I have been a member of the National Cartoonists Society for over twenty years. My work has appeared on hundreds of websites and in numerous print publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and Forbes.
I have had five novels published (not self-published) in a variety of genres. A Cat Named Measles, my latest novel, was inspired by a cat with a strange coat that my sister owned, years ago. Her cat didn't speak--well, not to my knowledge.
Reviewed by Keith Mbuya for Readers' Favorite
It is September 1990. Sixty-four-year-old Kenneth ‘Ken’ Pugh, an artist, is reporting to Woodrow Wilson High School in Asbury, New Jersey, as a senior for the forty-sixth time. He hopes this is the year he finally graduates. However, he has no idea how much trouble awaits. Woodrow Wilson High has a new principal, Vincent Cannatoona, who seems determined to see Ken out of the school ASAP. But that’s not all. Ken lives with his son Paul, a cotton candy vendor, and Paul’s expectant wife, Diane, who also wants Ken out. Ken is thrown out but is luckily taken in by Zera, a next-door fortune teller. Soon, Ken learns about Cannatoona’s interest in post-Impressionist art and sees it as an opportunity to improve his situation at the school. Encouraged by Zera, he paints a fake piece and presents it to the principal as an original. Cannatoona buys it, but unknown to Ken, this small transaction is about to get Ken, alongside other unsuspecting people, abducted by bungling kidnappers. Can Paul and their house pet, a talking cat called Measles, find and rescue the kidnapping victims before things get out of hand? Find out in A Cat Named Measles by Douglas Pike.
This page-turner will have you chuckling, giggling, and bursting into laughter from cover to cover. If you are looking for a comedy flavored with drama, crime, mystery, and suspense, A Cat Named Measles by Douglas Pike is a perfect pick. Pike is a master at delivering satirical, farcical, dark, deadpan humor. Featuring an exciting cast, Pike drew me into their hilarious situations with steady narration and vivid imagery. Reading the story felt like watching a Hollywood crime comedy. Between the squabbles in the Pugh and Cannatoona households, the drama at Woodrow Wilson High, and the chaos among Asbury’s incompetent law enforcement and the kidnappers, I relished the dramatic flair, lively dynamic conversations, and witty introspective commentary. Asbury is a fascinating town held together by dysfunction, eccentricity, and impatience. I loved this book.
