Midnight Louie's Pet Detectives [Mass Market Paperback]

In each story, one or more animals plays a role in solving a mystery. In some cases, the animal itself is the detective, while in others, the animal provides a vital clue for his or her dumb humans. Not only dogs and cats, but also elephants, raccoons, an opossom, a lovebird, a robin, a half-wolf and a Tasmanian Devil take their turn at sleuthing here.

Some favorites: In "Daisy and the Silver Quaitsch," the neighborhood dogs literally dig up clues to tip off their clueless masters. "Kittens Take Detection 101," introduces us to two young cats (who don't even know how to use capital letters yet!) who find a dead body while sneaking out to explore their neighborhood. In "Final Vows," cats literally do have nine lives (or more!), and the feline detective, Colonel Mustard, returns from the dead to discover who poisoned him and help save the rest of the neighboorhood cats from the same fate. "On the Take" features a soft-hearted cop who finds a unique way to place stray cats in good homes. (If I lean toward the cat and dog stories, maybe it's because I have three dogs and ten cats. But the Tasmanian Devil get his due here, too, when a careless bomber sets off a charge near his cage, and "A Hamster of No Importance" solves a series of high-society Jewel thefts.)

Each story has an introduction by Midnight Louie, the feline detective created by Carole Nelson Douglas (who also happens to be the editor of this book.) Like I said, I had never heard of Louie before but, after enjoying this wonderful anthology, I plan to track him down and read more about his adventures. Carole Douglas, you have a new fan!

But if you did that, you'd miss out on FINAL VOWS by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, in which more cats than not do have nine lives, and even if you don't particularly like cats, you'll still enjoy this whimsical bit of fantasy, in which all the neighborhood's cats (living and otherwise) catch the culprit.

Other stories (by such mystery luminaries as Anne Perry, Dorothy Cannell, and Nancy Pickard) feature other cats or kittens, a couple of dogs, a hamster, and an owl. It's a very pleasant and enjoyable read, not least of which are the terse introductory comments from the title character himself--Midnight Louie!