Carole Nelson Douglas

Carole Nelson Douglas wrote mystery, fantasy, and science fiction, developing two recognizable investigators: Irene Adler from the Sherlock Holmes world and Midnight Louie, a black feline sleuth in contemporary Las Vegas. Her journalism background helped shape books attentive to clues, voices, and urban detail. Cat on a Blue Monday is the third Midnight Louie mystery, following Catnap and Pussyfoot. Public-relations specialist Temple Barr becomes involved with a Las Vegas cat show, while Louie pursues his own inquiry through hotels, streets, and animal networks people overlook. A telepathic Birman named Karma complicates Louie's confidence, adding comic rivalry to the human puzzle. Douglas alternates perspectives so the feline narration offers wit without replacing the mystery structure. Cat on a Blue Monday also develops Temple's relationships with stage magician Mystifying Max and former priest Matt Devine, connections that continue across the long series. The novel shows Douglas's characteristic balance of elaborate plotting, theatrical Las Vegas settings, and a detective whose independence is inseparable from his feline view of evidence.