Temple Barr lives in Las Vegas and is an event planner to the hotels on the strip.  A Red Hat Society convention is in town and an inordinate number of over fifty ladies dressed in red and purple descend upon Vegas.  When a strangled woman is found, Temple’s landlady, Electra Lark, is the suspect since the murder victim is Electra’s ex-husband’s ex-wife (yet another relationship to keep straight).  

Temple has proved herself a worthy Watson to Midnight Louie’s Holmes’ in the past. Having free reign of the hotels puts her in a good position to learn many things. To blend in, Temple dons the lighter shades of the Red Hat’s society junior auxiliary, pink and lavender.  When Temple’s beloved aunt Kit nearly becomes the next victim, it is time to step up, or paw up, the investigation.  Temple can’t help but wonder if her former fiancé, vanished magician Max, has anything to do with the odd goings on, but would really like to break her ties to Max once and for all so she can announce her engagement to ex-priest Matt.  

Mayhem and catnip ensue as Louie gives his all to help his roommate solve the murder so she can concentrate on solving the tangle of her personal life.

Chapters alternate between Temple’s story and Louie’s; readers can almost choose to read one version of the story or the other and not miss out on much of the plot (Temple’s is a bit easier to follow).  Longtime readers of this series may be able to keep characters straight, but newcomers will have a difficult time, especially with an ex-fiancé named Max and a fiancé to be named Matt and ex-wives, husbands and cats abounding.  

Readers willing to accept Louie and Louise (again with the similar names) as house detectives will have an easier time than readers who like their house detectives with two feet rather than four paws.  Louie does have keen powers of observation and makes wry comments on the human behavior he observes.  At times more silly than whimsy, Temple and Louie are not for everyone, but fans of the series may lap up this latest entry.

--Jennifer Monahan Winberry