In Douglas's arch 19th cat caper (after 2006's Cat in a Quicksilver Caper
), feline sleuth Midnight Louie and his human companion, PR whiz Temple Barr, scramble to clear the name of their friend and landlady, Electra Lark, when Electra's wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time makes her a murder suspect. Electra had volunteered for security at the Vegas convention of the Red Hat Sisterhood, an association of aging women determined to prove their pizzazz. The crime du jour occurs when Pink Lady Oleta Lark (an under-50 Red Hatter) is strangled with a purple scarf that Electra earlier happened to help her tie. And the common last name? Oleta was another ex-wife of Electra's third ex-husband, Elmore Lark. Eager to prove Electra's innocence, Temple and Midnight Louie swing into action with the help of Electra's fellow Red Hatters and some clever cats. Douglas's humor and keen plot twists keep this long-running series purring. (May)
