Charlie and friends are having a week away with their book club to discuss gplden age murder mysteries. Naturally, people in the hoteI start turning up dead.

Always pleased to visit Charlie Harris and Diesel again. ( )

Charlie, Helen, and Diesel can’t get away from murder even though they are on a small vacation. The Ducote sisters have arranged a retreat for the mystery book club in Asheville at a boutique hotel. An uninvited guest leads to two murders. Nice cozy mystery. ( )

It’s supposed to be a week-long getaway for the mystery group to talk about their favorite detectives, but it turns into a real life murder mystery. The deceased was not part of the group, but was the ex-boyfriend of one and known by the rest. Another murder victim propels Charlie into action to sniff out the guilty party. It’s an 1940s’ detective case taking place before this captive group, and Charlie, with the help of An’gel Ducote, solves it like one. Great characters, intriguing mystery, and wonderful writing make this another winning installment in the cozy series. ( )

Found this book somewhat slow. A cozy mystery that was so cozy I got a little claustrophobic. I've liked other mysteries by Dean James (I think is a pseudonym of his). But not this one. It was just OK. Found this book somewhat slow. I didn't understand all the emphasis on the cat: his quirks, his diet and favorite food, his emotional well-being, etc. It didn't add anything to the story and just slowed it down. ( )

Charlie Harris, his fiancée Helen Louise Brady, and his faithful cat Diesel have travelled to Asheville, North Carolina to partake in a discussion group with members of a mystery reader’s club from the Athena Public Library. Charlie is hoping for some lively discussion and some sightseeing. What he is not hoping for is to land in the middle of yet another murder mystery. But when one body and then a second body turns up and it looks like the killer is one of the group from Athena Charlie does find himself investigating a murder once again.

“Cat Me If You Can” is the nicely done thirteenth book in Miranda James’ Cat in the Stacks cozy mystery series. Taking characters from an established mystery series into a new location can be a risk but James does an excellent job with the change – even managing to bring Diesel along (the book wouldn’t be the same without Diesel who manages to uncover a clue or two along the way). It was nice to see more of Helen Louise in this book - she can be a bit of a background character at times so it was nice getting to know more about her. It was also nice seeing more of the Ducote sisters and their ward Benjy. The whole book is a nice homage to mystery writers and their works – well done. The mystery is also well done – and another tribute to mysteries in the way the killer is revealed. I had fun trying to figure out who the killer was only to find out I was only partially right. The motive took me by surprise and left me feeing sad.

“Cat Me If You Can” is a nicely done cozy mystery. ( )