Dollycas’s Thoughts

There are babies and kittens in the house and Charlie and Diesel have their hands and paws full even before new neighbor Gerry Arbitron invites Charlie to her party. Gerry a real estate agent, did not make a good first impression with Charlie, her overt flirting really rubbed him the wrong way. Then she put up the most hideous holiday display, he and the rest of the neighbors were not impressed. They wanted to stay home but most bit their tongues and went to her party. One guest did not hold her tongue and had quite the altercation with the hostess. Another guest had an argument with Gerry behind a not quite closed door that was overheard. Before the night ends the nosy neighbor crashes to the floor and was unable to be revived. First thought – heart attack – Reality – it was murder!

I love Charlie and his big Maine Coon cat, Diesel. The man doesn’t think twice when he opens his front door and finds a box full of kittens with a note asking him to keep them safe. Diesel steps in a chief kitty sitter and the rest of house falls for them as well.

This is also going to be the first Harris Christmas for the new grandchildren. Charlie’s son and his wife are struggling with their newborn and everyone tries to give good advice and help. I have seen a struggle just like this with my own eyes. The author’s take on this was excellent and heartwarming. These characters are so realistic and believable. I grab each new book in this series not only for the top-notch mystery but because I need to check in with the family and all the people they are connected with, including one big lovable feline.

Yes, the mystery is top-notch. Everyone at that party is suspect and the fact that some people left before the police arrived or that someone may have snuck in unseen makes the mystery difficult to solve. The conflicts earlier in the evening land two people high on police detective Kanesha’s list but there are more questions than answers for quite a while.

The other mystery confounding Charlie is who dropped off the kittens at his door. He knows it’s a child, maybe about 10, but whoever it is is very smart because all the things Charlie tries to do to see the person are thwarted. Reminded me of a certain grandchild of mine very much.

These two mysteries run in tandem seamlessly along with family dynamics and holiday preparations. The pace is comfortable but the murder doesn’t take place until mid-book. By this time we get to know a little bit about the victim but she has so many secrets and surprising things continue to be revealed right up until the murderer is uncovered.

Miranda James is one of my favorite cozy authors. She is a fantastic storyteller. Every time I see that big kitty on the cover, a kitty that reminds me of one of mine now gone, I get excited to see what this author has in store for the Harris family. I have never been disappointed. The characters continue to grow and evolve and the stories are fresh with unexpected twists and turns. Ten books into this series and still going strong!

Six Cats a Slayin‘ is a fun and entertaining cozy for this holiday season. All cozy lovers will enjoy!!

Librarian - check

Cool Cat - Check

Rare or unusual books - Check.

 

A lot of my catnip here, a murder mystery with all of the above is not a hard read for me.  It was more about the relationship between Charlie Harris and his son who is back in his life looking for a new life.

 

Entertaining and gentle this was a fun read.

Charlie Harris works in his home town, Athena, Mississippi, as a librarian who walks his cat to work, a rescued Maine Coon, on a leash.

An ex-classmate of his, Godfrey Priest, is returning to the town to do a book launch and has some other plans as well, this involves Charlie's lodger, the son of another ex-classmate. When Godfrey ends up dead things are complicated and messy and Charlie can see some things that need to be investigaed to discover what has happened and a lot of skeletons come out of several closets.

I enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to more.

Charlie Harris is stressed out. The Southern Academic Libraries Association is holding their annual meeting in Athena and it's being hosted by Athena College. Since Charlie is the interim library director, he has to deliver the welcome speech to all of the visiting librarians. And as if that weren t bad enough, the keynote address will be delivered by Charlie s old nemesis from library school Gavin Fong. It's been thirty years since Charlie has seen Gavin, and he's still an insufferable know-it-all who's capable of getting under everyone's skin. In his keynote, Gavin puts forth an unpopular opinion: that librarians will be obsolete in the libraries of the future. So, when Gavin dies during his speech, no one seems too upset. Charlie, who was seen having a heated argument with Gavin after his welcome speech, has jumped to the top of the suspect list. Now Charlie and Diesel must look for clues and check out every one of them to find the real killer among them before Charlie is reading books behind bars.

The author gives us a different aspect of who ends up being the real killer among all of the people who didn't like Gavin and wanted to see him dead. The characters are all still believable, and the returning characters all have their story lines continue to grow so we'll have something to look forward to as the series grows. I enjoyed reading about how Charlie makes up his mind about a major decision that will affect his future and I was glad about the decision that he came to. I liked that Charlie's relationship with Helen Louise is finally making some progress since it seemed a little flat in the last book. I am getting a little tired of reading about everytime Diesel goes into the utility room and digs in his litter box, I don't want to read about everytime the cat goes to the bathroom, I know the author does this for realism but really enough is enough about the cat's bathroom trips.