Customer Reviews

Murder Past Due (Cat in the Stacks Mystery)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This cozy mystery has an irresistibly attractive cover, and I'm happy to report that the story inside more than measures up to it! I liked the characters, including the good-natured, compassionate librarian Charlie Harris, the delightful small-town Southern setting, the way all the supporting characters were so well portrayed, and the clever whodunit plot. Most of all, I loved Diesel, Charlie's friendly Maine coon cat, who loves attention, walks on a leash, and chirps and warbles rather than meowing. A fun read for anyone who loves mysteries, cats and books.

A CAT IN THE STACKS MYSTERY

RELEASE DATE AUGUST3, 2010

BERKLEY PRIME CRIME

This is a brand new series featuring Diesel, a Maine coon cat rescued by Charlie Harris, the kindly librarian, who takes Diesel almost everywhere he goes in a halter with a leash. Maine coon cats are huge, they can weigh as much as 25 pounds and it is one of the oldest natural breeds in North America, specifically native to the state of Maine, where it is the official State Cat. They are known for their intelligence and gentle personalities.

Diesel and his owner reside in Athena, Mississippi where Charlie, who has recently lost his wife to cancer returns to his hometown to live in a home left to him by his aunt. He works in the Archive Department of the college library and Diesel is well known at the library but stays pretty close to Charlie. Charlie also rents out rooms in his home to college students just as his aunt did. Diesel has a unique trait, in that he knows when people around him need a paw, a head bump or a cuddle, and is especially close to Justin, a freshman at the college who is rooming with Charlie.

Charlie is immersed in his work when he learns that famous author and former classmate, Godfrey Priest, is returning to Athena to promote his current book and take care of some personal business. Charlie remembers his classmate as an arrogant jerk would thought he was better than anyone else and there are quite a few people who agree with that assessment. His homecoming is very eventful, by lunch he had put one man in the hospital, turned some of the town's residents lives upside down, and by dinner he is found dead in his hotel room.

Charlie finds himself pawing through all the information he can find to determine who killed a man not very many people liked, most of whom are his friends and co-workers. It is quite a "purr-plexing" mystery.

I LOVED IT!!!!!

This book had me from page one, I fell in love with this cat and the rest of the story very quickly. I was at a high school basketball tournament and couldn't put it down. Charlie and Diesel make a formidable detective team in their purr-suit of the truth. The characters are so well developed you become invested in their lives without any effort at all. This is a wonderful debut to what I know will be a paws down successful series.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Berkley Prime Crime, a division of Penguin Publishing. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255 : "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

When librarian and archivist Charlie Harris loses both his wife and his beloved aunt within a few weeks, he returns to his roots in Athena, Mississippi; to the gracious house Aunt Dottie has willed to him. With the help of her faithful housekeeper, he continues his aunt's custom of boarding a few college students each year. This process has gone very smoothly - until now.

When his boarder Justin learns that the man who raised him is not his natural father; and that his real father, a famous author revisiting his home town, wants the boy to live with him, sparks begin to fly. When the author is murdered in his hotel room, Justin and his mother become prime suspects, and Charlie attempts to help clear the boy.

While this cozy has a charming setting and some interesting characters - particularly Diesel, the Maine Coon cat - it seems to have been scrambled together in a bit of a hurry. The author trails more red herrings past us than a fish market; and we never do learn why the police detective is so sure of the guilty party - she doesn't even learn about the clue that will nail it until the arrest at the very end, when she has no time to check it out.

With that said, this first book has a lot of the elements for an entertaining series, if the author can organize her plots better and develop the characters in subsequent books.

I found this book delightful. I love cats and this Maine Coon is a real charmer. I didn't know they "chirped" instead of meowing nor that they grew quite so large. These are minor details that don't detract from the story. I read some criticisms that the main character seems too old and stuffy. Well, remember this is a first book in a series. Give the characters some time to develop! He's not too old for romance, but he's just lost his wife. These things take time. I'd like more descriptions of the southern town, that is the sound of the wind in the trees, the smell of the flowers,the architecture of the buildings and more too about the college, its characters, its walkways. And I certainly hope to learn more about Azalea and her daughter! This could be the start of something -- cozy!

(1) I like the book

(2) I like the main character

(3) I love the cat

(4) I like meeting the townspeople

(5) I like the way the mystery was solved (although it hit me just before I got to that page

(6) I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THE REVIEWS THAT CLAIMED THE ENDING DIDN'T WORK FOR THEM, THE MAIN CHARACTER DIDN'T WORK FOR THEM, ETC. WHEN I FOUND IT WAS PUT TOGETHER QUITE SUCCINCTLY AND HAD TO ASK MYSELF IF THEY ACTUALLY READ THE WORDS, OR BOOK FOR THAT MATTER....I GUESS THESE WERE SOME OF THE MOST CONFUSING REVIEWS I'VE READ IN A LONG TIME.

(7) I DID FIND SOME OF MS. JAMES' WRITING TO BE ALMOST LIKE READING A LIST OF ACTIVITIES A CHARACTER DOES OFF A TO-DO LIST, BUT WAS ABLE TO OVERCOME THAT FEELING AS MOST OF THE BOOK WAS AN INTERESTING READ AND KEPT ME TURNING THE PAGES.

(8) I find it interesting that when a man is a main character, people seem to see the goodness as "boring" or "dull" but not when it's a female...Interesting to me...

I look forward to Ms. James' second title and hopefully won't have a long wait...

I enjoyed this little book, easily reading through it in an afternoon. The characters are interesting and generally ring true, and the small-town Southern setting is perfect for this type of story. (I grew up in a small town and later lived in a small Southern town for 10 years, and I felt that the social relationships generally rang true.)

Diesel is a very important character. He is a very unusual cat both in terms of his size and habits (have YOU ever seen a cat walked on a leash?) and his empathy with other characters. I would hope that Diesel will continue to play an important role in future books of the series.

So why only 3 stars? Simple: because the real strength of this book is its characters and setting, while the actual mystery left me very unsatisfied.

The denouement at the end had two big problems. First and most important, it left me saying to myself, "Wait! That's it? But you haven't explained...and you've left many characters in limbo! What actions did they take next?" The book *desperately* needs a short Epilogue that wraps up the unanswered questions about the characters and how they'll be impacted by the events of the book.

The second one is stylistic and annoying to me, but may be fine with other readers. Charlie is clearly the protagonist and viewpoint character, while we see very little of the policewoman except when Charlie is interacting with her. And yet the final confrontation is all about her solving the puzzle and making the arrest, with Charlie shunted aside. This didn't work for me at all, especially since I found her a very unsympathetic character.

I am willing to read a second book in the series, but if the two problems above are repeated I won't be reading the third.

This book captured my attention right away. The story was interesting and the cat with a personality added a light hearted side story. I couldn't help getting interested in what Charlie would turn up next and the characters moving in and out of the story. Couldn't put it down. I just generally enjoyed it.

This is a charming cozy in a nice setting with an interesting range of characters. The victim is one I found myself rooting for as a victim, but for some reason this book just didn't quite catch me. It was quick read and it has all of the elements I enjoy, murder, red herrings, cats, libraries, but for whatever reason I just didn't warm up to the characters. I will read the second book in case it was my mood, or the weather, or some other distraction that made this a middle of the road story for me.

I do recommend it for anyone looking to read a slightly different cozy.

If you like to follow characters in a mystery series, you'll enjoy this first entry in "A Cat In The Stacks." The author, Miranda James, has invented a pleasing male protagonist, Charlie Harris, a librarian at a small Southern college. He reminds me of the fellow in J. B. Stanley's, "Supper Club Series." Charlie is also alone in life--recently widowed. He has been content with the companionship of his Maine coon cat, Diesel, but in this story Charlie comes to realize that he enjoys sitting down to meals with his young boarder Justin and, occasionally, Justin's mother. I'd say Charlie is a reluctant murder sleuth, but he is a caring person and tries to "help," which leads to mistakes in judgment. And his roots in this Mississippi town and memories of his youth and old friends there further mislead his investigation. You probably won't feel sorry for the murder victim, Godfrey Priest, whom no one in the story likes. Never mind that Godfrey Priest is a best selling author and a ladies' man, he has treated everyone so badly they all have motives! Even Charlie is annoyed when this guy shows up. Godfrey Priest had been a bully when Charlie knew him in high school and turns out to be a big phony as well. He won't be missed, even in this friendly Southern town.

Yes, Diesel was my favorite part of the book! A cat who acts like a cat, a real one not a super-sleuthing one. (Pax, Koko and Mrs. Murphy and Midnight Louie.) His person does act older than his years perhaps, but we don't know what he was like before he became a widower and at least he's willing to ask questions - or snoop around - a little so there is some hope for him to become livelier in future books. And we'll still have Diesel!