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.