Mystery at The Biltmore #2: The Classified Catnapping

by Colleen Nelson, Peggy Collins (Illustrator)

The LaRue Detective Agency has gained a reputation at The Biltmore as the investigators to call, so it’s no surprise when they are asked to solve the catnapping case. What is a being asked to keep this investigation top secret! Will the LaRue detective agency have what it takes to solve this challenging case?

A murder mystery movie is being filmed in the courtyard of the Biltmore, starring a celebrity building resident, Bijou, the fluffy white cat famous for inheriting the entire fortune of a popular designer—including his Biltmore apartment. But when filming is paused for the day, Tiya, the daughter of Bijou’s nanny, reports that the famous feline was catnapped! The LaRue detective agency is hired...but there is just one catch, the investigation must remain top secret. How can Elodie question suspects when she can’t admit Bijou is missing? This investigation will require new tactics, a keen eye, and help from her friends!

Colored illustrations by award-winning artist, Peggy Collins, are scattered throughout the story, bringing additional humor to the cast of quirky characters.

From the award-winning author of The Umbrella House, Colleen Nelson brings another New York apartment building to life in Mystery at the Biltmore. Written with charm and wit, Mystery at The Biltmore is Only Murders in the Building meets Harriet the Spy.

102 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 7, 2025

About the author

Colleen Nelson is the author of YA fiction books Finding Hope (2016), 250 Hours (2015), The Fall (2013) and Tori by Design (2011). 'The Fall' and 'Tori by Design' both won the McNally Robinson Book of the Year Award. 'The Fall' was also nominated for the White Pine Award. Currently living in Winnipeg with her husband, two young sons and three grown step-children, Colleen manages to eke out time to write everyday, but usually in the early morning after a strong cup of coffee. A junior high school teacher for ten years before having children, Colleen is familiar and comfortable with the tricky phase of life called 'adolescence'. Now a Teacher-Librarian in Winnipeg, Canada, Colleen is constantly on the look-out for books that will catch the attention of her reading-reluctant sons.