Cat in a Quicksilver Caper

This is the 18th book in the Midnight Louie series. I'm not sure how I got behind on it--I absolutely love these books. But the good news is, now I'm not having to wait so long between books--I read the previous book just a couple of months ago.

The mystery in this one really raises the emotional stakes. Magician Max, in his undercover work to infiltrate the Synth, has to steal a jeweled scepter on display in an exhibition for which Temple has been hired to do PR. Also, a dead body is found hanging at the site, and Max is the prime suspect, leading police Lt. Molina to renege on her promise to Temple to stop investigating Max.

Ex-priest Matt, meanwhile, sensing the rift between Max and Temple, gets serious about pursuing her, and just to show more keep things from being too easy, Temple's romance novelist aunt Kit moves in with her for a while... and, boggling Temple's mind, begins dating the oldest Fontana brother.

This series is one very long story, one I'm pretty sure will be wrapped up tidily by the time we get to Z, unlike some other series I won't mention.

The emotions in Cat in a Quicksilver Caper are even more intense than usual--or maybe they're just more of a focus here. Max is being torn horribly between his duty and his love for Temple. He feels very strongly the importance of his work, and fears, not unreasonably, that he may lose her before it's finished. Matt's dilemma is different, but no less intense. Since he left the priesthood but not the church, it's an important issue with him to do what's right. He has some insightful conversations on the subject; as does Temple, who also consults a religious professional for advice on dealing with him.

The mystery also tugs at the emotions, particularly the second death, which Max tries, but is unable to prevent. So add some extra guilt in there as well.

And of course, there's Midnight Louie, working with his daughter Midnight Louise, the Cloaked Conjuror's big cats, and Shangri-La's sinister Siamese Hyacinth, who has a friendly body double.

And oh, yeah. Molina has a stalker, and she thinks it's Max.

I wish I'd brought the entire series with me--I'm really feeling the urge to re-read it all. I can't decide whether to read Cat in a Red Hot Rage right away, or to wait until closer to Cat in a Sapphire Slipper's release date. In the meanwhile, I also have another couple of Douglas's Irene Adler books to read, as well as the first book of her new series. One thing that's had Carole Nelson Douglas on my must-buy list for almost 10 years is that she writes in such different styles, but they're all wonderful. show less