Murder Past Due

Cat in the Stacks Mystery, Book 1

By: Miranda James

Narrated by: Erin Bennett

FIRST IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING CAT IN THE STACKS MYSTERY SERIES!

Everyone in Athena, Mississippi, knows Charlie Harris, the good-natured librarian with a rescued Maine coon cat named Diesel that he walks on a leash. He's returned to his hometown to immerse himself in books, but soon enough he's entangled in a real-life thriller . . .

A famous author of gory bestsellers and a former classmate of Charlie's, Godfrey Priest may be the pride of Athena, but Charlie remembers him as an arrogant, manipulative jerk—and he's not the only one. Godfrey's homecoming as a distinguished alumnus couldn't possibly go worse: by lunch, he's put a man in the hospital. By dinner, Godfrey's dead.

Now it's up to Charlie, with some help from Diesel, to paw through the town's grudges and find the killer before an impatient deputy throws the book at the wrong person. But every last one of Charlie's friends and coworkers had a score to settle with the nasty novelist. As if the murder wasn't already purr-plexing enough . . .

©2010 Dean James (P)2024 Tantor

Talk about a Surprise ending!

The plot was off the chain! Kept me guessing to the very end. I can usually figure out “who done” very on but not this time. Well written & narrated, Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Best series

Excellent writing and character development. Can’t wait for the rest of the series. Love the cat!

Another amazing book!!

I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. The narrator made this story alive and fresh and all the characters so unique and believable. I can't wait for another book by Miranda James!!

Female narrator is an odd choice

I've listened to many of the books in the series and I keep hoping the choice of a female narrator will make sense. She is a good narrator but since the lead character is male, I find it very distracting to hear "him" in a female's voice.

A Good Southern Mystery

I love this series especially the characters and of course Diesel.
Azalea and the students that are boarding at Charlie’s house are great. Can’t wait for the next one.

Not very engaging

I couldn’t get into it, it wasn’t engaging, and it did not hold or keep my attention. I did not finish it.

Not What I Expected

I want to begin by saying I can't say this is a bad book. I like the narrator even though she was a woman and the main character was a man. She did an excellent job. Also, the story was OK. The only issue for me was that it was not what I was expecting by the description and cover (yes I know, never judge a book by its cover). Lately I have been on a Cozy Mystery kick needing a bit of lighter fare. This book with the cat on it's cover and the description made it seem like it was going to be another cozy mystery with a fun cat in the mix. Sadly, this was not the case. The beginning was not bad, I did like Diesel the cat but the rest of the story seemed lacking. The main character came across as if he was much older than he was. I thought he was close to retirement age or older, but he was not quite 50 so that made things a little off. The thing that bothered me the most was that there was much more violence etc... than I was expecting in this book. Abusive father hitting his child, graphic descriptions of the murder etc... I don't expect such heaviness in a "cozy mystery". I tried staying with the book even after the violence and the darkness in the beginning, but once I had to endure the graphic description of the murder (smells and the sight) I decided this books was not for me.
The book might work for someone else, it just did not work for me. I admit I want a lightness to my mysteries and this was not it.