Charlie is a widower with a Maine Coon cat who works part time as an archiver in a library. His high school rival comes into town and promptly gets murdered - but who did it and why? There are secrets (of course) and Charlie gets involved because his 18 yr old boarder is the one to find the body. It's a nice, quiet, cozy mystery. ( )

Charlie Harris is a widow who has moved back to his hometown of Athena, Mississippi, into the house he inherited from his aunt. He works part time as the archivist at the local college’s library. He’s also well known for his rescued Maine coon cat, Diesel; a cat that goes almost everywhere with him. I loved Diesel. I'm not a big fan of cozies but I am a big fan of kitties, so the story is worth reading just to meet him. Of all the people from his past Charlie never wanted to ever see again, Godfrey Priest was IT. Godfrey was a jerk when they had known each other in high school and college, and now his status as a bestselling author of thrillers has done nothing to deflate his gigantic, growing ego. Now Godfrey is back in town and appearing at the local college where...you guessed it...Charlie works. Since Godfrey returned, secrets start appearing out of the woodwork. Charlie then finds Godfrey dead in his hotel room. The investigation centers around Charlie’s boarder, who is the son of an old friend, and Charlie starts looking around and asking questions. Still, it won’t be easy to find the killer of a guy who no one seemed to ever have liked. Charlie isn't sure that he is the one to do it or even if he can. One of the reasons I don't especially care for Cozy Mysteries is that usually the plot moves forward at a snail's pace, and it takes forever for something to happen. That wasn’t the case with this one. This book had more twists in the first 100 pages than some books I've read had in the entire story. The pace did slow down a little as the story progressed, there were still some really good twists and reveals in the second half. The clues were well planted, and I found myself completely satisfied at how things came together at the end. ( )

Todo el mundo en Athena, Misisipi, conoce a Charlie Harris, el amable bibliotecario dueño de un gato llamado Diesel al que pasea con correa. Ha regresado a su ciudad natal para sumergirse en los libros, pero pronto la vida real lo envuelve en una novela de misterio Godfrey Priest, famoso, arrogante y manipulador autor de «bestsellers gore» y antiguo compañero de clase de Charlie, aparece muerto. A pesar de los resentimientos Charlie, con la ayuda de Diesel, deciden resolver el misterio de la muerte del desagradable novelista a quien no le faltan enemigos. ( )

DNF @ Page 79

I thought, hey cats and books, sounds good! The cat kind of acted more like a dog, and I wasn't particularly fond of the MC Charlie. He was condescending and snooty.

I probably could have pushed through but I have so many other books I'm excited about reading. ( )

It has been a while since I've read a book in an afternoon, and this was just the book for it. Guess that's why cozy mysteries are such a hit!

In a small college town, Athena, Mississippi, Charlie Harris has moved back to his hometown and now lives in the home he inherited from his beloved Aunt Dottie. He is the new Athena College library archivist and the proud adopter of an abandoned Maine coon cat named Diesel. Charlie takes in boarders from the local college, one of whom is a freshman and the son of a friend who never left the town, Judy.

The action starts with another Athena local, Godfrey Priest, a renowned author of horror novels who is coming in for a book promotion tour. He was also a bully to his classmates. Including Charlie. So when Godfrey comes into Charlie's office, makes a gift of his notes and works, and drops a bombshell of some personal information, Charlie sees a different side of his former nemesis. And then Godfrey is murdered, so the murder mystery and solving begins.

It is a challenge for Charlie to navigate this murder, since he is by nature an inquisitive sort, and he early on runs into challenges with the Deputy assigned to the case, Kanesha. Not only is she a black woman in a predominately white male position, she's also the daughter of Charlie's housekeeper, Azalea. Sparks fly towards the end of the book, and my guess is that Charlie will be a much greater help in the next murder investigation. And besides, how many cats are a help in solving murders? ( )