Genre: Mystery
Hardcover; Paperback (LP); Mass Market Paperback; MP3 CD; Digital Book; Audio Book
ISBN #: 9781624901928; 9781410461179; 9780425257272; 9781452668864
Berkley Publishing
304 Pages
Various; $26.99; $7.99; $24.99; $7.99 Amazon
January 29, 2013
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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.
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Charlie Harris is a librarian in Athena, Mississippi. He’s also on the board of the Friends of the Library, and one night while they are having a meeting at his home, he is privvy to an unfortunate conversation between the Ducote sisters, grande dames of Athena society, and Vera Cassity, an upstart who aspires to their position. Vera argued that her home, Ranelagh, would be the only one to hold the gala, as it had the largest dining room. But An’gel Ducote was nothing if not astute and sharp-witted, and managed to convey the fact that it would be difficult to ask people for money if they weren’t having fun - and there was nothing fun about a sit-down dinner. After this uncomfortable conversation, Vera left in a huff - once she realizes the rest of the board members agreed with the Ducotes.
But Vera isn’t about to give up easily - she goes so far as to threaten Charlie and even his boarder Justin, who is the recipient of a scholarship from Vera; and even Diesel, his Maine Coon cat.. It seems she really will stop at nothing to get her way. Things get worse when Charlie’s housekeeper Azalea finds out she’s been in the house and threatens to quit if she shows up again - but won’t tell Charlie why she hates her as much as everyone else seems to do.
When the library gala is held and Vera shows her usual asperity, the Ducotes have one more trick up their sleeve to stop her in her tracks. But when she storms off and Charlie later hears Azalea calling for help, he finds her locked in a room...with the body of Vera. It appears she either fell or was pushed down the stairs, and Sheriff Tidwell sets his sight on Azalea as the murderer - if only to make her daughter, his deputy Kanesha Berry, uncomfortable and look bad to the public.
So Kanesha, who has always been aloof and professional towards Charlie, asks him to help clear her mother's name and find the true murderer. She knows that Charlie has a knack for putting clues together, and since he's sure Azalea is innocent, agrees to help her. But when Charlie starts digging into which person wanted Vera dead - and there were probably many - it comes down to who would be willing to commit murder in order to silence her forever...
I've read four books in this series, and at least this one had not only the murder to consider, but a subplot or two to keep things fairly interesting. In this book Charlie's relationship with Helen is moving forward, along with those of his son and daughter's. They don't take precedence over the murder, however; and that's how it should be. We also learn a little bit more about Azalea's family, although nothing new on her dynamics with her own daughter.
All in all, I have to wonder if there's any vegetables grown in Mississippi aside from green beans. They seem to have them with almost every meal (and on a side note, I detest them myself). Maybe Azalea can introduce everyone to the pleasures of eating corn or peas - or even carrots once in a while. I would also caution Sean to move out quickly, since every member of Charlie's household has been suspected in a murder case so far. Just a thought...
Also, while Charlie might own a Maine Coon, he obviously doesn't know you can't give cats garlic. It's toxic. Yet he has no problem feeding this to his feline, while giving your cat a small amount of cheese won't hurt it. Yes, many cats are lactose intolerant, but not all. I'm a lifelong cat owner, and I've had plenty of cats that love cheese and it doesn't hurt them. But garlic? NEVER!
In the end, when the murderer was found out it seemed to me slightly extreme of this person since they really gained nothing at all from the deed that I could tell. I would have liked to have seen a much better reason for the murder than what was given. However, since I've already gone this far into the series I will probably proceed, since I've read much worse books and survived. At least this was the best of the four so far, so there's hope yet.
https://www.amazon.com/Out-Circulation-Cat-Stacks-Mystery/dp/0425257274/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2285654873
More on Miranda James's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/j/miranda-james/
So Kanesha, who has always been aloof and professional towards Charlie, asks him to help clear her mother's name and find the true murderer. She knows that Charlie has a knack for putting clues together, and since he's sure Azalea is innocent, agrees to help her. But when Charlie starts digging into which person wanted Vera dead - and there were probably many - it comes down to who would be willing to commit murder in order to silence her forever...
I've read four books in this series, and at least this one had not only the murder to consider, but a subplot or two to keep things fairly interesting. In this book Charlie's relationship with Helen is moving forward, along with those of his son and daughter's. They don't take precedence over the murder, however; and that's how it should be. We also learn a little bit more about Azalea's family, although nothing new on her dynamics with her own daughter.
All in all, I have to wonder if there's any vegetables grown in Mississippi aside from green beans. They seem to have them with almost every meal (and on a side note, I detest them myself). Maybe Azalea can introduce everyone to the pleasures of eating corn or peas - or even carrots once in a while. I would also caution Sean to move out quickly, since every member of Charlie's household has been suspected in a murder case so far. Just a thought...
Also, while Charlie might own a Maine Coon, he obviously doesn't know you can't give cats garlic. It's toxic. Yet he has no problem feeding this to his feline, while giving your cat a small amount of cheese won't hurt it. Yes, many cats are lactose intolerant, but not all. I'm a lifelong cat owner, and I've had plenty of cats that love cheese and it doesn't hurt them. But garlic? NEVER!
In the end, when the murderer was found out it seemed to me slightly extreme of this person since they really gained nothing at all from the deed that I could tell. I would have liked to have seen a much better reason for the murder than what was given. However, since I've already gone this far into the series I will probably proceed, since I've read much worse books and survived. At least this was the best of the four so far, so there's hope yet.
https://www.amazon.com/Out-Circulation-Cat-Stacks-Mystery/dp/0425257274/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2285654873
More on Miranda James's Books: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/j/miranda-james/
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