Murder Past Due: A Cat in the Stacks Mystery
by Miranda James
Athena, Mississippi, is a small college town, home to Athena College and archivist/librarian Charlie Harris. More importantly, this small town is the hometown of bestselling mystery/thriller writer, Godfrey Priest. With the release of his newest novel, Priest has agreed to pay his alma mater the honor of a visit, but it quickly becomes apparent that this visit is about a something a lot more personal. Charlie and Godfrey were school mates, but they have never been friends, so when the hometown hero pays the archivist a visit at the library, Charlie is pretty sure something strange is going on. Soon he is drawn into a family drama as Godfrey reveals that Charlie’s boarder is his previously unknown son. After arranging a meeting between father and son, Charlie’s paternal instinct kicks into overdrive. Hours later, worried about his young boarder, he sets out to find him, only to discover the writer’s body. Did the reunion go poorly? Or did Godfrey’s bad attitude finally send someone over the edge?
The most important character in this book is Charlie’s Maine Coon cat, Diesel, whom he takes everywhere with him on a harness. The loveable feline is intelligent, delightful and steals nearly every scene he is in. Charlie is also a new kind of hero, an educated professional and widower with grown children, who toils in the unglamorous world of documents and books.
As the two unlikely heroes set out to solve the mystery, it becomes clear that no one misses Priest, not even his new son, and certainly not the many women whom he used along the way. As the list of suspects begins to pile up, so too does the evidence that Godfrey was a despicable person.
The small town world seems very realistic, and the politics of the college campus is spot on. James’ characters are fabulous, too, and include a great collection of librarians, housekeepers, police officers, and preachers. As Charlie begins to unravel the mystery, the characters unfold in a colorful and full way that is very satisfying, even if several of them are less than likeable. With believable dialogue and excellent pacing, James creates a complicated plot, full of misleading twists, dirty little secrets, and plenty of lies, greed, and deceit. The end result is nothing less than sublime, as the final reveal is everything it is cracked up to be.
The next installment is due out in May, but I’m already missing sweet Diesel and his wise, gentle owner!!!
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