Where to Start in the Midnight Louie Universe
For readers looking to dive into Carole Nelson Douglas's long-running, Las Vegas-set cozy mystery series, the best starting point is undoubtedly the very first novel, Catnap (also published as Cat in an Alphabet Soup). The series relies heavily on multi-book story arcs, romantic entanglements, and evolving character dynamics—not just for our feline private eye, Midnight Louie, but also for his human companion, Temple Barr, and her circle of friends and suitors. Reading them out of order will spoil major plot points and relationship developments.
While there are prequel stories that occur earlier in Midnight Louie's timeline, it is highly recommended to start with the main series first to fall in love with the characters before backtracking to their origins.
The Prequels: Crystal Days, Nights, and the Playing Cards
Before Midnight Louie became the star of his own 28-novel mystery series, he made his debut in a pair of 1990 romantic suspense novels: Crystal Days and Crystal Nights. However, the original publisher heavily edited these books, cutting out roughly 40% of Midnight Louie's chapters without Carole Nelson Douglas's permission.
Years later, Douglas reclaimed the rights to these stories and restored them to her original vision, re-releasing them as the four-part Cat and a Playing Card series. For chronological completeness, these can be read before the main series, but most readers enjoy them more as companion backstory after getting through the first few main novels. The restored prequel books are:
- The Cat and the King of Clubs (1999)
- The Cat and the Queen of Hearts (1999)
- The Cat and the Jill of Diamonds (2000)
- The Cat and the Jack of Spades (2000)
The Main Series: The Alphabet Mystery Novels
The main series consists of 28 novels following a clever alphabetical naming convention. When the series was first launched, the alphabet theme was not yet established. The first two books were originally published as Catnap and Pussyfoot. When the author began writing subsequent books with titles starting with C, D, E, and so forth, the first two were later re-titled for digital and modern editions to fit the pattern: Catnap became Cat in an Alphabet Soup, and Pussyfoot became Cat in an Aqua Storm. Because of this retrofitted naming, the letter 'A' is used twice at the beginning of the series.
To follow the overarching mystery of Temple Barr's complicated love life (specifically the rivalry between priest-turned-radio-host Matt Devine and magician Max Kinsella) and Louie's own feline investigations, read the main books in this strict publication order:
- Catnap / Cat in an Alphabet Soup (1992)
- Pussyfoot / Cat in an Aqua Storm (1993)
- Cat on a Blue Monday (1994)
- Cat in a Crimson Haze (1995)
- Cat in a Diamond Dazzle (1996)
- Cat with an Emerald Eye (1997)
- Cat in a Flamingo Fedora (1997)
- Cat in a Golden Garland (1997)
- Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt (1998)
- Cat in an Indigo Mood (1999)
- Cat in a Jeweled Jumpsuit (1999)
- Cat in a Kiwi Con (2000)
- Cat in a Leopard Spot (2001)
- Cat in a Midnight Choir (2002)
- Cat in a Neon Nightmare (2003)
- Cat in an Orange Twist (2004)
- Cat in a Hot Pink Pursuit (2005)
- Cat in a Quicksilver Caper (2006)
- Cat in a Red Hot Rage (2007)
- Cat in a Sapphire Slipper (2008)
- Cat in a Topaz Tango (2009)
- Cat in an Ultramarine Scheme (2010)
- Cat in a Vegas Gold Vendetta (2011)
- Cat in a White Tie and Tails (2012)
- Cat in an Alien X-Ray (2013)
- Cat in a Yellow Spotlight (2014)
- Cat in a Zebra Zoot Suit (2015)
- Cat in an Alphabet Endgame (2016)
Side Stories, Novellas, and Anthologies
In addition to the main alphabetical sequence, Carole Nelson Douglas wrote several short works and standalone stories that expand the Midnight Louie universe. While not strictly necessary to enjoy the main series, they add fun flavor for dedicated fans:
- Midnight Louie's Pet Detectives (1998): A pet-themed mystery anthology edited by Douglas. She contributed a Midnight Louie story to this collection, alongside stories from other popular cozy mystery authors.
- Midnight Louie in Something Fishy (2003): A standalone novella featuring Louie solving a fishy caper. It fits best between the events of Cat in a Neon Nightmare and Cat in an Orange Twist.
- Fruit of the Tomb (2012): A short story featuring a 'past life' reincarnation of Midnight Louie solving a mystery in ancient Egypt. It can be read at any point in the series.
The Next Chapter: Cafe Noir and Crossovers
After Carole Nelson Douglas completed the main alphabet series with Cat in an Alphabet Endgame in 2016, she wasn't quite done with Midnight Louie. In 2018, she launched a spin-off series called the Midnight Louie Cafe Noir Mysteries, starting with Absinthe Without Leave.
This spin-off is a genre-bending mashup that crosses Midnight Louie's cozy-noir detective world with the supernatural universe of Douglas's urban fantasy series, Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator. It provides a fun transition for readers who want to see their favorite 20-pound black cat interact with magic, monsters, and paranormal activity in a dark, stylized Las Vegas setting.