For Charlie Harris, living in his childhood hometown of
Athena, Mississippi is a peaceful existence. He loves his
job as a part-time librarian at the local college, where he
is well known for bringing his beloved pet to work with him,
a huge Maine Coon cat named Diesel. He enjoys being
around long-time friends. At the moment, the small town
living suits his solitary widowed lifestyle.
The peacefulness of Athena is shattered when well-known
author (and Charlie's former classmate) Godfrey Priest
blows into town turning lives upside down in his wake.
Always known as an arrogant know-it-all, Godfrey has come
back home to be feted as a highfalutin, best-selling
author and alumnus. He is also in town to claim his teenage
son, Justin, who has never been told of his father's true
identity, until now.
When Godfrey turns up dead in his hotel room on the night
of a party thrown in his honor, the list of suspects is a
mile long. Suspects include his ex-girlfriends, jilted
lovers, irritated former classmates, his newly found son,
and (to everyone's surprise) even mild-mannered Charlie
since he was the one to find Godfrey's lifeless body.
As the local sheriff's department, headed up by Acting
Chief Deputy Kenesha Berry, begins its investigation,
Charlie decides to do a little investigating himself.
He begins with the boxes and boxes of personal papers that
Godfrey donated to the college. The secrets that
Charlie turns up are enough to fill a bestselling novel,
with the twist at the end taking the whole town by surprise.
In the debut novel MURDER PAST DUE, author Miranda James
begins the "Cat In The Stacks" mystery series with a bang.
By featuring a male amateur sleuth, James gives the cozy-
reading audiences a slightly different point of view in this
predominately female influenced genre. It's an absolute
breath of fresh air. Charlie's feline sidekick Diesel is a
real charmer, and the rest of the residents of Athena are
quirky and appealingly unique.
This novel, with its lively, fast-paced storyline and
fascinating back-story, falls neatly into the ever-popular,
rapidly growing bibliophile mystery category. It promises
to mark the beginning of a series that is welcomed whole-
heartedly. Cozy mystery readers will anxiously anticipate
subsequent books in the series.
...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-
permanently, and with extreme prejudice. Now, Charlie and
Diesel must browse through the history section of the town's
past to find a killer.