| Charlie
Harris is a librarian with a very special assistant - his
Maine Coon cat, Diesel. Together the pair work in Athena,
Mississippi, maintaining the archives at Athena College. Diesel
is a highly intelligent feline and also helps Charlie to solve
murders in the small town.
When
a set of Civil War-era diaries are donated to the archives
collection, Charlie is tasked with preserving them. The diaries
were written by an ancestor of the mayor, Lucinda Beckworth
Long's husband. The mayor is hopeful that the diaries will
aid in establishing the family legacy which should in turn,
help her son, Beck, in his state senate campaign. Yet when
other people take a mysterious interest in the diaries, and
one of them is killed in a hit and run, it's up to Charlie
- and Diesel - to get to the heart of the matter before things
get any more deadly than they already have.
I've
had an affinity for this series from the very first book.
Author Miranda James strikes just the right notes of mystery,
murder, small town secrets, and does it with a character-driven
story with a plot-driven subplot. As a reader, I want to love
the characters first and delight in watching them pull the
subplot pieces together, especially when they solve a complex
mystery.
I don't
think you can go wrong with any of the Cat in the Stacks mysteries,
but I love that this is a hardcover addition with a beautiful
cover. If you love books, libraries, kind souls, and a cat
with an appreciation for good food as well as good people,
you'll certainly enjoy Arsenic and Old Books.
Reviews
of other titles in this series
Classified
as Murder #2
File
M for Murder #3
Out
of Circulation #4
The
Silence of the Library #5
Arsenic
and Old Books #6
No
Cats Allowed #7
Twelve
Angry Librarians #8
Claws
for Concern #9 |
