Miranda James

Charlie Harris is a librarian in his 50's who loves his enormous,3 foot- long, 50 lb. Maine Coon kitty, Diesel. This beautiful boy is excellent at providing help and comfort...mostly comfort, to anyone in his little world, that needs it, and he sometimes serves as a great listener for his "pet" human. Diesel, even though he is a cat, is high on the scope of feline intelligence...and did I mention that Diesel is a big, handsome boy with a purr that sounds like a diesel engine? Charlie has a habit of getting involved in murders. He seems to have a gift for tripping over dead bodies and inserting himself into police investigations. It’s a habit that the local police find very annoying and view as less than endearing. This case is close to home. Charlie’s daughter Laura is home for the summer, teaching a drama class at the local college where Charlie's library duties take place. She got the temporary position through the influence of the resident playwright at the university, Connor Lawton. Connor is a major pain in the posterior. Not just to Charlie, but to every person he comes in contact with. He’s rude, arrogant and downright insulting to everyone, so it's not surprising that no one likes him. It's also no surprise that no one mourns him when he’s found dead in his apartment. However, the long line of suspects...those who might want him dead, stretches as far as the eye can see. Once Connor is out of the way, whoever is behind his death turn their sights on Laura Harris, and her family finds itself under threat from everywhere. Charlie, who as usual, feels like it’s all up to him to figure out who is responsible before the killer manages to either kill his daughter or burn down his house with everyone inside. I loved the cat, and the other characters were okay. The mystery went on a bit too long but still it had a satisfactory ending. As you can guess, Diesel was my favorite character and mainly the reason I read the book. Put a cute animal on the cover and I'm putty in the publishers' hands:)… (meer)

Charlie Harris is a widow who has moved back to his hometown of Athena, Mississippi, into the house he inherited from his aunt. He works part time as the archivist at the local college’s library. He’s also well known for his rescued Maine coon cat, Diesel; a cat that goes almost everywhere with him. I loved Diesel. I'm not a big fan of cozies but I am a big fan of kitties, so the story is worth reading just to meet him. Of all the people from his past Charlie never wanted to ever see again, Godfrey Priest was IT. Godfrey was a jerk when they had known each other in high school and college, and now his status as a bestselling author of thrillers has done nothing to deflate his gigantic, growing ego. Now Godfrey is back in town and appearing at the local college where...you guessed it...Charlie works. Since Godfrey returned, secrets start appearing out of the woodwork. Charlie then finds Godfrey dead in his hotel room. The investigation centers around Charlie’s boarder, who is the son of an old friend, and Charlie starts looking around and asking questions. Still, it won’t be easy to find the killer of a guy who no one seemed to ever have liked. Charlie isn't sure that he is the one to do it or even if he can. One of the reasons I don't especially care for Cozy Mysteries is that usually the plot moves forward at a snail's pace, and it takes forever for something to happen. That wasn’t the case with this one. This book had more twists in the first 100 pages than some books I've read had in the entire story. The pace did slow down a little as the story progressed, there were still some really good twists and reveals in the second half. The clues were well planted, and I found myself completely satisfied at how things came together at the end.… (meer)