along with other cats manages to save the group from Kitty. To find out how and where, you must read the book.
April 27, 2020
Another winner in the Cat-a-log
Ms. Douglas hasn’t lost her touch and neither has Midnight Louie. I enjoyed this story, as did our recently passed tuxedo cat Blackjack at 42 days short of his 20th birthday. I have a photo of him at 10 weeks following along as I read one of the earlier Midnight Louie novels and he never missed a chance to get involved in what my wife and I were doing. He knew good literature when he read it.
Ms. Douglas hasn’t lost her touch and neither has Midnight Louie. I enjoyed this story, as did our recently passed tuxedo cat Blackjack at 42 days short of his 20th birthday. I have a photo of him at 10 weeks following along as I read one of the earlier Midnight Louie novels and he never missed a chance to get involved in what my wife and I were doing. He knew good literature when he read it.
March 28, 2019
I can't believe that anyone would actually spend money to buy this book and not be disppointed at how little happens or gets resolved in these 300+ pages. Better idea is probably to just read the last book in the series since it's the author's habit to rehash everything that happened before at the beginning and then again over the course of the story.
I won't bother; I'm done with this series.
I won't bother; I'm done with this series.
May 9, 2017
While I was reading this Midnight Louie's 25th adventure, I was enjoying the book's human and feline characters. Las Vegas was a fun location and I did not feel lost and confused, since I had not read any other books in the series. However, I disliked the ending--a partially solved mystery.
May 25, 2020
Still love this series. So much of it is recap but the plots did move forward. Can’t wait to read the next one. Love the cat and human point of views and the audio book actors really help visualize scenes. The alphabet book titles make it so easy to tell where you are in the stories.
December 6, 2024
I didn’t super LOVE❤️ this, but it wasn’t terrible either. A lot of subtleties were lost on me as this is the twenty-fifth book in a series that I’m new to. Also, the major murder got solved in a single sentence as an almost afterthought.
NATO phonetic alphabet reading challenge -X:x-ray
BWOL-L
NATO phonetic alphabet reading challenge -X:x-ray
BWOL-L
July 10, 2017
Great feline adventure. It reminds me of the older Koko and Yum Yum adventures.
June 1, 2018
I'm not sure what it was but I didn't like this book as much as the others in the series. I have have just finished the next book and it is really good. So def worth continuing reading the series.
August 23, 2018
Some things start falling in place (in the series.) Douglas is always good.
May 21, 2019
I Love this series. I just couldn't help loving Midnight Louis helping his "little doll Miss Temple Barr" solve mysteries.
July 3, 2019
I am sad that I am so close to the end of the series. I love these books!
September 10, 2019
Fiction is no obstacle to reality
Can't get enough of the storyline. And I love cats, the many I've had who are now gone and the three I harbor still.
Can't get enough of the storyline. And I love cats, the many I've had who are now gone and the three I harbor still.
August 13, 2020
Yet another step.closer to figuring out how all of the sub plots tie in to one another
April 20, 2021
I always love hearing Louie describe his mystery-solving efforts. Great series and fun to read.
November 29, 2013
CAT IN AN ALIEN X-RAY
By Carole Nelson Douglas
Midnight Louie is Back! In this, his 25th adventure in the current series (there was a prequel series 4 books in length), many of your favorites are front and center: Midnight Louie (of course), Temple, Matt and Max, Lt. Molina, Aunt Kit, the Fontana crew, Midnight Louise, Karma and Ma Barker’s feral cat clowder.
In this adventure, Temple is approached to do PR work for an new Vegas hotel and club that is as fancy an illusion as anything the Mystifying Max could think up : a building that is not visible, a UFO that is not so unidentified, and a developer who is more ringmaster than businessman. When two very visible and very dead bodies show up on the property, PR for the new business goes south in a hurry.
Add to this the recent surfacing of the thought-to-be-dead Kathleen O’Connor and her manipulations, and Temple, Matt and Max have to put their heads together to figure out how to delve deeper into the mystery related to the Synth while managing to stay alive. Of course, Midnight Louie and his accomplices are there to whisker out the truth and to lend a paw when the going gets rough.
I’ll admit that I’m firmly in the Team Kinsella camp. Not saying that I don’t like the character Matt Devine – I do. I just don’t like his relationship with Temple. Every novel since Max’s abrupt disappearance and near-death experience, I keep hoping for Matt’s exit and Max’s re-entry in Temple’s life. Will it happen or not? Only Carole Nelson Douglas knows for sure. All I know is that if it doesn’t, it will put a very big damper on my feelings for the romantic part of the series, although my delight in all things Midnight Louie will survive.
As for my usual likes/dislikes: grammar, punctuation, word usage, spelling – proof reading and editing in general – these passed muster. I saw only two errors (and that broke my heart as I don’t remember finding errors in former books).
The first is a who’s on first problem. On page 29 of the novel (yeah, right off the bat) Karen Barr, Temple’s mother, is speaking. The POV in this section is first-person Temple, but, when Temple tells her mother she is engaged, this is Karen’s response:
“So it’s not that magician?” I suggested cautiously.
I re-read the pages before and after several times and the “I” should have been a “She.” Maybe it could have just been left out. I don’t think there were other dialogue modifiers for her in the multi-page conversation.
The only other mistake I saw, and again re-read several times to be sure I wasn’t missing something, occurs near the end of the novel, on page 290. Here, it’s a simple omitted word.
“The Black Spot was note delivered to pirates, warning they were marked for death,
not geographical markings.” Matt said.
I’m assuming it should have read …Spot was a note delivered to pirates,…
Otherwise, the plotting was okay, although there seemed to be more of a disconnect between the secondary story of Temple’s sort of PR job and the action that endangers the main characters than I have seen in other entries in the series. With the exception of Kathleen O’Connor’s possible connection to one of the bodies found at the invisible/alien visitation hotel/casino site, there didn’t seem to be much of a thread tying that storyline to the goings on which involved Matt, Max and Temple, and by association, Midnight Louie.
However, the most interesting part of the novel, to me, was the regaining of bits and pieces of Max Kinsella’s memory. Certainly, his memories of Temple are more than he is willing to admit. Also of interest is his suspicion of the current woman in his life, Revienne Schneider. With only two more novels prior to the predicted series end, these two things may play a big part in tying up all the extremely raveled threads of the continuing storyline.
So, not my favorite book in the series, but it does move the overall picture along (even if it doesn’t always seem to be moving in the direction I’d like to see it go). At this point in the series, that is a huge point in its favor. So, I’m giving it 4 stars. ½ star off for what seemed a plotting problem to me, and ½ a star off because I’m ready to see Max more as he used to be. I also missed some of the regulars in this episode. No Raffi, no Mariah, no Circle Ritz colorful landlady, too little Fontana action. Lord help me, too little C.R. Molina.
Easy, fun, light summer reading.
Looking forward to the Y (assuming it might be Yellow?) episode and seeing how things begin to resolve themselves.
By Carole Nelson Douglas
Midnight Louie is Back! In this, his 25th adventure in the current series (there was a prequel series 4 books in length), many of your favorites are front and center: Midnight Louie (of course), Temple, Matt and Max, Lt. Molina, Aunt Kit, the Fontana crew, Midnight Louise, Karma and Ma Barker’s feral cat clowder.
In this adventure, Temple is approached to do PR work for an new Vegas hotel and club that is as fancy an illusion as anything the Mystifying Max could think up : a building that is not visible, a UFO that is not so unidentified, and a developer who is more ringmaster than businessman. When two very visible and very dead bodies show up on the property, PR for the new business goes south in a hurry.
Add to this the recent surfacing of the thought-to-be-dead Kathleen O’Connor and her manipulations, and Temple, Matt and Max have to put their heads together to figure out how to delve deeper into the mystery related to the Synth while managing to stay alive. Of course, Midnight Louie and his accomplices are there to whisker out the truth and to lend a paw when the going gets rough.
I’ll admit that I’m firmly in the Team Kinsella camp. Not saying that I don’t like the character Matt Devine – I do. I just don’t like his relationship with Temple. Every novel since Max’s abrupt disappearance and near-death experience, I keep hoping for Matt’s exit and Max’s re-entry in Temple’s life. Will it happen or not? Only Carole Nelson Douglas knows for sure. All I know is that if it doesn’t, it will put a very big damper on my feelings for the romantic part of the series, although my delight in all things Midnight Louie will survive.
As for my usual likes/dislikes: grammar, punctuation, word usage, spelling – proof reading and editing in general – these passed muster. I saw only two errors (and that broke my heart as I don’t remember finding errors in former books).
The first is a who’s on first problem. On page 29 of the novel (yeah, right off the bat) Karen Barr, Temple’s mother, is speaking. The POV in this section is first-person Temple, but, when Temple tells her mother she is engaged, this is Karen’s response:
“So it’s not that magician?” I suggested cautiously.
I re-read the pages before and after several times and the “I” should have been a “She.” Maybe it could have just been left out. I don’t think there were other dialogue modifiers for her in the multi-page conversation.
The only other mistake I saw, and again re-read several times to be sure I wasn’t missing something, occurs near the end of the novel, on page 290. Here, it’s a simple omitted word.
“The Black Spot was note delivered to pirates, warning they were marked for death,
not geographical markings.” Matt said.
I’m assuming it should have read …Spot was a note delivered to pirates,…
Otherwise, the plotting was okay, although there seemed to be more of a disconnect between the secondary story of Temple’s sort of PR job and the action that endangers the main characters than I have seen in other entries in the series. With the exception of Kathleen O’Connor’s possible connection to one of the bodies found at the invisible/alien visitation hotel/casino site, there didn’t seem to be much of a thread tying that storyline to the goings on which involved Matt, Max and Temple, and by association, Midnight Louie.
However, the most interesting part of the novel, to me, was the regaining of bits and pieces of Max Kinsella’s memory. Certainly, his memories of Temple are more than he is willing to admit. Also of interest is his suspicion of the current woman in his life, Revienne Schneider. With only two more novels prior to the predicted series end, these two things may play a big part in tying up all the extremely raveled threads of the continuing storyline.
So, not my favorite book in the series, but it does move the overall picture along (even if it doesn’t always seem to be moving in the direction I’d like to see it go). At this point in the series, that is a huge point in its favor. So, I’m giving it 4 stars. ½ star off for what seemed a plotting problem to me, and ½ a star off because I’m ready to see Max more as he used to be. I also missed some of the regulars in this episode. No Raffi, no Mariah, no Circle Ritz colorful landlady, too little Fontana action. Lord help me, too little C.R. Molina.
Easy, fun, light summer reading.
Looking forward to the Y (assuming it might be Yellow?) episode and seeing how things begin to resolve themselves.
August 18, 2013
This is another entry in the sloooooow-moving Midnight Louie mystery series. The titles in this series involve the letters of the alphabet, and this book is "X". Las Vegas magician Max Kinsella is slowly getting his memory back after a horrific accident during his act; his former girlfriend, PR maven Temple Barr has FINALLY agreed to marry ex-priest and radio talk show host Matt Devine, and her black cat Midnight Louie is resigning himself to eventually sharing his roommate with her significant other. This love triangle has been going on forever, as is the storyline of IRA terrorist Kathleen O'Connor (aka, Kitty the Cutter) and her obsession with Kinsella. This series is moving at a snail's pace; nothing is getting resolved and it ends with another predictable escape. Even though I enjoy revisiting the cast of characters, and love the cat sleuths, this thing needs some closure, already!!!! Perhaps the author is planning to resolve everything with the "Z" book. That just means 2 more stalled volumes. I read it, but I wasn't satisfied.
June 2, 2017
As I draw closer to the end of Midnight Louie's "alphabet" books, I'm feeling a little melancholy. Not only are Louie's family of ferals and his assorted feline friends like extended family, so are the human characters.
In this book, PR whiz Temple Barr has agreed to meet a rather eccentric hotelier, Silas T. Farnum, who is promising her the proverbial opportunity of a lifetime. While Temple is deciding whether or not to take on the project, a dead body is found on Farnum's property ... and Farnum decides to pretend she's his PR person already. So there's that.
Then there's the ongoing rivalry (both real and imagined) between Max and Matt for Temple's attention ... despite Matt being engaged to her and Max's amnesia making it difficult for him to remember just what their involvement was.
So, once again Temple is up to her high-heeled shoes in intrigue, and it looks like only Louie and the rest of that Cat Pack are going to be able to sort out all of the muddled clues.
I am ridiculously fond of these cozies.
In this book, PR whiz Temple Barr has agreed to meet a rather eccentric hotelier, Silas T. Farnum, who is promising her the proverbial opportunity of a lifetime. While Temple is deciding whether or not to take on the project, a dead body is found on Farnum's property ... and Farnum decides to pretend she's his PR person already. So there's that.
Then there's the ongoing rivalry (both real and imagined) between Max and Matt for Temple's attention ... despite Matt being engaged to her and Max's amnesia making it difficult for him to remember just what their involvement was.
So, once again Temple is up to her high-heeled shoes in intrigue, and it looks like only Louie and the rest of that Cat Pack are going to be able to sort out all of the muddled clues.
I am ridiculously fond of these cozies.
November 8, 2013
Sadly, it looks like we are getting near the end of this delightful series with Cat in an Alien Xray! I always look forward to Carole Nelson Douglas's Midnight Louie series, and this one was no exception. It carries on the ongoing saga of my favorite Las Vegas gumshoe and his assorted companions as they seek to unravel the various crimes that have taken place during this alphabetical mystery. What will I do without Louie's in-depth narratives and insights into human nature and his solutions to the various murders surrounding the Mysterious Max, the dashing Matt Devine, and the always enchanting Temple Barr? Miss Douglas has a fresh, snappy method of writing that is entertaining and can be comedic at the same time. Of course, you have to read the series from the beginning in order to capture the complete nuance of the continuing storyline, but that's half the fun. Can't wait to see how this all unravels, but at the same time I don't want it to end.
August 20, 2014
Cat in an Alien X-Ray by Carole Nelson Douglas is the twenty-fifth novel in the Midnight Louie Mystery series. Louie is a twenty pound black cat owned by Temple Barr, a PR in Las Vegas. She is currently dating Matt Devine, a late night radio talk show host and ex-priest. Her former magician boyfriend, Max Kinsella, has recently returned with partial amnesia. There are a bunch of characters but the big mysteries are two dead bodies that show up at an UFO attraction.
I thought the beginning was really slow and seemed to serve as a catch up to what has gone before. I also had problems with the constant shifts in point of views. One chapter had Midnight Louie talking while the next three chapters followed Temple, Matt and Max in third person view. There was also a lot of dialogue and very little action. The best chapters were the ones with the cat. I can't really recommend this Cat in an Alien X-Ray unless you are already a fan of the series.
I thought the beginning was really slow and seemed to serve as a catch up to what has gone before. I also had problems with the constant shifts in point of views. One chapter had Midnight Louie talking while the next three chapters followed Temple, Matt and Max in third person view. There was also a lot of dialogue and very little action. The best chapters were the ones with the cat. I can't really recommend this Cat in an Alien X-Ray unless you are already a fan of the series.
October 10, 2013
‘Cat in an Alien X-Ray’ is one of the very few ‘Midnight Louie’ books I’ve read. Midnight Louie is a cat who also fancies himself a PI. When Temple Barr takes on a new client, Silas T. Farnum, who is planning on opening an Area 51-type attraction called “Area 54”, she’s not so sure he needs her type of P.R. Meanwhile, Kitty the Cutter has returned and has designs on Temple’s fiancé, Matt Devine. Ms. Douglas is able to get the reader up to speed on the previous events in a way which isn’t too overwhelming. The whole story kind of fell flat for me, though. My favorite parts were when we are learning about Midnight Louie’s travels and travails in his own words. He’s funny and charming, but of course…he’s a cat! I’m not sure I’ll pick up any more in this series, but avid fans are sure to enjoy.
February 4, 2014
The best installment in the saga of Midnight Louie and his human companions in quite some time -- the action was fast and intense, the characters all wonderfully in character, some serious forward movement for the over-arcing storyline, and another murder to chalk up on the "Murder Board."
But as the main story does take forward stage, the single book's mystery takes a back seat, so anyone who takes this one up as a light read is going to be hopelessly confused, despite Midnight Louie's colorful recap. Heck, I'm thinking I have to go back to M (Cat in a Midnight Choir) or N (Cat in a Neon Nightmare) and refresh myself (I will admit to having re-read Catnap through Cat in a Leopard Spot numerous times before).
Can't wait for the final two chapters. All that's left is Y and Z.
End game, indeed, Max.
But as the main story does take forward stage, the single book's mystery takes a back seat, so anyone who takes this one up as a light read is going to be hopelessly confused, despite Midnight Louie's colorful recap. Heck, I'm thinking I have to go back to M (Cat in a Midnight Choir) or N (Cat in a Neon Nightmare) and refresh myself (I will admit to having re-read Catnap through Cat in a Leopard Spot numerous times before).
Can't wait for the final two chapters. All that's left is Y and Z.
End game, indeed, Max.
December 2, 2015
Midnight Louie sort of grows on you. He is the hard boiled detective in cat mode. He is a fun interlude, a break from more meaty fare.
The problem with the series is that each book takes so much from those before it and sets up those coming next. This makes it hard to really relate to the story unless you have read all of them which I have not.
Douglas does try to help with a chapter trying to bring the reader up to date with the bigger narrative. it does help, just not enough.
This book is not as well written as the few others I have read. It never really says what happens to Silas T. Farnum. But it is imaginative and gives much more action to the feral cats and Midnight Louise.
The book is fun to read even if a bit disappointing.
The problem with the series is that each book takes so much from those before it and sets up those coming next. This makes it hard to really relate to the story unless you have read all of them which I have not.
Douglas does try to help with a chapter trying to bring the reader up to date with the bigger narrative. it does help, just not enough.
This book is not as well written as the few others I have read. It never really says what happens to Silas T. Farnum. But it is imaginative and gives much more action to the feral cats and Midnight Louise.
The book is fun to read even if a bit disappointing.
October 8, 2014
Temple Barr a PR lady has a big black cat called Midnight Louie and both of them tell the crime story from their own viewpoints, set in Las Vegas.
I never liked that Temple's alternate boyfriends were called Matt and Max, as it makes them very hard to keep distinct. She has had 25 adventures by now and has made little progress with her personal life but at the start of this book she is engaged to one of the men. The author also writes paranormal fantasies so it's easy to see why flying saucers are now spotted over Vegas...
I never liked that Temple's alternate boyfriends were called Matt and Max, as it makes them very hard to keep distinct. She has had 25 adventures by now and has made little progress with her personal life but at the start of this book she is engaged to one of the men. The author also writes paranormal fantasies so it's easy to see why flying saucers are now spotted over Vegas...
January 6, 2014
Not my cup of tea. I didn't find the parts from the cat's point of view entertaining, and, to be honest, it shouldn't even be hard to write entertaining cat parts. Then the protagonist proceeded to call home to her mom and discuss exciting things like boyfriends. It was as fascinating as watching a real life woman call her parents. By which I mean, only a person someone in the conversation could possibly care about it. At that point I gave up. It didn't help the average review on here is only 3.5, which is pretty mediocre for a series this long as only hard core fans are still reading.
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