Book 62, 2024
The Pawful Truth by Miranda JamesMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This evening I finished the book The Pawful Truth by Miranda James. It's the 11th installment in the "Cat in the Stacks" cozy mystery series, starring archival librarian Charlie Harris and his Maine Coon cat, Diesel.
In addition to his part time job and spending time with his new grandchildren, Charlie has opted to take a course in medieval history at the local college. He's relieved to see he's not the only "mature" student in the class, but when Charlie overhears an angry exchange between the handsome professor and the other student, Dixie Belle, he is both embarrassed and intrigued. When Dixie Belle later asks Charlie to be a study partner, he declines. A few days later, Dixie is murdered, and Charlie can't help but wonder if Professor Warriner had something to do with it. From gossip around the campus, he learns that there may be not just one, but two overlapping love triangles, which may have sparked enough jealousy for someone to commit murder. After someone else is killed, both Charlie and the police are stymied. As Charlie tries to piece together the clues, he fears the killer may be closer than he thinks.
Wonderful addition to this series. It even included cameos of characters from another series the author writes. Charlie was more active in his investigating in this one, which was a tad out of character for him. Characters are portrayed very well, and I enjoyed reconnecting with the familiar ones.
Favorite lines:
♦ Who needed an alarm clock when you had a kitten in the house?
♦ "I've never seen such a ridiculous demonstration of male stupidity in my life."
♦ "Strong women don't care much for possessive attitudes in men."
♦ "Rich widows are very attractive, even if they have faces like a brick henhouse."
Very good, four stars.