chez_jae

Careless Whiskers by Miranda James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Last night I completed the book Careless Whiskers, which is the 12th installment in Miranda James' "Cat in the Stacks" series, featuring archival librarian Charlie Harris and his Maine Coon cat, Diesel.

Charlie is pleased and proud that his daughter Laura will be starring in a debut play at Athena College, directed by her husband Frank. Laura isn't pleased, however, when the actor tabbed to play the male lead opposite her is a man whom she locked horns with when she was in Hollywood. Luke Lombardi arrives in Athena, complete with an entourage, and proceeds to hack off everyone involved with the play. When he collapses and dies on stage after drinking from a glass that Laura handed him, Laura becomes a suspect. Charlie isn't about to sit idly by, and he soon immerses himself in the investigation, much to the chagrin of his children and Deputy Kanesha Berry. Charlie will not be dissuaded, however--not until Laura is proven innocent.

Charlie is a mature character (he has grandkids!), but he sure didn't act like it in this one. I was dismayed by some of the antics he engaged in, even though I knew it was for a good cause. Other things that bothered me: ( Spoilers! )

Characterizations were wonderful, as always, and the plot was well-paced. There were some interesting plot twists thrown in as well.

Favorite lines:
♦ I felt the pounds attaching themselves to me simply by looking at the food.
♦ Diesel met me and gave me a short lecture, consisting of indignant meows and insistent trills, informing me of the heinousness of his abandonment while I was larking about without him.
♦ "You have obviously not discovered the joy of watching something awful simply because it is awful."

I wish I could award half stars. This deserves 3.5, but I'll bump it up to four as a nod to the series as a whole.

Six Cats a Slayin' by Miranda James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



After the house was cleaned and lunch was eaten, I settled in to finish reading Six Cats a'Slayin' by Miranda James. This is the 10th installment in the "Cat in the Stacks" mystery series. Main characters are archival librarian Charlie Harris and his gregarious Maine Coon cat, Diesel.

With Christmas just around the corner, Charlie is busy getting ready for the holidays. His routine is shaken up, however, when he finds a box of kittens on his doorstep and a note begging him to keep them safe. Charlie soon realizes that a child from the neighborhood has been peering in the windows, presumably to check on the kittens. As he tries to puzzle out the mystery, another one rears its ugly head. A newcomer to the neighborhood, Gerry Albritton, is hosting a lavish holiday party, and she expects Charlie to attend. Charlie shows up with his lady friend, Helen Louise, in tow. The party features two ugly scenes between the hostess and other guests, and when Gerry drops dead during the festivities, everyone is questioned by the police. Charlie is content to let Deputy Kanesha Berry handle it, but he can't resist digging further into Gerry's past. It seems everyone in Athena knows the Albritton family, but no one remembers a Geraldine. In addition to the kittens and the murder, Charlie must also deal with a family issue. His daughter-in-law is struggling to care for Charlie's newborn granddaughter, but she refuses any help. It's going to take a family intervention and a lot of love to get Alex back on her feet.

Good grief, there was a lot going on. Things wove together neatly, however. I kept thinking the kitten conundrum was tied into the murder; instead it was simply a subplot, albeit an entertaining one. Diesel took to the kittens right away and stepped into the role of mentor and protector for them. I enjoyed reading about Charlie engaged in various activities that had nothing to do with investigating and that he limited his investigation to research before passing on what information he found to Kanesha. I also appreciated that Charlie was never in any danger, nor was he present when the case was solved. Having a main character who is nearly killed at the climax of every book becomes tedious, quite frankly.

Favorite lines:
♦ There was not a book in sight--to me, always the sign of a person with whom I probably had little in common.
♦ Two of the boys looked almost identical and were dark ginger. After some thought, I settled on Fred and George, the names of the ginger-headed Weasley twins from the Harry Potter books.
♦ I knew some would think me foolish for buying Christmas presents for the cats, but I probably wouldn't like those people anyway.

Very good (I only wish I'd read it in December!), four stars.

Twelve Angry Librarians by Miranda James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



I completed Twelve Angry Librarians by Miranda James last night. It's the 8th part of the "Cat in the Stacks" mystery series, told in first-person pov by the main character, Charlie Harris.

Charlie is being pulled in several different directions. His daughter, pregnant with his first grandchild, may be moving to DC with her husband. Charlie is helping organize a conference for librarians in his hometown, and he's dismayed to learn that one of the attendees is an old nemesis, Gavin Fong. Worse, Fong has applied for the job that Charlie currently holds as an interim. When Charlie is offered the position he's torn. It will mean a greater income, but he'd be back to working full time, rather than working part time as an archival librarian. All of that pales when Fong drops dead in the midst of delivering a keynote speech at the conference. Since Charlie was recently seen arguing with the victim, he's on a short list of suspects. Charlie knows that most everyone who knew Fong had an antagonistic relationship with him, which he shares with Deputy Berry. Charlie also begins to ask his fellow librarians about their recent dealing with Fong, in hopes of finding out who killed him and why. In this case, it's not so much who wanted to kill the victim as who didn't?

I wanted to kill Fong, too. What a jerk. I enjoyed following along with Charlie as he navigated a whirlwind weekend of major life decisions, sleuthing, and reconnecting with old friends. What I especially appreciate about this series is that Charlie doesn't end up in danger at the end of each installment. That is so overdone in most cozy series.

Favorite lines:
♦ "I may be under my bed, sucking my thumb and clutching my blankie by the time this is over with."
♦ I was inured to the fact that I carried cat hair with me wherever I went, no matter how hard I tried to get it off my clothes. But what I had on me at the moment might have been enough to make a small kitten.

Fun story with a nifty, twisty ending. Four stars!

Arsenic and Old Books by Miranda James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Stayed up about fifteen minutes past bedtime last night to finish reading Arsenic and Old Books by Miranda James. It's the 6th part of the "Cat in the Stacks" mystery series, with primary character Charlie Harris and his Maine Coon cat, Diesel.

Charlie is delighted when the mayor of Athena, Lucy Beckwith Long, donates a set of diaries to Athena College. They date from the Civil War and belonged to her husband's great-great-grandmother. The mayor wants Charlie to preserve the diaries and add them to the other items donated by the Long family. She hopes they can boost her son's campaign for state senate.

Charlie never would have anticipated how much interest the diaries would generate. He's barely in possession of them before one of the history professors wants to get her hands on them, the other candidate for state senate would like to find out if there is anything in the diaries to derail his opponent's campaign, and a local reporter is also sniffing around. When the diaries are stolen, there is no shortage of suspects, and after one of the players is killed in a hit and run, Charlie is left wondering what could be so important about the diaries that someone would kill to find out.

As far as I was concerned, the theft of the diaries and the subsequent police investigation was mystery enough. I would have enjoyed just that! However, there was also the apparent murder to contend with. Characters were three-dimensional, including the loathsome ones. The plot flowed smoothly and kept me engaged, and it was refreshing to read a resolution wherein the main character does not end up in mortal peril.

Favorite line: "You're the one who went rushing off like a blind pig after an acorn."

Very good! Four stars

Out of Circulation by Miranda James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Stayed up late last night to finish reading Out of Circulation by Miranda James. It's part of the author's "Cat in the Stacks" mystery series, featuring archivist and librarian Charlie Harris and his Maine Coon cat, Diesel.

When the library board meets to plan a fund-raising gala, a feud breaks out between the elderly, established Ducote sisters and nouveau riche Vera Cassity. The sisters win this round, but Vera isn't going down without a fight. On the night of the gala, Vera is found dead in the Ducote family home. Did she fall down the stairs, or was she pushed? Charlie's beloved housekeeper, Azalea, is found trapped in the stairwell with Vera's body, and the sheriff tabs her as a suspect. Her daughter, Deputy Kanesha Berry, can't investigate, so she asks Charlie to snoop around. Charlie reluctantly becomes involved in the case, but Vera had a plethora of enemies, and there's no shortage of people who aren't sorry she's dead. It's up to Charlie to sort out tangled family histories, current betrayals, and a motive for murder.

Very entertaining. Charlie makes for a good protagonist, and I appreciate the fact that Diesel is a normal cat (albeit a very large one!). Charlie's scruples are sorely tested, and it was interesting to watch him grapple with his own conscience on several occasions.

Favorite line: He looked at me with that "who, me?" expression that cats have perfected over the millennia since they first decided to domesticate themselves.

Intriguing plot, good characterizations, and a surprisingly tame resolution. I appreciated that, too. So many murder mysteries seem to require the main character to be placed in mortal peril at the climax, and it gets a tad tedious, in my opinion.

Four stars:

****

At work on Wednesday, I finished reading Classified as Murder by Miranda James. It's the second book in the author's "Cat in the Stacks" mystery series.

Volunteer librarian Charlie Harris is delighted when wealthy eccentric James Delacorte asks him to help inventory a collection of rare books. Delacorte fears someone is stealing from the collection. Not long after Charlie begins, he discovers Delacorte dead at his desk and suspects the victim's own family. When Deputy Berry asks Charlie to continue the inventory and keep his ears open, he is happy to assist the investigation. Charlie relies on his Maine Coon cat, Diesel, to help paw around for clues.

I enjoyed this book much more than I liked the first one. There was more going on, including an unscheduled visit from Charlie's son Sean, and a plethora of suspects, all of whom had their own peccadilloes. I liked the cat Diesel, simply for the fact that he's a regular cat. While I enjoy felines with paranormal tendencies, it was refreshing to read about a plain ol' cat who was helpful simply by being a curious cat. I do have other books in the series, and I am more eager to read them after finishing this one.

Four stars:

★★★★