Douglas, Carole Nelson 1944-

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Douglas, Carole Nelson 1944-

PERSONAL:

Born November 5, 1944, in Everett, WA; daughter of Arnold Peter (a fisherman) and Agnes Olga (a teacher) Nelson; married Sam Douglas (an artist), November 25, 1967. Education: College of St. Catherine, B.A., 1966. Hobbies and other interests: Graphic design, designing and making silversmithed and strung jewelry, collecting fashion prints.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Texas. Agent—Howard Morhaim, 30 Pierrepont St., Brooklyn, NY 11201. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, novelist, editor, and journalist. St. Paul Pioneer Press & Dispatch (now St. Paul Pioneer Press), St. Paul, MN, reporter and feature writer, 1967-83, copy and layout editor and occasional editorialist for opinion pages, 1983-84; full-time writer, 1984—. Member of board of directors, Twin Cities Local of the Newspaper Guild, 1970-72; first woman chair of annual Gridiron show, 1971; honorary member of board of directors, St. Paul Public Library Centennial, 1981.

MEMBER:

Novelists, Inc., International Thriller Writers, Cat Writers' Association, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Finalist in Vogue Prix de Paris writing competition for college seniors, 1966; Page One Award from the Newspaper Guild of the Twin Cities, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 and 1984; Catherine L. O'Brien Award honorable mention from Stanley Home Products, Inc., for outstanding achievement in women's interest newspaper reporting, and second place newswriting award from the Minnesota Associated Press, both 1975, both for an article on destitute elderly; president's citation from the American Society of Interior Designers (Minnesota chapter), 1980, for design and home furnishing reporting; Silver Medal, Sixth Annual West Coast Review of Books, 1982, for Fair Wind, Fiery Star; Golden Medallion Award finalist citation from Romance Writers of America for Fair Wind, Fiery Star, 1982, In Her Prime, 1983, Lady Rogue, 1984, and The Exclusive, 1987; Science Fiction/Fantasy Award from Romantic Times, 1984; Science Fiction Award from Romantic Times and Nebula Award nomination from Science Fiction Writers of America, both 1986, both for Probe; Popular Fiction Award, 1987, and Lifetime Achievement Award for Versatility, 1991, both from Romantic Times; Best Novel of Romantic Suspense citation from American Mystery Awards, 1990, and New York Times Book Review notable book citation, 1991, both for Good Night, Mr. Holmes; Cat Writers' Association Best Novel, 1995, for Cat in a Crimson Haze, and 2005, for Cat in an Orange Twist, Best Short Story, 1995, for "Coyote Peyote," 2004, for "License to Koi," and 2006, for "The Riches That There Lie."

WRITINGS:

"SWORD AND CIRCLET" FANTASY SERIES

Six of Swords, Del Rey Books (New York, NY), 1982.

Exiles of the Rynth, Del Rey Books (New York, NY), 1984.

Keepers of Edanvant, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1987.

Heir of Rengarth, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1988.

Seven of Swords, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1989.

"IRENE ADLER" SERIES

Good Night, Mr. Holmes, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1990.

Good Morning, Irene, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1991.

Irene at Large, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1992.

Irene's Last Waltz, Forge (New York, NY), 1994.

Chapel Noir, Forge (New York, NY), 2001.

Castle Rouge, Forge (New York, NY), 2002.

Femme Fatale, Forge (New York, NY), 2003.

Spider Dance, Forge (New York, NY), 2004.

"TALISWOMAN" FANTASY SERIES

Cup of Clay, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1991.

Seed upon the Wind, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1992.

"MIDNIGHT LOUIE" MYSTERY SERIES

Catnap, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1992.

Pussyfoot, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1993.

Cat on a Blue Monday, Forge (New York, NY), 1994.

Cat in a Crimson Haze, Forge (New York, NY), 1995.

Cat in a Diamond Dazzle, Forge (New York, NY), 1996.

Cat with an Emerald Eye, Forge (New York, NY), 1996.

Cat in a Flamingo Fedora, Forge (New York, NY), 1997.

Cat in a Golden Garland, Forge (New York, NY), 1997.

Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt, Forge (New York, NY), 1998.

Cat in an Indigo Mood, Forge (New York, NY), 1999.

Cat in a Jeweled Jumpsuit, Forge (New York, NY), 1999.

Cat in a Kiwi Con, Forge (New York, NY), 2000.

Cat in a Leopard Spot, Forge (New York, NY), 2001.

Cat in a Midnight Choir, Forge (New York, NY), 2002.

Cat in a Neon Nightmare, Forge (New York, NY), 2003.

Cat in an Orange Twist, Forge (New York, NY), 2004.

Cat in a Hot Pink Pursuit, Forge (New York, NY), 2005.

Cat in a Quicksilver Caper, Forge (New York, NY), 2006.

Cat in a Red Hot Rage, Forge (New York, NY), 2007.

"DELILAH STREET, PARANORMAL INVESTIGATOR" SERIES

Dancing with Werewolves, Juno Books (Rockville, MD), 2007.

OTHER

Amberleigh, Jove (New York, NY), 1980.

Fair Wind, Fiery Star, Jove (New York, NY), 1981.

The Best Man, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1983.

Lady Rogue, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1983.

Azure Days and Quicksilver Nights, Bantam (New York, NY), 1985.

Probe, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1985.

The Exclusive, Ballantine (New York, NY), 1986.

Counterprobe, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1988.

Crystal Days and Crystal Nights, two volumes, Bantam (New York, NY), 1990.

(Editor) Marilyn: Shades of Blonde, Forge (New York, NY), 1997.

(Editor) Midnight Louie's Pet Detectives, Forge (New York, NY), 1998.

The Cat and the King of Clubs, Five Star (Unity, ME), 1999.

The Cat and the Queen of Hearts, Five Star (Unity, ME), 1999.

The Cat and the Jack of Spades, Five Star (Unity, ME), 2000.

The Cat and the Jill of Diamonds, Five Star (Unity, ME), 2000.

(Editor) White House Pet Detectives: Tales of Crime and Mystery at the White House from a Pet's-Eye View, Cumberland House (Nashville, TN), 2002.

Also author of In Her Prime and Her Own Person, both 1982. Contributor to anthologies, including Felonious Felines, edited by Carol Gorman and Ed Gorman, Five Star (Unity, ME), 2000. Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Op Ed contributor, 1985—; author of column, Mystery Scene magazine, 1992-97.

SIDELIGHTS:

Carole Nelson Douglas is a prolific and well-respected novelist and editor working primarily in the mystery genre. "An only child who often had to amuse myself, I used to think that everybody made up poems and descriptive sentences when lying on the grass and looking up at the clouds," she once explained. Spurred by her childhood creativity, Douglas studied creative writing in college. After a career as a newspaper journalist, she yearned to try her hand at fiction. In 1980, Douglas's first novel was published. "Amberleigh," she told CA, "was my Victorian-set update of what has been a model for so-called women's fiction since Jane Eyre—the Gothic. I call mine a ‘post-feminist’ Gothic. Submitting Amberleigh to publishers unsolicited resulted in getting it returned unread (because it was considered ‘off market’—no sex) until playwright-author Garson Kanin volunteered to take it to his publisher." Douglas and Kanin continued their friendship and it turned out to be a nurturing one for Douglas. "I interviewed Garson on two separate occasions," she explained to CA, "and it was his enduring enthusiasm for my writing style that was the key to opening the door to publishing for me."

Douglas's second novel, Fair Wind, Fiery Star, was also an historical novel. After writing these two works, Douglas decided to try a different genre. She told CA that, "although fiction directed at a woman's audience is extremely lucrative to publishers right now, this very popularity, I discovered, hampers writers who want to expand on the publishers' current limitations of formula. Frustrated by the fact that ‘transcending a genre,’ as my books do, is considered a handicap rather than an advantage, I turned to applying my same themes in a more veiled and symbolic manner with Six of Swords, a fantasy that showed up on national science fiction/fantasy top-ten-bestseller lists its first week out and is now in its thirteenth printing…. I find [that] both fantasy and science fiction encourage originality and imagination."

The "Sword and Circlet" fantasy series began with the publication of Six of Swords. Douglas once explained that these books "document the [protagonists'] magical adventures, a means of exploring relationships and the search for self. I describe the series as a ‘domestic epic,’ because it examines how men and women can form lasting alliances without losing their individuality and independence. By the fifth book, Irissa and Kendric's children are teenagers confronting the same relationship quandaries as their parents. One child is magically gifted; the other not. Each has a special bond with the opposite parent. Fantasy novels offer a writer a subtle means of dealing with contemporary issues like gender role reversal, animal rights, and ecology without getting on a soapbox."

With the publication of Probe in 1985 and Counterprobe in 1988, Douglas entered the science fiction market. "I want my books to appeal to a wide variety of readers on different levels, and to contain enough levels that they bear re-reading," she once remarked. "Although labeled as science fiction novels, Probe and Counterprobe are contemporary-set suspense/psychological adventure stories with a strong feminist sub-text, the kind that husbands recommend to wives, and vice versa; teenagers to parents, and vice versa. To write books that cross common ground between the sexes and span the generation gap is rewarding, especially in this pigeon-holed publishing world."

With Good Night, Mr. Holmes, published in 1990, Douglas launched a new series of books. In this novel she expands upon the character Irene Adler, the only woman to outwit Sherlock Holmes, an event that took place in Arthur Conan Doyle's story "A Scandal in Bohemia." "This book evolved the way most of my ideas come to me: I realized that all the recent novels set in the Sherlock Holmes world were written by men," Douglas once pointed out. "Yet I had loved the stories as a youngster. My years as a newspaper reporter taught me that when men monopolize anything it's time for women to examine it from a female point of view."

Douglas wrote more novels in this series, including Good Morning, Irene, Irene at Large, and Irene's Last Waltz. "My Irene Adler is as intelligent, self-sufficient and serious about her professional and personal integrity as Sherlock Holmes, and far too independent to be anyone's mistress but her own," Douglas explained. "She also moonlights as an inquiry agent while building her performing career, so she is a professional rival of Holmes's rather than a romantic interest. Her adventures intertwine with Holmes's, but she is definitely her own woman in these novels."

Good Night, Mr. Holmes takes place a short time after Irene bests Holmes. Irene finds herself becoming romantically interested in the king of Bohemia. But all is not well with that union and, in the end, she has to outwit him as well as Holmes. By her side, Irene has assistant Nell Huxleigh, who is as steady and stable as Holmes's friend Watson. Critic Cynthia Ogorek wrote in Booklist that Good Night, Mr. Holmes is "guaranteed to please Holmes fans or anyone who likes period mysteries."

In Irene at Large, Irene and Nell find themselves exiled in Paris when they happen upon an acquaintance who has been poisoned. Nell falls in love with the man, and they spend the rest of the book trying to untangle the intrigue around the attempt to murder him. Writing in the New York Times Book Review, Marilyn Stasio noted that in Irene at Large "the action never loses its jaunty, high-heeled pace."

In Irene's Last Waltz, Irene ventures to Prague to check on strange happenings there, as well as to meet up with her former suitor, the king of Bohemia. The pair investigate the murder of a young girl that seems to be connected to other strange happenings, including the haunting of the city by the Golem, a mythical monster. A Kirkus Reviews contributor called the book "the best … of Irene's adventures to date."

After a seven-year absence from the bookshelves, Irene returns in Chapel Noir. In the shadow of the newly constructed Eiffel Tower, Irene and her colleague Nell Huxley investigate a series of brutal mutilation killings of Parisian prostitutes and women in the sewers and catacombs beneath the Paris streets. Close behind, Irene's rival, the inimitable Sherlock Holmes, conducts his own search for clues and answers. The slayings have characteristics of the notorious Jack the Ripper's handiwork, and are certainly the work of a sexual psychopath who hates women. Meanwhile, Irene's husband, barrister Godfrey Norton, comes up missing in Transylvania, and Nell is influenced by apparently supernatural forces she can't resist or understand. Rex E. Klett, writing in Library Journal, called the book a "vastly entertaining tale." "Douglas cleverly balances tragedy and farce in a gentle mockery of period adventure and a ruthless depiction of all-too-contemporary hatreds," commented a Kirkus Reviews contributor.

Irene takes up an enduring mystery for mystery buffs and investigators around the world when she tackles the subject of Jack the Ripper in Castle Rouge. All of Europe is on edge as it appears that the Ripper's vicious killing spree has spread across the continent. Worse, the new murders appear to be connected with a mysterious cult that performs violent sexual rituals. Irene's husband, Godfrey Norton, has disappeared, and her closest friend and secretary, Penelop Huxleigh, has been abducted, adding additional impetus to Irene's quest to solve the case. Holmes and Irene both search for clues and try to find the most likely suspect, deranged upholsterer James Kelly. Other suspects emerge, including Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula. The story culminates in a dank Transylvanian castle, where Holmes's old foe, Colonel Moran, along with a young Rasputin and other unsavory characters, conduct their foul rituals and hold Stoker and others hostage. Readers "who relish lots of action, including chases and close calls, will feel amply rewarded," commented a Publishers Weekly reviewer.

In Spider Dance, reported to be the final book in the "Irene Adler" series, Irene delves into her own past and seeks to uncover the identities and history of her unknown parents. At Holmes' urging, Irene investigates the background of Eliza Gilbert, a woman who died thirty years earlier but whose own past might contain a clue to the mysterious black-clad woman who abandoned Irene with a group of actors when she was a very young child. Gilbert, it turns out, was actually a notorious dancer, entertainer, and woman of loose morals, Lola Montez. Her deathbed conversion was witnessed by an Episcopalian priest, Father Hawks, who has recently turned up dead himself. As Irene and Nell continue to look into Gilbert's background, Holmes looks into Father Hawks's suspicious demise. In the background, Nell appears to have found a suitor in British secret agent Quentin Stanhope, and reporter Nellie Bly uncovers a scandalous baby-buying ring. The novel, like the other books in the series, stands as a "paean to women's audacity, pugnacity, and street smarts, told with frisky good humor and nicely integrated historical asides," commented a Kirkus Reviews critic. A Publishers Weekly contributor concluded: "If indeed this is the last of the series, as the author has indicated, it closes on a definite high note."

In the "Taliswoman" series, Douglas again turned to fantasy. The first novel in the trilogy, Cup of Clay, focuses on Alison Carver, a journalist who lives in Minnesota. Needing a break after working on a scandalous child-abuse trial, Carver goes to her own island in a mountain lake. Her vacation takes a strange twist as she finds herself transported into another world, where she wins the Cup of Earth. She becomes the Taliswoman, empowered with skills to save the world—if she decides such a depraved world deserves to be saved. Laura Staley commented in the Voice of Youth Advocates that "the more serious themes of this book seem to have produced an even better story than usual."

The second book of the series, Seed upon the Wind, finds Carver back in the world called Veil. Her friend Rowan Firemayne blames Carver for the mysterious blight that has come over Veil. The two begin to work out their differences, and form a deeper relationship as they set out to make a powerful talisman from the ashes of Rowan's brother. They confront the danger to the world of Veil, and Alison finds that it is too similar to the evils in our own world. A Publishers Weekly reviewer commented that "Douglas's increasingly intricate fantasy raises disturbing issues about environmental depredations."

Douglas once wrote: "Another favorite character of mine is Midnight Louie, an 18-pound, crime-solving black tomcat who is the part-time narrator of a new mystery series…. Like many of my creations, Louie goes way back. He was a real if somewhat larger-than-life stray cat I wrote a feature story about for my newspaper in 1973." Beginning with Catnap, published in 1992, the Midnight Louie mysteries have become one of Douglas' most popular series. She refers to them as "cozy-noirs." According to Douglas's home page: "Midnight Louie's turf is the sizzling asphalt-and-neon jungle of the country's hottest gambling mecca, Las Vegas—a 90's version of Damon Runyon's 1920's Broadway of gold-hearted showgirls and not-so-cold-hearted bookies. The novels contrast Midnight Louie's back-alley first-person twang with the third-person adventures of a quartet of human mystery-solvers." Chief among Louie's cohorts is Temple Barr, "a petite public relations woman … with a penchant for high heels." Also joining Louie in his sleuthing are C.R. Molina, a "flat-footed female police lieutenant; Matt Devine, a model-handsome crisis-hotline counselor … and Temple's ex-live-in-lover, the Mystifying Max, a stage magician."

Catnap follows the adventures of Temple Barr at an American Booksellers Association meeting held in Las Vegas. Midnight Louie is able to assist Barr in finding out more information about the murder of Chester Royal, a big-time publisher. A Publishers Weekly contributor related that "Douglas's fine-tuned sense of humor gives her tame plot enough of a spin to keep readers entertained."

In Pussyfoot, the second Midnight Louie mystery, Temple Barr finds herself once again in a murder investigation. This time she has been employed to do publicity for a competition of exotic dancers. When one of the contestants is killed, Barr goes into action, and Louie helps her find the unsavory characters involved in the scheme. A Kirkus Reviews contributor criticized the story, saying "dog lovers, and lovers of well-made plots and prose, need not apply." A Publishers Weekly reviewer, however, praised the characterization of Barr, noting that she is "a reasonably modern and liberated female."

In Cat on a Blue Monday not only the detective but the mystery is decidedly feline. Midnight Louie receives a warning from a psychic cat named Karma that danger threatens a group of cats. The target may be either the Las Vegas Cat Show or the many strays adopted by the elderly cat-lover Blandina Tyler. In the course of the action, a nun is pushed down a staircase to her death while a convent cat narrowly escapes crucifixion. Cat on a Blue Monday also introduces the hostile kitten, Midnight Louise, who is later revealed as Midnight Louie's offspring. "Louie sniffs though plenty of plausible red herrings," stated a Publishers Weekly reviewer, "and avoids getting himself tacked up on the church door before pointing a claw at the killer in this brisk tail [sic] that even mystery readers who don't love cats will relish."

In the award-winning Cat in a Crimson Haze Temple Barr is hired to make over the organized-crime-tainted image of the Crystal Phoenix Hotel to that of a family entertainment center. The subsequent shenanigans involve Temple, Midnight Louise, Matt Devine, and Lieutenant Molina in the murder of Devine's stepfather, a search for missing treasure, and the investigation of an unsolved murder from Las Vegas's past. The seafaring black cat Three O'Clock Louie also makes an appearance. According to a Publishers Weekly contributor: "This is the best Louie adventure yet, full of intricate plotting and sharp characterization. And Louie? Nine lives wouldn't be nearly enough for this dude."

Publishers Weekly reviewers have found few faults with the Midnight Louie mysteries. Commenting on Cat in a Diamond Dazzle, one reviewer noted that Douglas's "prose and plotting are sometimes overwrought," but added that she "tells her tale with such good humor that readers are likely to forgive her occasional excess." A reviewer of Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt, the ninth Midnight Louie novel, felt that Temple's "vacillation between her two admirers," Matt Devine and Magical Max, has become "increasingly tiresome." Rex E. Klett of Library Journal characterized the series as "[p]roven fare for cat fans and others."

Cat in a Midnight Choir finds Temple working to clear her magician boyfriend Mystifying Max Kinsella of suspicion in a series of vicious murders of strippers and prostitutes on the Las Vegas strip. Temple's other romantic interest, ex-priest and radio show host Matt Devine, is dodging Kitty the Cutter, a licentious sort who seeks to claim the virginity of unsullied but delectable Devine. Police detective C.R. Molina, also known as the jazz singer Carmen, struggles to nail her ex-husband—and father of a daughter he does not know he has—Rafi Nadir in the stripper murders. In the background, The Synth, an ominous cult of rogue magicians, dispenses its own brand of lethal justice to prestidigitators who reveal the ancient secrets of magic to the public at large. Meanwhile, Midnight Louie has entered into a partnership with his daughter, Midnight Louise, and the other alley cats on Twenty-Fourth Street to create feline detective agency Midnight, Inc. With this Midnight Louie installment, Douglas "just keeps getting better at juggling mystery, humor, and romance," observed a Publishers Weekly contributor. A contributor to Kirkus Reviews commented favorably on the "terrific cliffhanger" that ends the book, and complimented Douglas's signature wordplay as "great fun."

Cat in an Orange Twist takes Temple and Louie into the high-intensity world of high-strung designers, interior decorators, and upscale home furnishing. In her role as a public relations consultant, Temple is in charge of the opening of a trendy furniture store, Maylords, featuring the stylish modern design work of Amelia Wong. A violent, terrorist-style shooting disrupts the opening, after which Temple discovers that Amelia had received several death threats. When a body is discovered in the SUV slated to be given away as part of the opening festivities, Temple considers the possibility that the murder and mayhem might be connected to hatred and bigotry directed against homosexuals. The dead man is stellar designer Simon Foster, the life partner of her friend, choreographer Danny Dove. The series does not take itself "too seriously," observed a Publishers Weekly critic, who noted this "wickedly witty cozy series continues to build sexy suspense while providing liberal doses of swaggering feline whimsy."

Cat in a Hot Pink Pursuit opens with a confrontation between Temple and her sometime nemesis, detective Carmen Molina. Carmen has come to ask Temple to go undercover as a contestant on a teen reality show, Teen Idol, in order to help protect Carmen's thirteen-year-old daughter Mariah, also a contestant, from a stalker. In return, Carmen agrees to lay off Temple's boyfriend, Mystifying Max. Temple agrees, and creates the flamboyant punk-rock character of Xoe Chloe Ozone as cover for her presence on the show. As Temple zeroes in on the stalker menacing the teenage contestants and Midnight Louie prowls around in his unique fashion, the inevitable murders pile up, and the stakes intensify. While the investigation is underway, a complicated relationship looms between Carmen and her ex, Mariah's father, and Temple's relationship with her other suitor, Matt Devine, escalates to another level. The "indefatigable Midnight Louie series never seems to run out of steam," commented Margaret Flanagan, writing in Booklist. A Publishers Weekly reviewer called the novel "one of the stronger, leaner entries in this crime-solving cat series."

Beginning in 1996, Douglas's book signings for the Midnight Louie mysteries have been linked to cat adoption programs sponsored by humane societies and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Orphaned cats are available for adoption right in the bookstore, and those who take one home receive a free Midnight Louie paperback.

Reflecting on her work, Douglas once told CA: "Because of my undergraduate major in theater, I'm especially interested in fiction that captures and affects an audience with the immediacy of a stage play. For this reason, I prefer working in ‘popular’ fiction forms and find nothing unusual in the idea of fiction being ‘entertaining’ as well as enlightening…. I like to say that what I write is principally entertainment, but that the best entertainment always has principles." She went on to point out that "in effect, I write on a fine line between ‘serious’ fiction on one hand and sneered-at ‘popular’ fiction on the other. It is not a particularly comfortable position, but somebody has to do it; otherwise we will have nothing but serious writers that nobody knows how to read and popular writers that nobody ought to read."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

St. James Guide to Crime and Mystery Writers, 4th edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1996.

St. James Guide to Fantasy Writers, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1996.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 15, 1990, p. 419; September 15, 1998, Barbara Duree, review of Midnight Louie's Pet Detectives, p. 203; July, 2000, Jenny McLarin, review of Felonious Felines, p. 2012; April 1, 2003, Ilene Cooper, review of Cat in a Neon Nightmare, p. 1382; September 1, 2003, review of Femme Fatale, p. 68; December 15, 2004, Margaret Flanagan, review of Spider Dance, p. 710; May 1, 2005, Margaret Flanagan, review of Cat in a Hot Pink Pursuit, p. 1520.

Kirkus Reviews, February 1, 1993, review of Pussyfoot, p. 101; December 15, 1993, review of Irene's Last Waltz, p. 1553; September 1, 2001, review of Chapel Noir, p. 1247; April 1, 2002, review of Cat in a Midnight Choir, p. 455; October 15, 2002, review of Castle Rogue, p. 1506; March 1, 2003, review of Cat in a Neon Nightmare, p. 348; December 1, 2004, review of Spider Dance, p. 1119; May 1, 2006, review of Cat in a Quicksilver Caper, p. 439.

Library Journal, November 1, 1997, Rex E. Klett, review of Cat in a Golden Garland, p. 120; February 1, 1999, review of Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt, p. 148; March 1, 1999, Rex E. Klett, review of Cat in an Indigo Mood, p. 114, and Sally Estes, review of Cat in the Golden Garland, p. 161; May 1, 2000, Rex E. Klett, review of Cat in a Kiwi Con, p. 158; October 1, 2001, Rex E. Klett, review of Chapel Noir, p. 146; May 1, 2002, Rex E. Klett, review of Cat in a Midnight Choir, p. 138.

New York Times Book Review, December 16, 1990, Marilyn Stasio, review of Good Night, Mr. Holmes, p. 33; August 11, 1991; August 9, 1992, Marilyn Stasio, review of Irene at Large, p. 20.

Publishers Weekly, January 20, 1992, review of Catnap, p. 49; October 19, 1992, review of Seed upon the Wind, p. 62; January 25, 1993, review of Pussyfoot, p. 81; January 17, 1994, review of Irene's Last Waltz, p. 412; April 11, 1994, review of Cat on a Blue Monday, p. 58; April 10, 1995, review of Cat in a Crimson Haze, p. 57; April 8, 1996, review of Cat in a Diamond Dazzle, p. 59; September 16, 1996, review of Cat with an Emerald Eye, p. 74; April 21, 1997, review of Cat in a Flamingo Fedora, p. 64; October 20, 1997, Robert Dahlin, "This Promotion Is the Cat's Meow," p. 46; October 27, 1997, review of Cat in a Golden Garland, p. 55; June 15, 1998, review of Cat on a Hyacinth Hunt, p. 46; March 15, 1999, review of Cat in an Indigo Mood, p. 50; November 1, 1999, review of Cat in a Jeweled Jumpsuit, p. 76; April 24, 2000, review of Cat in a Kiwi Con, p. 65; March 26, 2001, review of Cat in a Leopard Spot, p. 66; September 24, 2001, review of Chapel Noir, p. 72; April 22, 2002, review of Cat in a Midnight Choir, p. 53; April 22, 2002, M.M. Hall, "PW Talks with Carole Nelson Douglas," p. 53; October 28, 2002, review of Castle Rogue, p. 55; April 7, 2003, review of Cat in a Neon Nightmare, p. 49; August 11, 2003, review of Femme Fatale, p. 260; July 26, 2004, review of Cat in an Orange Twist, p. 42; November 29, 2004, review of Spider Dance, p. 27; April 4, 2005, review of Cat in a Hot Pink Pursuit, p. 46; May 1, 2006, review of Cat in a Quicksilver Caper, p. 41.