Midnight Louie's chapters are written in what the author describes as a style reminiscent of Damon Runyon[citation needed], generic gumshoe, and Mrs. Malaprop.
As the Las Vegas-set series continues, three other main human characters have points of view: a hard-boiled female homicide detective, C.R.
The mix of adventure, mystery, humor and social issues is why the author describes the series as "cozy-noir."
The author was not shown galleys of the books until she demanded them, too late to undo the romance editor's deep cuts of mystery elements, including Midnight Louie sections.
The books were later reverted and Douglas reissued them in the original form as The Cat and a playing card series.