Carole Nelson Douglas (November 15, 1944 – October 20, 2021) was an American writer of sixty novels and many short stories. She has written in many genres, but is best known for two popular mystery series, the Irene Adler Sherlockian suspense novels and the Midnight Louie mystery series.
Douglas was a theater and English literature major in college. After graduation, she worked as a newspaper reporter and then editor in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul area. During her time there, she discovered a long, expensive classified advertisement offering a black cat named Midnight Louie to the "right" home for one dollar and wrote a feature story on the plucky survival artist, putting it into the cat's point of view. The cat found a country home but its name was revived for her feline PI mystery series many years later. Some of the Midnight Louie series entries include the dedication "For the real and original Midnight Louie. Nine lives were not enough."
She began writing fiction in the late 1970s. The late director/playwright/novelist Garson Kanin, a pleased interview subject, took her first novel to Doubleday and it sold shortly after. Amberleigh is a post-feminist historical Gothic novel. Douglas has always addressed women's issues in her fiction and preferred mixing genres from contemporary to historical mystery/thriller, romance and women's fiction, and high and urban fantasy.
Douglas lived in north Texas with her husband, Sam Douglas, and adopted cats.
Titles
Non-series Novels
Amberleigh (1980), Fair Wind, Fiery Star (1981), In Her Prime (1982), Her Own Person (1982), Best Man (1983), Lady Rogue (1983), Azure Days, Quicksilver Nights (1985), The Exclusive (1986), "Catch a Falling Angel" (novelette) (1995), printed in Angel Christmas,
Sword and Circlet series
Six of Swords (1982), Exiles of the Rynth (1984), Keepers of Edanvant (1987), Heir of Rengarth (1988), Seven of Swords (1989),
Probe
Probe (1985), Counterprobe (1988),
Taliswoman series
Cup of Clay (1991), Seed Upon the Wind (1992),
Crystal series
Crystal Days (1990) Crystal Nights (1990)
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),
Midnight Louie series
Catnap (1992) Pussyfoot (1993), Cat on a Blue Monday (1994), Cat in a Crimson Haze (1995), Cat in a Diamond Dazzle (1996), Cat with an Emerald Eye (1996), 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 a 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 Absinthe without Leave, 2018 (first in a new series combining the Midnight Louie, Delilah Street, and Irene Adler series.)
Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator series novels
Dancing with Werewolves (2007) Brimstone Kiss (2008) Vampire Sunrise (2009) Silver Zombie (2010) Virtual Virgin (2011)
Irene Adler series
Good Night, Mr. Holmes (1990) Good Morning Irene, reissued as The Adventuress (1991), Irene at Large, reissued as A Soul of Steel (1992), Irene's Last Waltz, reissued as Another Scandal in Bohemia (1994), Chapel Noir (2001), Castle Rouge (2002), Femme Fatale (2003), Spider Dance (2004),