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Cat Me If You Can by Miranda James

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


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On Tuesday night I finished reading Cat Me If You Can, which is the 13th installment in author Miranda James’ “Cat in the Stacks” cozy mystery series. The main character is librarian Charlie Harris, along with his Maine Coon cat, Diesel.

Charlie, his fiancée Helen Louise, and Diesel travel to Asheville NC to participate in a week-long retreat for members of a local mystery book club. Everyone is excited to be staying in a boutique hotel, which the Ducote sisters have reserved exclusively for their group. While expecting to discuss literary murder mysteries, the guests find themselves embroiled in an actual murder mystery when someone is killed at the hotel. Charlie is dismayed to realize that someone he knows is a murderer, and he can’t resist trying to piece together clues, back stories, and timelines. Helen Louise would prefer he stay out of it, but Charlie is much too curious for his own good.

While the guests weren’t exactly confined to the hotel, virtually all of the story was set there. I am not fond of the trope of everyone being cooped up with a killer. Overdone. I was also surprised that Charlie refused to leave well enough alone. In previous books he’s been portrayed as a reluctant sleuth, but in the most recent ones he’s been almost too eager to investigate. It seems an odd character change. Also, I’d always thought Charlie was in his mid-60’s, but this particular story intimated he was about 10 years younger.

Favorite lines:
♦ “Occasionally a thought hits me and out of my mouth it leaps.”
♦ One thing about having cats—and dogs, too—you rarely had to go to the bathroom by yourself.
♦ “When the cat agrees, you know you have a problem.”

I enjoy this series and typically fly through the books, but this one did not engage me at all. Giving it three stars.

The Pawful Truth by Miranda James

My 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.

Claws for Concern by Miranda James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Last night I knocked back the rest of Claws for Concern, which is the 9th "Cat in the Stacks" mystery by Miranda James. It features archival librarian Charlie Harris and his Maine Coon cat, Diesel.

Charlie is keeping busy with his library work and babysitting his new grandson. When he's contacted by Jack Pemberton, an author of true-crime books who'd like to base his next book on some cases Charlie has helped solve, Charlie is at first reluctant to agree. However, a new library patron begins asking questions about the house Charlie inherited from his aunt, which turns up a possible connection to that man and a cold case from a nearby town. When Charlie learns that Bill Delaney may have been his uncle's son, he agrees to investigate the cold case with Jack. Things heat up when Bill is the victim of a hit and run and witnesses claim the vehicle swerved to hit him. Now Charlie and Jack are feeling the pressure to solve a 20-year old murder before anybody else gets killed.

I enjoy this series. Diesel is a huge draw, and I appreciate that Charlie seldom stumbles across a dead body or winds up in danger at the end of each book. His love interest isn't in law enforcement either. Bonus! LOL! Pacing was good, moving between Charlie actively investigating with Jack, going to work, and relaxing at home with friends and family. I had a good idea as to the solution, but it was entertaining to watch everything play out.

Favorite lines:
♦ "He usually has to put in his two meows' worth."
♦ He meowed three times to let me know how near starvation he was, then threw in a few sad chirps to emphasize his dire state.
♦ The older I got, the less I liked the high heat and humidity.
♦ "He just picked a lemon from the tree of life when he married that no-good woman."
♦ I felt rather foolish lurking in the bathroom like one of the Hardy Boys on a stakeout.

Very good, four stars

Bless Her Dead Little Heart by Miranda James

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Since I just had two short chapters left in my work book, I brought it home and finished it this evening. The book was Bless Her Dead Little Heart by Miranda James. It's the first in the "Southern Ladies" mystery series, which is a spin-off of the author's "Cat in the Stacks" series. These books feature An'gel and Dickce Ducote, a pair of wealthy spinsters with keen minds and Southern manners.

Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce are pet-sitting for Diesel, their friend Charlie Harris' large Maine Coon cat, when a former sorority sister comes calling, seeking sympathy and sanctuary. Rosabelle claims someone is trying to murder her, and she is afraid it's one of her own family. Not long after Rosabelle arrives, her selfish adult children show up. An'gel and Dickce soon have a house filled with uninvited and unwanted guests, but that's not the worst of their troubles. When one of Rosabelle's family members slips on the marble stairs and falls to her death, Rosabelle is convinced she was the intended target. After Deputy Kanesha Berry declares the death a homicide, An'gel and Dickce realize they've opened their home to a murderer. Unwilling to sit idly by, they put their heads together and begin sifting through clues in an effort to save Rosabelle and their own sanity.

The story was interesting and mostly enjoyable, but I simply couldn't wrap my head around this family of maniacal hyenas. Nor could I understand why Ang'el and Dickce offered to let any of them stay, including Rosabelle, whom they knew was an attention-seeking drama queen. So Rosabelle, fearing for her life, skedaddles out of her home in California to seek refuge with the Ducote sisters in Mississippi, and not one, not two, but all three of her adult children show up the next day?! Bringing their own adult children?! It didn't help that none of them particularly liked one another, nor did any of them seem to harbor any affection for Rosabelle. And this is what you invited into your home. But wait, it gets better. Rosabelle had told An'gel and Dickce she was widowed (for the third time), but her estranged husband showed up out of the blue, as well, followed by...his male lover! Woo! Now we're cooking with gas! This was like a Ray Cooney play. Good grief.

As for unraveling the mystery, the sisters didn't do any overt investigating. They did do some eavesdropping, and they dutifully reported what they overheard to Deputy Berry. Otherwise, I wouldn't really consider them to have done any sleuthing. The ending was rather odd and anticlimactic, and the crime(s) committed didn't seem to have made much sense. Eh.

Favorite line: "I can't believe we're accepting a character reference from a cat."

I think I would have liked this story more had I not had a face full of 'WTF?' for most of it. Giving it an average score.