Midnight Louie

I have been reading mysteries, instead of writing about them. Well I have read a few in between work and other activities.

I have discussed 'The Cat Who' series, and the series about that wonderful talking cat, Joe Grey.

Now it is Midnight Louie's turn. Louie doesn't talk exactly, but he sure knows about the computer, and he can solve crimes with the best of them. This series by Carole Nelson Douglas, is full of story lines, and is to a a mystery lover, what catnip is to our feline friends. The characters are fleshed out and fully believable. Even if you don't like cats, (I can't understand why you would not) you will love these books. Louie's has a cohort,Temple Barr. You will love her too. I haven't read all these books,but I am working on it. Happy Sleuthing!

Carol Nelson Douglas
MIDNIGHT LOUIE & TEMPLE BARR Series:

Catnap '92
Pussyfoot '93
Cat on a Blue Monday '94
Cat in a Crimson Haze '95
Cat in a Diamond Dazzle '95
Cat with an Emerald Eye '96
Cat in a Flamingo Fedora '97
Cat in a Golden Garland '97
Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt '98
Cat in an Indigo Mood '98
Cat in a Jeweled Jumpsuit '99
Cat in a Kiwi Con '00
Cat in a Leopard Spot '01
Cat in a Midnight Choir '02
Cat in a Neon Nightmare '03
Cat in an Orange Twist '04
Cat in a Hot Pink Pursuit '05
Cat in a Quicksilver Caper '06
Cat in a Red Hot Rage '07

MIDNIGHT LOUIE Series:

The Cat and the King of Clubs '99
The Cat and the Queen of Hearts '99
The Cat and the Jill of Diamonds '00
The Cat and the Jack of Spades '00

Favorite Cozy Series

Getting back to real cozy mysteries. My favorite really cozy author is Lilian Jackson Braun. I love this lady. I mean she is her 90's. She wrote several of her Cat Who mysteries back in the 1960's. After that she disappeared for two decades. Then she was back. Since then she has been most prolific. The 'Cat Who' books involve Jim Qwilleran, A reporter turned billionaire (by way of inheritance)and his talented siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum. These are classic mysteries with very little blood or gore. These are the perfect read for those cold or rainy days. Qwill's cats aren't Joe Grey, but that is part of their charm. They could be your cat or mine. Who hasn't wondered what goes on in the minds of those beautiful felines we see every day. And they always get the job done.

My favorite Braun books are 'The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal' and The Cat Who Moved a Mountain' but then I love them all. Check them out for yourself. You won't be sorry.

The Cat Who Could Read Backwards '66
The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern '67
The Cat Who Turned On and Off '68
The Cat Who Saw Red '86
The Cat Who Played Brahms '87
The Cat Who Played Post Office '87
The Cat Who Had 14 Tails '88
The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare '88
The Cat Who Sniffed Glue '88
The Cat Who Went Underground '89
The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts '90
The Cat Who Lived High '91
The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal '92
The Cat Who Moved a Mountain '92
The Cat Who Wasn't There '92
The Cat Who Went into the Closet '93
The Cat Who Came to Breakfast '94
The Cat Who Blew the Whistle '94
The Cat Who Said Cheese '96
The Cat Who Tailed a Thief '97
The Cat Who Sang for the Birds '98
The Cat Who Saw Stars '99
The Cat Who Robbed a Bank '00
The Cat Who Smelled a Rat '01
The Cat Who Went Up the Creek '02
The Cat Who Brought Down the House ' 03
The Cat Who Talked Turkey '03
The Cat Who Went Bananas '04
The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell '06
The Cat Who Had Sixty Whiskers '07
The Cat Who Smelled Smoke '08

Recent Cozy

Just finished up Turkey Tracks by Lizbie Brown. This book was given to me and is first of this series I have read. The sleuth is Elizabeth Blair, an American living in England. She is a quilter who just stumbles upon murders. Her neighbor is a handsome private eye. Not bad. This book is better than average and I would read another one in the series.

Are you sure I have 9 Lives?

Joe Grey. Sounds so human. Well not exactly. Joe Grey is a cat,a talking cat. Now Joe who is directed by Shirley Rousseau Murphy, isn't exactly cozy either and you can bet he needs each and everyone of those nine lives especially when there are murderers about. It really gets sticky when a killer also realizes that certain cats are- how shall I put it extra talented. Joe has a lady friend, Dulcie, who also talks. Then there's the Kit. However not all the cats talk. None of Dulcie's siblings do.

As with Tony Hillerman, these books are gripping, spellbinding. You always have the feeling Joe may be on his last life.

I think these books are best read in order, starting with 'Cat on the Edge.' My favorite is 'Cat Cross Their Graves'. Let me warn you though, it might give you shivers. You may never look at cats the same way again.

Cat on the Edge '96
Cat under Fire '97
Cat Raise the Dead '97
Cat in the Dark '99
Cat to the Dogs '00
Cat Spitting Mad '01
Cat Laughing Last '02
Cat Seeing Double '03
Cat Fear No Evil '04
Cat Cross Their Graves '05
Cat Breaking Free '05
Cat Pay the Devil '07
Cat Deck the Halls '07

Tony Hillerman

Tony Hillerman, is my favorite author, even though his books don't exactly qualify as cozy. His Navajo sleuths, Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn, find themselves in tense, spine tingling situations.With cozies you know the hero/heroine is going to survive. With Hillerman I am only 95 per cent sure. I think he read Zane Grey himself. He has this terrific sense of place. So did Emily Bronte but I will save her for later. My favorite Hillerman book is 'Coyote Waits'.

Maybe it's Chee or Leaphorn, the plot twist, or just my admiration for the stubborn, adaptable coyote. Anyway it's a great read as is Dancehall of the Dead, Hunting Badger and A Thief of Time. Heck they are all great. Start reading.

The Blessing Way '70
Dance Hall of the Dead '73
Listening Woman '78
People of Darkness '80
The Dark Wind '82
The Ghostway '84
Skinwalkers '86
Thief of Time '88
Talking God '89
Coyote Waits '90
Sacred Clowns '93
The Fallen Man '96
The First Eagle '98
Hunting Badger '99
The Wailing Wind '02
The Sinister Pig '03
Skeleton Man '04
The Shape Shifter '06

Mysteries and Me

I discovered Mysteries somewhere between Zane Grey and Louis L'amour, To be more exact it was between third grade (Zane) and sixth grade (L'amour). Yes I read westerns in the third grade. I took the habit up from my Grandmother's sister. She had seven? eight? Husbands. Whatever- one of them left her a comlete set of Zane Grey. She had read Grey herself when she was younger. To be sure she named her only son,Wansfell, after the character in Wanderer of the Wasteland. That became my favorite Grey novel although she herself preferred the more heralded book, Riders of the Purple Sage. Maybe she should have named him Lassiter.

Then I discovered Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden and The reinvented Bobbsey Twins. Later came Louis, who I still love as I do Zane Grey,but the magic of who done it had crept into my bones or maybe my blood and there it remains. Mysteries are everywhere now. I can't possibly read them all, especially since the computer has hexed me, but I shall keep trying,valiant to the end.