Absinthe Without Leave

"Midnight Louie is the funniest, hairiest, hard-boiled PI on the planet!"--Janet Evanovich

Magic, mayhem and murder collide!

What happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas when a sexy nymph in a stage magic act vanishes...permanently. It's just new girl in town Delilah Street's luck to "appear" onstage right in time to be suspect Number One. But she has an investigative ace up her sleeve . . . Midnight Louie on the case.

"THIS EXTRAORDINARILY UNIQUE mystery takes a DELIGHTFULLY UNEXPECTED TWIST and blends the BEST OF BOTH of Douglas's two mystery series [Midnight Louie's PI Feline Noir investigations and Delilah Street's savvy Female Noir PI escapades]with FAVORITE CHARACTERS full of SNAPPY NOIR BANTER and CLEVER DIALOGUE."--Kings River Life

He's BACK! After completing his adventuresome 28-book Alphabet-titled mystery series, Las Vegas feline PI Midnight Louie has snagged a savvy new gal partner, and she's a PI fresh from a paranormal version of Louie's Vegas that gives Oz a run for its money. Crime and detection are booming everywhere, and Louie and Delilah are the new rock-star team. Of course they get a little help from Louie's favorite pro and amateur detecting friends, Matt and Temple, Max and Molina, Louie's sassy daughter, Midnight Louise, and matriarch Ma Barker, the baddest Cat Pack runner off the Strip. Not to mention an unlikely trio of dogs, Louie's least favorite species. New York Times Notable Book of the Year author Carole Nelson Douglas's cast of four human crime solvers has shifted after petite PR powerhouse amateur sleuth and Louie's faithful roommate, Temple Barr, marries ex-priest Matt Devine. Temple's ex, that wily magician and counterterrorist. Max Kinsella. has hit a pause in his professional and personal life. Will he stick around Vegas and remain a confidential informant for hard-nosed homicide lieutenant Carmen Molina? Will Delilah adapt to a normal (if it ever was) Las Vegas?
Now that it looks like paranormal Vegas mob bosses are making inroads on the current version, Louie must contend with some "gifted" dogs and Big Cats.

Midnight Louie will ensure that there's no rest for the wicked in a Las Vegas with a dark underground beneath the neon-lit Vegas Strip.

JANET EVANOVICH calls Midnight Louie "the funniest, hairiest, hard-boiled detective on the planet." The Prime Suspect finds the series "everything you might want in a mystery: glitzy Las Vegas, real characters, suspense, a tough puzzle, and...on top of it all, a fine sense of humor and some illuminating social commentary."

"Las Vegas's feline detective extraordinary returns... Louie is an irresistible combination of Nathan Detroit and Sam Spade. Plenty of interest here for a lengthy, fun-filled series."--Mostly Murder

"If it's murder, it must be Midnight Louie time! Carole Nelson Douglas's cool dude feline detective pulls off some fancy footwork when he matches wits with a murderer...Written with stylish zest and irresistible panache, this clever tale operates on a multiplicity of levels."--Melinda Helfer, RT Book Reviews 41/2 stars