Midnight Louie is the name of a slightly overweight (20 pounds) fictional black cat

Cat

The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...

 in a series

Book series

A book series is a sequence of books having certain characteristics in common that are formally identified together as a group. Book series can be organized in different ways, such as written by the same author, or marketed as a group by their publisher....

 of mystery novels

Mystery fiction

Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...

 by author Carole Nelson Douglas

Carole Nelson Douglas

Carole Nelson Douglas is an American writer. She is best known for two popular mystery series, the Irene Adler mysteries and the Midnight Louie mystery series....

, and the general title for the same series. Each volume of the series is told from the point of view of the cat's "owner", Temple Barr, a freelance public relations consultant, and from the point of view of Midnight Louie, the cat himself. Midnight Louie's chapters are written in what the author describes as a style reminiscent of Damon Runyan. He was also a character in the author's early romance novel

Romance novel

The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...

 series, initially referred to as the Crystal series. The author at the time accepted the publisher's severe editing of the manuscripts, but later purchased the rights to the original books and reissued them without the cuts made by the original publisher, in what is referred to as the Cat and a playing card series.

Cat and a playing card series

• Cat and the King of Clubs (1999)
• Cat and the Queen of Hearts (1999)
• Cat and the Jill of Diamonds (1999)
• Cat and the Jack of Spades (1999), ISBN 0-7862-2896-2

Midnight Louie series novels

• Catnap (1992) ISBN 0-7927-1644-2
• Pussyfoot (1993), ISBN 0-312-85218-5
• Cat on a Blue Monday (1994), ISBN 0-312-85607-5
• Cat in a Crimson Haze (1995), ISBN 0-8125-4414-5
• Cat in a Diamond Dazzle (1996), ISBN 0-8125-5506-6
• Cat with an Emerald Eye (1996), ISBN 0-312-86228-8
• Cat in a Flamingo Fedora (1997), ISBN 0-8125-6535-5
• Cat in a Golden Garland (1997), ISBN 0-312-86386-1
• Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt (1998), ISBN 0-312-86634-8
• Cat in an Indigo Mood (1999), ISBN 0-312-86635-6
• Cat in a Jeweled Jumpsuit (1999), ISBN 0-312-86817-0
• Cat in a Kiwi Con (2000), ISBN 0-8125-8425-2
• Cat in a Leopard Spot (2001), ISBN 0-8125-7022-7
• Cat in a Midnight Choir (2002), ISBN 0-312-85797-7
• Cat in a Neon Nightmare (2003), ISBN 0-7653-4592-7
• Cat in an Orange Twist (2004), ISBN 0-7653-4593-5
• Cat in a Hot Pink Pursuit (2005), ISBN 0-7653-1399-5
• Cat in a Quicksilver Caper (2006), ISBN 0-7653-1400-2
• Cat in a Red Hot Rage (2008), ISBN 0-7653-5270-2
• Cat in a Sapphire Slipper (2008), ISBN 0-7653-1861-X
• Cat in a Topaz Tango (2009), ISBN 0-7653-1862-8
• Cat in an Ultramarine Scheme (2010), ISBN 0-7653-1863-6
• Cat in a Vegas Gold Vendetta (2011), ISBN 0-7653-2746-5

Short Stories

• Maltese Double Cross (1992), printed in Cat Crimes II, and Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories, 2nd Annual Edition
• Sax and the Single Cat (1993), printed in Danger in D.C., A Treasury of Cat Mysteries, Felonious Felines, ISBN 0-7862-2689-7, and White House Pet Detectives, ISBN 1-58182-243-X
• Coyote Peyote (1994), printed in Mysterious West, ISBN 0-06-017785-3, and Year's 25 Finest Crime and Mystery Stories, 4th Annual Edition
• Dog Collar (1996), published in Great Writers and Kids Write Mysteries, ISBN 0-679-87939-0
• Iä Iä Iä Iä Cthulouie! (1997), published in Cat Crimes for the Holidays, reprinted as Something Fishy
• A Baker Street Irregular (1998), printed in Midnight Louie's Pet Detectives, ISBN 0-312-86435-3
• The Mummy Case (1999), printed in Cat Crimes Through Time and The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories
• Something Fishy (reprint of Iä Iä Iä Iä Cthulouie!)
• License to Koi (2004), printed in Death Dines In, ISBN 0-425-19262-8
• Junior Partner in Crime (2005), printed in Creature Cozies ISBN 0-425-20127-9
• The Riches There That Lie (2006), printed in Poe's Lighthouse, ISBN 1-58767-128-X

Trivia

The author of the series has previously worked as a television reporter in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. During her time there, she was assigned to work on a story about a local animal shelter

Animal shelter

An animal shelter is a facility that houses homeless, lost, or abandoned animals; primarily a large variety of dogs and cats.Parrots, for example, are the third most common pet owned by people...

, and featured one of the cats there, called Midnight Louie, in the reports. The cat did not survive. Each of the volumes of the Midnight Louie series includes the dedication "For the real and original Midnight Louie. Nine lives were not enough."