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2nd out of 15 books
—
13 voters
Murder Past Due (Cat in the Stacks Mystery #1)
There's a cat in the stacks...
...and he makes the purr-fect partner for a librarian-turned-sleuth.
Everyone in Athena, Mississippi, knows librarian Charlie Harris-and his Maine coon cat named Diesel that he walks on a leash. They also know his former classmate-turned-famous bestselling novelist, Godfrey Priest.
But someone in Athena took Godfrey off the bestseller lists-...more
...and he makes the purr-fect partner for a librarian-turned-sleuth.
Everyone in Athena, Mississippi, knows librarian Charlie Harris-and his Maine coon cat named Diesel that he walks on a leash. They also know his former classmate-turned-famous bestselling novelist, Godfrey Priest.
But someone in Athena took Godfrey off the bestseller lists-...more
Paperback, 294 pages
Published
August 3rd 2010
by Berkley Prime Crime
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This is the first book in
Miranda James'
Cat in the Stacks series, reprinted. Let me say first that I loved the interaction between Diesel, a rescued Maine Coon cat, and the other characters in the story. So much so, that I want a Maine Coon cat! The book is well-written and characters fully formed, not always found in the first book of a series. There appears to be a good balance among the characters.
The storyline was full of suspense and twists right to the end. When best-selling author Godfr...more
The storyline was full of suspense and twists right to the end. When best-selling author Godfr...more
This is a modest cozy mystery series with a somewhat labored set-up. The protagonist is a part-time librarian in a small Mississippi town who has come back to his hometown from Houston after the death of his wife from cancer. His aunt Dottie dies, leaving him a house and housekeeper. How exactly our protagonist makes ends meet working part-time is unclear, but he seems to have lots of free time. The librarian has a Maine Coon cat, Diesel, an improbably large cat. (male Maine Coons typically weig...more
A fun cozy mystery with a good ending. I read this book in only two sittings. Not a real brain-teaser, but a perfect curl-up-and-read mystery.
A few things bored or frustrated me enough to consider putting the book down (though obviously I didn't, so they weren't too bad ... still a good read)
In the third quarter of the book (between the halfway point and the climax), the novel hits a dead spot. The plot moved very slowly. There are pages about the main character gardening (which has nothing to...more
A few things bored or frustrated me enough to consider putting the book down (though obviously I didn't, so they weren't too bad ... still a good read)
In the third quarter of the book (between the halfway point and the climax), the novel hits a dead spot. The plot moved very slowly. There are pages about the main character gardening (which has nothing to...more
I picked up this book because it was a mystery, it's main character had a job involving books (in this case a librarian), and it featured a cat. Overall, I was happy with my choice. The mystery was interesting, and the revelations were believable. When we find out who the killer is, it makes sense.
Charlie, the librarian, lives with his cat, Diesel, and 2 boarders. One of the boarders is absent from this book, but is mentioned a couple of times. Charlie rents out rooms to local college students,...more
Charlie, the librarian, lives with his cat, Diesel, and 2 boarders. One of the boarders is absent from this book, but is mentioned a couple of times. Charlie rents out rooms to local college students,...more
Dec 21, 2011
Schnaucl
marked it as unfinished
I tried. I was only 11 pages in when I realized I really didn't like the protagonist, Charlie. He comes across as a fussy old coot. When his college freshman border leaves the kitchen a mess, he takes that and a few days of moodiness to assume that something is wrong and that the kid may have turned to drugs. Because God knows, when I was messy and in a bad mood for a few days my freshman year it was because I turned to drugs. Or something.
When Justin, his border, returns, Charlie deals with th...more
When Justin, his border, returns, Charlie deals with th...more
Cozy Mystery - a subgenre of the mystery genre, usually defined by the atomsphere of the book, such as the coofeeshop, the bookshop, the tea shop, knitting or other craft. Of all the cozy mysteries I have read, 99% feature a woman as the lead character who is unwittingly dragged into investigating the mystery.
This book is classified as a Cozy Mystery, in that it features a Maine Coon cat as the lead character, Disel. He is a fixture in town and goes everywhere with his owner, Charlie Harris. And...more
This book is classified as a Cozy Mystery, in that it features a Maine Coon cat as the lead character, Disel. He is a fixture in town and goes everywhere with his owner, Charlie Harris. And...more
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Refreshing!
The first cozy mystery in a long long time that I read in a single sitting. I didn't feel weighed down by the usual A+B+C+D equals cozy mystery plot devices and characterizations that are seemingly overwhelming the genre of late, commonalities which ultimately forced me to step away from the genre until recently. I feel my delight can be attributed equally to the frothy yet fast paced writing style with the occasional "big word" thrown in when you least expected, real and complex seco...more
The first cozy mystery in a long long time that I read in a single sitting. I didn't feel weighed down by the usual A+B+C+D equals cozy mystery plot devices and characterizations that are seemingly overwhelming the genre of late, commonalities which ultimately forced me to step away from the genre until recently. I feel my delight can be attributed equally to the frothy yet fast paced writing style with the occasional "big word" thrown in when you least expected, real and complex seco...more
If you are looking for a clever cozy to while away an afternoon, look no further than Murder Past Due. Charlie Harris, a people-friendly librarian, along with Diesel, a people-pleasing Maine coon cat, find themselves entrenched in a murder of a best-selling author that everybody loves to hate. Charlie is really new at the amateur sleuth game, and commits a few (legal) errors of his own, all with good intentions. Diesel has no supernatural cat powers: He doesn't talk to other animals or people, o...more
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This was light and enjoyable - just what I wanted to while away a holiday afternoon.
I'm a total sucker for a book with a pretty cat on the cover but have no time at all for stories with cat-as-detective. I love cats and I want my cats to be real cats and on that score the author did pretty well. Though Diesel the Maine Coon at times comes across as cat-cum-new-age-healer, mostly he's just a great companion for his owner, widower and librarian Charlie Harris who gets drawn into a murder case invo...more
I'm a total sucker for a book with a pretty cat on the cover but have no time at all for stories with cat-as-detective. I love cats and I want my cats to be real cats and on that score the author did pretty well. Though Diesel the Maine Coon at times comes across as cat-cum-new-age-healer, mostly he's just a great companion for his owner, widower and librarian Charlie Harris who gets drawn into a murder case invo...more
The main character of this cozy mystery is a librarian who owns a Maine Coon cat that he walks on a leash and brings with him to work. Cats + libraries = I'm intrigued. The writing was a bit above the usual average level of the typical cozy. The characters were a bit more fleshed out and not so stereotypical or cookie-cutter. Also, the main character is male, which is unusual in a cozy series. Charlie works as a cataloger in the rare books department of a university and also volunteers in a publ...more
When bestselling author Godfrey Priest returns to his small southern home-town for a special occasion, he ends up murdered. Librarian/archivist Charlie Harris and his Maine coon cat, Diesel, find themselves caught up in the ensuing investigation. The problem is that everyone in town seems to have a motive for killing the man.
As an archivist and librarian, I really appreciated James' realistic descriptions of some aspects of the profession, such as when Priest decides to donate his personal pape...more
As an archivist and librarian, I really appreciated James' realistic descriptions of some aspects of the profession, such as when Priest decides to donate his personal pape...more
A cozy mystery that boasts a library as the setting? Yes, please. Sadly, the library didn't feature as prominently as I had hoped, thought I had pretty high expectations. The murder was interesting to figure out. I did guess the killer before the end, but it was mostly just a gut feeling.
Charlie was a likable enough protagonist to follow. His introduction is cringe worthy, but it really improved quickly. I liked that his involvement in the "detective work" was natural and that he screws things u...more
Charlie was a likable enough protagonist to follow. His introduction is cringe worthy, but it really improved quickly. I liked that his involvement in the "detective work" was natural and that he screws things u...more
Wow. Just Wow. This is an amazing first book in a series! Miranda James is a pseudonym for another author so this isn't a first book but still, this is a good one.
Charlie is an archivist and a librarian for a special library in a small town, for a small college, in Mississippi. He recently lost his wife and a beloved wife and with his children grown and off on their own careers he has adopted a Maine Coon cat. The cat plays a significant part in the book, but not for talking or commenting, just...more
Charlie is an archivist and a librarian for a special library in a small town, for a small college, in Mississippi. He recently lost his wife and a beloved wife and with his children grown and off on their own careers he has adopted a Maine Coon cat. The cat plays a significant part in the book, but not for talking or commenting, just...more
In "Murder Past Due" Charlie Harris is a librarian who takes his cat Diesel with him everywhere, walking him on a harness and leash. An old classmate comes back to town to be honored for being a best-selling novelist, but ends up dead-the victim of a brutal murder. Charlie is asked by the lead investigator's mother to poke around for information to help her daughter solve the case. As it turns out, the investigator doesn't really need the help and Charlie (already on her bad side) seems to only...more
This is a very nice cozy murder mystery featuring a lovely Maine Coon cat named Diesel. Charlie Harris has lost both his wife and his beloved Aunt Dottie. He lives in Aunt Dottie's house in Mississippi and works part-time as a cataloger at Athena College. He volunteers at the public library. He is a nice guy. Godfrey Priest, best-selling author, shows up in Charlie's office one morning and tells Charlie he plans to leave his papers to Athena, along with a stipend to pay for their maintenance. He...more
Just my kind of cozy mystery--a librarian with a cat who solves a murder after the fact. Charlie Harris and his coon cat (that's a really big cat) Diesel are forced into investigating the killing of Athena College alum Godfrey Priest after the man is found shot in his hotel room. This follows shortly after Priest reveals to Charlie that he is not only donating all of his papers to the college, but that he is also the biological father of Charlie's roomer. What follows is a delightful intellectua...more
This was definitely a Cozy mystery. It had a quiet tone and a civilized atmosphere all through it.
The amateur sleuth is a widowed academic librarian who lives in a Mississippi college town and takes college student boarders in his inherited Victorian home. He works part time in the rare books and archive section of the college library. He has a large, not-quite-full-grown Maine coon cat named Diesel who goes everywhere with him, except to church and a few other places. Diesel is more popular th...more
The amateur sleuth is a widowed academic librarian who lives in a Mississippi college town and takes college student boarders in his inherited Victorian home. He works part time in the rare books and archive section of the college library. He has a large, not-quite-full-grown Maine coon cat named Diesel who goes everywhere with him, except to church and a few other places. Diesel is more popular th...more
I was very interested in this book when I first started reading it and realized the main character was a man. That was a pleasant surprise from the usual heroine I'm used to in cozy mysteries. I did like him as well. However, I found the story difficult to get through, it was rather wordy and pages would go by where nothing happened. The book really didn't hold my attention. I'm still trying to understand what role the cat played in the story, I guess I was expecting him to be more involved in t...more
A cozy mystery that boasts a library as the setting? Yes, please. Sadly, the library didn't feature as prominently as I had hoped, thought I had pretty high expectations. The murder was interesting to figure out. I did guess the killer before the end, but it was mostly just a gut feeling.
Charlie was a likable enough protagonist to follow. His introduction is cringe worthy, but it really improved quickly. I liked that his involvement in the "detective work" was natural and that he screws things u...more
Charlie was a likable enough protagonist to follow. His introduction is cringe worthy, but it really improved quickly. I liked that his involvement in the "detective work" was natural and that he screws things u...more
3.5 stars, actually.
Charlie Harris is a part-time college archivist and reference librarian who lives in the house his Aunt Dottie left to him. He takes in boarders to both help with finances and alleviate the loneliness he's lived with since both his wife and his aunt died three years ago. Soon after 18-year-old Justin Wardlaw, Charlie's current boarder, learns his biological father is the famous novelist Godfrey Priest, he argues with both his dad and then his biological dad over plans for his...more
Charlie Harris is a part-time college archivist and reference librarian who lives in the house his Aunt Dottie left to him. He takes in boarders to both help with finances and alleviate the loneliness he's lived with since both his wife and his aunt died three years ago. Soon after 18-year-old Justin Wardlaw, Charlie's current boarder, learns his biological father is the famous novelist Godfrey Priest, he argues with both his dad and then his biological dad over plans for his...more
MURDER PAST DUE is the first book in a new series by Miranda James (Dean James). I really like Dean's Trailer Park mysteries and his cozy vampire. I didn't like his Bridge mysteries and MURDER PAST DUE is somewhere in between the Bridge mysteries and the Trailer Park mysteries!!! Charlie Harris is a good natured, widowed, librarian (Dean is a librarian so he knows what he is writing about). He has a Maine Coon cat named Diesel who walks on a leash and goes everywhere with Charlie. Charlie lives...more
I've found this book couple of months ago, and finally I found time to read it. The things that caught my attention were cat on the cover, a library and a murder. A murder of a writer.
It is a funny cozy mystery, but a little bit too slow for my taste.
I loved Diesel, the Maine Coon cat that goes everywhere with his owner Charlie.
Everyone in the small town knows Charlie and Diesel. When bestselling author is murdered, and the boy who lives at Charlie's place is the first suspect, Charlie and Die...more
It is a funny cozy mystery, but a little bit too slow for my taste.
I loved Diesel, the Maine Coon cat that goes everywhere with his owner Charlie.
Everyone in the small town knows Charlie and Diesel. When bestselling author is murdered, and the boy who lives at Charlie's place is the first suspect, Charlie and Die...more
Murder Past Due was a great, fun read that was very hard to put down. James has created two great characters in Charlie and his feline pal, Diesel. When the book begins, Charlie tries very hard to isolate himself from the lives of others. Despite this, he takes on a young boarder, Justin, and in spite of his best efforts starts to care for the kid. It is Charlie's concern for Justin that drives him right into the middle of the book's mystery. James does an amazing job with her character developm...more
Cute, little book. Nothing earth shattering, thoughtful, or intriguing, but enjoyable.
Don't understand, though, how the protagonist can "get by" in his current position. He is not what is considered retirement age, yet (only in his fifties, from what I can determine), but only works part time. I want this gig. I guess it helps he inherited his current home from an aunt. If you don't have a mortgage to pay off, that really eases the financial stress.
He also takes his Maine Coon cat everywhere -...more
Don't understand, though, how the protagonist can "get by" in his current position. He is not what is considered retirement age, yet (only in his fifties, from what I can determine), but only works part time. I want this gig. I guess it helps he inherited his current home from an aunt. If you don't have a mortgage to pay off, that really eases the financial stress.
He also takes his Maine Coon cat everywhere -...more
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Jan 28, 2013
Debbie Maskus
added it
I was very anxious to start this series about a cat who helps to solve mysteries, but the writing and main character are geriatric. The main character, Charlie Harris, acts like an old man, and he is only 50 years old and only works part time in the library. I felt that any minute, Charlie would fall into cardiac arrest. Charlie is a widower and lives in a house bequeathed to him by an aunt. I never realized that a cat chirps, but the Maine coon cat, Diesel, chirps in every chapter. Also, the su...more
I found one of the books in this series in my library's book sale, and I was all like: "A mystery about librarians AND cats?!? GET IT." so then of course I had to order the rest of the series from Amazon. I think there are three so far, and this is the first one. It was cute! I was actually surprised by the ending - it was nice not being able to spot the culprit from a mile away. And I loved the little details about library life, and of course I loved the fact that the main character walks his c...more
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I actually read the second volume of this series before the first (which is this one). Libraries and a Maine coon cat - how could it go wrong? It even has an older semi-retired gentleman for a protagonist, which is a refreshing change.
It's a nice, solid mystery based on the murder of a popular but much-disliked writer; identifying the actual murderer requires analysis of the timing of visits to a hotel and figuring out who was lying. Good plotting, and good characterization except in one respec...more
It's a nice, solid mystery based on the murder of a popular but much-disliked writer; identifying the actual murderer requires analysis of the timing of visits to a hotel and figuring out who was lying. Good plotting, and good characterization except in one respec...more
This wasn't the most intriguing mystery story I've ever read, but it was worth checking out. There was decent character --and cat-- formation. And the plot was decently mysterious. But it lacked a certain zest, and wasn't quite as compelling as I'd hoped it could be. I do like the fact that the main character is a cataloger, even if there weren't a lot of details about his work. And Diesel, the Maine coon cat and sidekick was definitely likeable. I didn't care much about most of the characters u...more
This book reflects life inside the world of a public Library, as well as, the world of book writing. Within the quiet Southern setting is a long-held secret which leads to a crime.
Charlie Harris, with his Maine Coon Cat, Diesel, is thrown into the situation of trying to solve the crime, even though he would prefer sitting quietly among his 'rare' books.
I laughed, I felt anger, disgust, and sadness while reading this novel. At the end, I was sympathetic with the person who performed the crime. It...more
Charlie Harris, with his Maine Coon Cat, Diesel, is thrown into the situation of trying to solve the crime, even though he would prefer sitting quietly among his 'rare' books.
I laughed, I felt anger, disgust, and sadness while reading this novel. At the end, I was sympathetic with the person who performed the crime. It...more
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also writes as Dean James, Honor Hartman and Jimmie Ruth Evans
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“With their broad chests and muscular bodies, maine coons are the defensive tackles of the cat world.”
—
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Apr 06, 2013 09:39am