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Mystery Book ReviewsPage Four of FourCat In A Golden Garland by Carole Nelson DouglasForge, Nov., 1997.Hardcover, 352 pages. ISBN: 0312863861. Ordering information: Amazon.com. | Amazon.co.uk 
Midnight Louie, the tough-talking gargantuan black detective tomcat,
is back again in this eighth entry in the popular series. It's
Christmastime and Louie and his human cohort Temple Barr, a
publicist, have been invited to New York where Louie is up for a
lucrative role in a television ad for the latest cat food. The
competition is stiff - and so is the body found wedged in the fake
chimney at the ad agency's annual Christmas party. Of course,
Midnight Louie finds time to investigate the murder while doing his
best to walk off with the plum TV role, helping Temple with her
personal life which is suffering due to the disappearing act of her
magician boyfriend, and assisting his own lady love, the lovely
Yvette who is in danger of losing a lucrative TV contract as chief
spokescat when she violated the morals clause in her contract by
becoming an unwed mother of several adorable kittens.
Will Louie find the murderer? Will Tess find love with her mysteriously missing ex? You can be sure that Louie will be up to his whiskers in adventure and intrigue in this charming entry in the madcap series. The perils of Temple as she carts Louie around New York city are quite funny, Louie's commentary is insightful and ironic and the story of one of Temple's suitors (an ex-Catholic priest coming home for the first time to his abused mother) makes a moving counterpoint to the lightness of Louie's escapades. An extremely entertaining read. The Dog Who Knew Too Much by Carol Lea BenjaminWalker & Co., Oct., 1997.Hardcover, 256 pages. ISBN: 0802733123. Ordering information: Amazon.com. | Amazon.co.uk 
New York private investigator Rachel Alexander and her faithful
canine companion Dashiell are back in this second installment of
Carole Lea Benjamin's medium boiled detective series. This time
Rachel is called upon by her aunt and uncle to investigate the
death of their daughter and Rachel's cousin, Lisa. Lisa apparently
committed suicide in front of her black Akita by jumping from the
window of the dojo where she was studying the marital art of t'ai
chi after leaving a cryptic suicide note which read "I'm sorry.
Lisa." But the more Rachel finds out about her seemingly perfect
cousin and the odd behavior of the Akita, the less she believes
that she willingly leapt out of the dojo window that night. So
Rachel decides to step into Lisa's shoes to discover the truth.
Living in her apartment, wearing her clothes and jewelry and even
falling for her ex-boyfriend, Rachel soon discovers that a lot of
people could have had it in for Lisa. When Rachel's ex boyfriend
is found dead and a mysterious figure starts stalking Rachel and
sending her bouquets of roses she realizes that she too may be in
danger from whoever killed her cousin. It's up to Rachel and her
newfound insights from the study of t'ai chi to solve the baffling
mystery and to protect her own life from a crazed killer.
The Dog Who Knew Too Much is a satisfying follow-up to This Dog For Hire. Rachel and Dash are an appealing duo. The psychological studies of the people who surrounded the ill-fated Lisa are well-drawn and the mystery is intriguing. A treat for dog lovers and mystery lovers alike. Mystery Reviews Page One | Page Two | Page Three Return to Book Reviews Index ** To visit the archives of mystery books reviewed in The IWJ, please click here. |