The Corpse with the Platinum Hair

Cait Morgan #4

by Cathy Ace

A classic whodunit series in the tradition of Agatha Christie, featuring eccentric criminologist and foodie Cait Morgan.

With birthday celebrations in the cards, Cait Morgan and her significant other, retired cop Bud Anderson, travel to Las Vegas. As they are about to finish dinner in the casino owners' exclusive private dining room, Miss Shirley, a woman acknowledged as Queen of The Strip, is murdered. Security locks down the room. Cait, Bud, a corpse, and ten possible murderers are trapped in the luxurious restaurant for twelve deadly hours. The bodies pile up, the tension mounts, the list of suspects dwindles—and Cait knows she has to work out who the killer is because there's no telling who might be next to die.

The fourth book in the beloved Cait Morgan series, The Corpse with the Platinum Hair travels to Sin City, where Welsh Canadian foodie and criminologist Cait Morgan comes up against her toughest mystery yet.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Cozy

240 pages, Paperback

First published September 9, 2014

About the author

Cathy Ace migrated from her native Wales to Canada at the age of 40. She is the award-winning author of the traditional Cait Morgan Mysteries featuring her Welsh Canadian criminology professor sleuth who travels the world tripping over corpses, which have now been optioned for TV. She also writes the cozier WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries featuring a quartet of female PIs who run their business out of a Welsh stately home. Both series have been well-reviewed. Her award-winning standalone, THE WRONG BOY, is a gripping novel of psychological suspense, set in Wales, and has also been optioned for TV.

"Ace is, well, an ace when it comes to plot and description.” The Globe and Mail

Cathy's work has won the prestigious Bony Blithe Award for best Canadian light mystery, an IPPY and an IBA Award, and has been shortlisted for an Arthur Ellis Award for Best Short Story.

Her short story "Dear George" appeared on the UK's O Level English Language syllabus and, together with another story, "Domestic Violence", has been produced for BBC Radio 4. You can find out more about Cathy, her books, and events she'll be attending, at www.cathyace.com

Reviews

[Paul Weiss · Rating 2 out of 5]

“Profiling victims, and working with those who can help to do that, is delicate but important work.”

Not to put too fine a point on it but THE CORPSE WITH THE PLATINUM HAIR is a seriously flawed, plodding, and, frankly, weak derivative tribute to Agatha Christie’s deservedly famous locked room mystery AND THEN THERE WERE NONE.

Plotless to a fault, the story line relies strictly on character sketches and Cait Morgan’s Hercule Poirot drawing room style explanation of her solution to the mystery rests on her pulling the solution rabbit out of her hat by means of her eidetic memory and wakeful dreaming skills. No sleuthing or detection necessary!

With no action, no drama, and, ultimately, no interest, the sole saving grace for THE CORPSE WITH PLATINUM HAIR is side-bar essays that relate to the value and importance of the psychological science of victimology in the solution to real life homicides.


Paul Weiss

[Melissa Hartfiel · Rating 4 out of 5]

good closed room mystery - very reminiscent of Agatha Christie but the main character still grates on my nerves!

[LORI CASWELL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Cathy Ace has given us a fabulous closed room mystery in our 4th episode with Cait and Bud. Trapped in a dining room high above the Las Vegas Strip with a body and a roomful of suspects. Cait and Bud can only trust each other and the body count keeps rising.

I love the way Cait uses her special talents to figure out the killer just in the nick of time. Eccentric characters from an opera singer to a sous chef, which one skewered the Queen of the Strip?

Awesome story and a very fast read.

I enjoyed it immensely and need to read The Corpse with the Sapphire Eyes soon because The Corpse with the Diamond Hand comes out October 13.

[Eleanor Jones]

This is a real standout in an excellent series. And possibly the only locked-egg mystery I've ever read! I swear I feel I'm there with the characters as the suspense heats up. Genuinely terrific read; couldn't put it down. Christie-style suspense in the modern era. Things I love: The accidental sleuth's love of and rapport with food; the eccentric and mysterious cast of characters; the unique and imaginative setting. And more!

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Corpse with the Platinum Hair is not only a really good mystery, it is also very well-written. I read a lot of books and if I book does not hold my attention I abandon it. Definitely not the case here. The Corpse with the Platinum Hair not only held my attention, I looked forward to reading it.

The story is set in Las Vegas at one of the mega-casinos in a private dining room. The story reminded me of an Agatha Christie tale. People in a locked room that keep dying. Too many motives and too many opportunities. Professor/amateur sleuth Cait Morgan and her beau, retired policeman Bud Anderson are last minute guests at a private dinner the hotel owner, Miss Shirley, is throwing. First the hostess is found dead, then several of her guests. As the night rolls along, it becomes apparent that many of the guests had reason to want Miss Shirley dead. Will Cait be able to solve the mystery before they all end up dead?

Great story. I really enjoyed it. Happy to recommend it to everyone who loves a good mystery.

[Erin L · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm sad to give this a bad review. Our story starts out with the murder so there's no getting to know the victim at all. This means that I really didn't care who killed her. At all. We're left with a bizarre story where we learn about the victim from those around her.k

The main character irritated me which is too bad. There aren't enough books with Canadian main characters. She frustrated me because she's a tad pompous. At times I just wanted her to shut up. Someone is dead and she's commenting on how Canadians talk which just seemed strangely inappropriate. Also she seemed completely unaware of her own flaws while picking apart other people any time she needed to interact with them. But it's ok, because she is absolutely perfect and knows everything about anything. It really kind of felt like the author showing off her own knowledge of random things at times.

Wanted to like it because Canadian main characters and, well, Vegas. But I couldn't get past main character's personality.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Corpse with the Platinum Hair by Cathy Ace is the fourth book in the Cait Morgan Mysteries. Cait and her significant other, Bud Anderson go to Las Vegas to celebrate his birthday. They are invited to an exclusive restaurant atop a cassino. Miss Shirley is skewered to her seat with a silver saber and the cassino goes into a security lockdown.

Cait and Bud are locked into the room with the other birthday party guest in a great locked room mystery. Characters in the room are well drawn out and the murders begin to pile up. Cait and Bud must solve the murders before they are also murdered. Time is also running out on the locked dining room.

A great locked room mystery. The twists will keep you guessing at just who is committing the crimes. Cait great ability to read what has gone on in the room since the beginning brings about a great ending.

I highly recommend this book and the other Cait Morgan mysteries.

[Paula Ratcliffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was definitely different then typical cozy mysteries in this one Miss Shirley ends up dead and the others recount their memories of her in hopes of figuring out who had something worth killing for. Lots of secrets about Miss Shirley are revealed.

Soon more bodies end up turning up and it's up to Cait and her boyfriend Bud to figure out who is killing the other guests when they get stuck in a locked room and have to wait hours to be released.

While this book was good to me it felt slow in some areas, but that could be just my opinion and not the intention of the author. I think people will find this book overall enjoyable. The book had lots of mystery to it. One I would recommend for big cozy mystery fans!

[KSue · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was by far my favorite of the Cait Morgan series. The story kept me guessing
until the very end. I love the relationship between Bud and Cait. I find myself wishing
that I were actually my friends living just down the street and I could meet them for
coffee and hear in person their latest adventures. The Las Vegas location was perfect
for this adventure. I am glad there will be more coming in this series. I recommend them
to all my mystery loving fellow readers.

[Dalene · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I would like to thank the author Cathy Ace for providing this book for an honest review. I love this book, the mystery keeps you guessing. The story-line is very good. The characters are well developed and written. I am putting the previous books in this series on my tbr list so I can catch up. I love a good story and this Cathy Ace has written an awesome mystery series that I look forward to reading more of.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Criminology professor Cait Morgan and her significant other, retired Canadian policeman Bud Anderson, are on vacation in Las Vegas when they're invited to dine in the owner's suite at the plus Tsar! casino. But when a security malfunction isolates the dining group atop a replica of a Faberge egg with the dead body of the casino owner, Cait knows that her expertise is needed. This series goes from strength to strength and I look forward to the next one.

[Marion Crook · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Corpse with the Platinum Hair This is the best locked room mystery I’ve read in years. Cathy Ace throws colourful characters together in the proverbial locked room, albeit an exotic locked room, and leads the reader through the murders and explanation of the mystery with her usual competent and smooth flowing prose. Her protagonist, Cait Morgan is as intellectual and erudite as always and focused on good food and excellent wine as is only right and proper.

[Marina Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good fun, as always with Cait Morgan. This time a classic locked-room mystery and a 12 hour time frame to solve the case before any more people get murdered. Inevitably, there was less atmospheric description of location or of food and drink than in some previous books in the series, but an interesting departure.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reminds me of the movie "Clue". I love the part of the book when everyone says how they know Ms. Shirley which is actually most of the book. Everyone is there because they like ms. Shirley and she has impacted their life someway. This book is a fresh book that I needed to read. It is a nice short mystery. The beginning was slow but other than that it was a good book.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Criminologist Cait Morgan and her friend retired cop Bud Anderson travel to Las Vegas as a birthday celebration. Where as invited guests of Miss Shirley (the casino owner) to a private dinner, they find themselves investiating the death of Miss Shirley in a locked room scenario.

[Vontel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one takes place in Los Vegas. Another variation on an Agatha Christie theme, interestingly done, with Bud Anderson, retired homicide detective and Cait Morgan, criminology professor, who have gone to Los Vegas for a getaway. There is another volume coming: The Corpse with the Sapphire Eyes.

[Nathaniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this solely for a reading challenge. I haven't read any previous books but it's one of those 'cosy mysteries' so nothing too demanding and usually it's easy enough to jump in mid-series. It also happens to be a locked room mystery too which are my particular favourites so I was hopeful about this one.

I was a little taken aback by the fact that the main murder takes place on page 1! The first mention of the victim is when it's announced that she's been killed so there’s no real time to get to know her at all, that’s all done in retrospect instead. I said main murder because there’s then a further 3 deaths! I think it’s written so that the reader can work out the murderer which is good, there’s none of that ‘this thing that was never mentioned proves it’ rubbish. The main negatives for me were Cait’s eidetic memory (so convenient!), her wakeful dreaming technique and other abilities which were just a bit too Mary Sue-ish.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cait Morgan and her friend Bud Anderson are invited to the private dining room at a Las Vegas casino. The lights go out momentarily and, when they return, the casino owner Miss Shirley has been stabbed and the security system has locked the room for 12 hours. As a retired detective, Bud insists that the murder scene not be disturbed, so the corpse is simply covered with a tablecloth and left sitting among them. Cait, who is a psychologist specializing in victim profiling, tries to draw out the other members of the dinner party to create a portrait of Miss Shirley. Although the reader is given various clues, the solution to the mystery is provided by Cait’s special qualities – her eidetic memory and her ability to make connections through a process of wakeful dreaming. A fairly sophisticated take on a well-used mystery plot.

[Jane Irish Nelson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic locked room mystery, but with a twist — the suspects are all locked in with corpse!

Cait Morgan and Bud Anderson have come to Las Vegas to celebrate his birthday, but when Miss Shirley, part-owner of the Tsar! Casino, learns that they shares the same birthday, she invites them to join her very select party in the private dining room atop the casino. After a late dinner, the lights suddenly go out, and when they come back on, Miss Shirley has been murdered. And only she knows the passcode to the security system. So while awaiting rescue, Cait and Bud investigate, trying to discover who amongst the guests could have killed Miss Shirley. Excellent characterization and clever plotting make this book hard to put down. Highly recommended.

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Professor Cait Morgan and her SO Bud are in Las Vegas for a birthday celebration. Once again, the couple witness a sudden death - obvious murder. The couple and multiple guests are all in a dining room that is locked down by a security computer. They are all stuck in a dining room with a corpse until the next day. Of course, Cait and Bud begin to investigate.

I am beginning to find Cait irritating and uninteresting. While the ex-cop Bud is a one dimensional boring sidekick. Despite being incredibly intelligent and an expert in victim profiling, she does not really use it within the investigation. She instead uses her eidetic memory.

The characters are also boring and this book felt like the movie "Clue".

[Amy Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out for a dinner in Las Vegas with Bud, everything becomes a locked room mystery when their hostess (and owner of the casino they are in) dies when the power goes out - a sword sticking out of her chest. The security system in lockdown, everyone is stuck in the room for 12 hours until the system resets as the override code isn't working. More deaths and tensions are high, as Cait tries to figure out whodunnit.

[Elizabeth Dodd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the fact that I can depend on this author to deliver solid stories with interesting characters and an intriguing mystery.
This time it's in the format of a "locked room" style mystery.
A lot can happen in a room on lock down in 12 hours!
Go along for the adventure.

[Patricia English · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, loved this setting and the story. This story involved a casino of course a locked room and multiple murders. It was such a good read and a good twist or two as well. Great read, I highly recommend this book and this author

[Monica Mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great locked room mystery.

[Teddi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good closed room mystery. I only have a couple of quibbles.
The murder happens in the first couple of pages to someone we don't know. Its very sudden and very different from most books. Although the dead woman is learned about through the rest of the book, its kind of a jolt when a book is built around the death of a person we know nothing about.
The second thing is that Cait comes across as a bit of a preachy know it all. I understand she is a mega educated person and criminal psychology is her thing but does comes across as a bit annoying.
Lastly, why are Cait and Bud never considered, even for a moment, as suspects?

[Margie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book free to review.


This is the first Cait Morgan book that I’ve read. It is a classic locked-room mystery. I found the story a little slow to get into, but I’m glad I kept with it. It was interesting to see Cait picking up random clues to get closer and closer to the figuring out who was the murderer. Lots of twists and turns to keep you guessing.

[Kathleen Freeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy this series of books, I like the way that Caitlin and Bud work together and especially the way that Caitlin puts the pieces together to solve the mystery. I also like the fact that they are relatively short books, but have great detail and descriptions. Looking forward to the next in the series.

[Sue Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this series! If you're a fan of locked room mysteries,don't miss this one

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite a twisted plot with about 10 people locked in a room at a casino in Las Vegas and 4 are murdered while they are waiting to get out.