Murder Past Due

Murder Past Due
Author: Miranda James
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 219
Release: 2010-08-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101189045

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 co-workers had a score to settle with the nasty novelist. As if the murder wasn’t already purr-plexing enough...

Past Due for Murder

Past Due for Murder
Author: Victoria Gilbert
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2019-02-12
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1683318757

After a young woman goes missing during a spring bonfire, library director Amy Webber must wade through the web of lies entangling her small Virginia town Spring has sprung in quaint Taylorsford, Virginia, and the mayor has revived the town’s long-defunct May Day celebration to boost tourism. As part of the festivities, library director Amy Webber is helping to organize a research project and presentation by a local folklore expert. All seems well at first—but spring takes on a sudden chill when a university student inexplicably vanishes during a bonfire. The local police cast a wide net to find the missing woman, but in a shocking turn of events, Amy’s swoon-worthy neighbor Richard Muir becomes a person of interest in the case. Not only is Richard the woman’s dance instructor, he also doesn’t have an alibi for the night the student vanished—or at least not one he’ll divulge, even to Amy. When the missing student is finally discovered lost in the mountains, with no memory of recent events—and a dead body lying nearby—an already disturbing mystery takes on a sinister new hue. Blessed with her innate curiosity and a librarian’s gift for research, Amy may be the only one who can learn the truth. For fans of Miranda James and Jenn McKinlay, Past Due for Murder is the third conspiratorially delightful third entry in Victoria Gilbert’s critically acclaimed Blue Ridge Library mysteries.

Classified as Murder

Classified as Murder
Author: Miranda James
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2011-05-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0425241572

Librarian Charlie Harris and his cat Diesel must catalog a killer in this mystery in the New York Times bestselling Cat in the Stacks series. Suspecting that someone is stealing from him, the aging and eccentric James Delacorte wants Charlie to do an inventory on his rare book collection. Soon after they begin, Delacorte is found dead at his desk, leaving Charlie with the bigger task of solving his murder. Immediately Charlie is suspicious of Delacorte’s own family, and relies on the help of Diesel to paw around for clues. The cat and mouse game heats up after a highly valued copy of Edgar Allan Poe’s Tamerlane goes missing and a second murder occurs. Now Charlie and Diesel must solve the case before the killer strikes a third time—and hope curiosity doesn’t kill the cat...

Out of Circulation

Out of Circulation
Author: Miranda James
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2013-01-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101619112

Librarian Charlie Harris and his cat Diesel must content with some spirited southern ladies when a feud ends in murder in this mystery in the New York Times bestselling series. The Ducote sisters are in a tiff with Vera Cassity over the location of Athena, Mississippi's annual library fundraising gala, and Charlie would rather curl up in a corner than get into the fray. It seems everyone—even his housekeeper Azalea—has it in for Vera. And at the gala, she gives them good reason, with a public display of rancor aimed at anyone who gets in her way. But those bitter words wind up being her last. When Charlie discovers Azalea standing over Vera's dead body, it's up to him—with a little help from Diesel—to clear Azalea's name, and catch a killer before his last chapter is finished.

A Mind to Murder

A Mind to Murder
Author: P.D. James
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2001-06-05
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0743219589

Adam Dalgluish is called to the elegant Steen Psychiatric Clinic to investigate why the head of the clinic, Enid Bolan was found with a chisel through her heart.

Arsenic and Old Books

Arsenic and Old Books
Author: Miranda James
Publisher: Berkley
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2015
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0425257290

Endearing detective duo' Diesel the cat and librarian Charlie Harris are back on the case in the hardcover debut of this New York Times bestselling series. In Athena, Mississippi, librarian Charlie Harris is known for his good nature-and for his Maine coon cat, Diesel, that he walks on a leash. Charlie returned to his hometown to immerse himself in books, but taking the plunge into a recent acquisition will have him in over his head.'

The Pawful Truth

The Pawful Truth
Author: Miranda James
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2019-07-16
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0451491130

When Charlie Harris decides to go back to school, he and his Maine Coon cat, Diesel, find themselves entangled in a deadly lovers quarrel on campus in the latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series. In addition to his library duties and his role as doting grandad, Charlie has enrolled in an early medieval history course offered by young, charismatic professor Carey Warriner. Charlie feels a bit out of place- his fellow classmates are half his age- except for Dixie Bell Compton, another ‘mature’ student. When Charlie hears an angry exchange between her and their professor, his interest in piqued. He’s even more intrigued when she shows up at his office asking for a study partner. Charlie turns her down and is saddened to learn just a few days later that Dixie has been killed. Charlie wonders if Professor Warriner had anything to do with Dixie’s death. Warriner is married to a fellow professor who happens to be a successful author. There are rumors on campus that their marriage was on the rocks. Was Dixie's death the result of a lovers’ triangle gone bad? Charlie soon discovers that the professor’s wife may have some secrets of her own and his suspect list is only getting longer. As he and Diesel step further into the tangled web of relationships, someone else is viciously killed. Whose jealousy finally erupted into murderous rage? Was it a crime of passion or is there another more sinister motive? Charlie races to unravel this mystery: and to draw out the culprit, he may just have to put his own life on the line…

Claws for Concern

Claws for Concern
Author: Miranda James
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2018-02-20
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0698182006

Charlie Harris and his Maine Coon cat, Diesel, are embroiled in a new mystery when a cold case suddenly heats up in the latest installment of the New York Times bestselling series. Charlie Harris is busy enjoying his new grandson when a mysterious man with a connection to Charlie's family starts visiting the library, bringing with him troubling questions about an unsolved murder... Charlie may be a proud new grandfather, but he and Diesel still have work to do at Athena College and the small Mississippi town's public library. He's too busy to deal with true-crime writer Jack Pemberton, who wants Charlie as the subject of his latest book--and who won't take no for an answer. A more appealing proposition for Charlie is spending time helping a kind, elderly man navigate the library's genealogical database. But he's shocked when he learns that the visitor's search is focused on a member of his own family: his late aunt's husband. Charlie befriends the man and considers inviting him to stay in his home, but he's soon given reason to question that notion. Jack is certain that Charlie's new houseguest was involved in a shocking homicide that took place years ago in a small town near Athena. As this cold case heats up, Charlie and Diesel have to uncover a killer who may already be too close to home...

The Silence of the Library

The Silence of the Library
Author: Miranda James
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2014-01-28
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0698137310

When a beloved mystery author’s visit causes a stir in their small Mississippi town, librarian Charlie Harris and his cat Diesel must outwit a fiction fanatic turned real-life killer. It’s National Library Week, and the Athena Public Library is planning an exhibit to honor the centenary of famous novelist Electra Barnes Cartwright—creator of the beloved Veronica Thane series. Charlie has a soft spot for Cartwright’s girl detective stories (not to mention an extensive collection of her books!). When the author agrees to make a rare public appearance, the news of her whereabouts goes viral overnight, and series devotees and book collectors converge on Athena. After all, it’s rumored that Cartwright penned Veronica Thane stories that remain under wraps, and one rabid fan will stop at nothing—not even murder—to get hold of the rare books...

In the Stacks

In the Stacks
Author: Michael Cart
Publisher: Duckworth Publishing
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2004-10
Genre: Librarians
ISBN: 9780715632741

An anthology of short stories in defence of reading by some of the greatest practioners of the genre, including Isaac Babel, Italo Calvino, Jorge Luis Borges, Alice Munro, Lori Moore and H.H. Munro.