Sunday, January 05, 2014

The Silence of the Library - a Miranda James Mystery


The Silence of the Library
A Must Read for Series Book Fans

To be published on January 28, 2014 
A Berkley  Prime Crime Mass Market Paperback


Everyone in Athena, Mississippi, knows Charlie Harris, the librarian with a rescued Maine coon cat named Diesel. He’s returned to his hometown to immerse himself in books, but a celebrated author’s visit draws an unruly swarm of fanatic mystery buffs…and one devious 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…

My Review:

Without giving away any of the plot aside from the synopsis or whodunit, I really enjoyed this book - I especially enjoyed the Maine coon cat Diesel. Having never seen a Maine coon cat before, I was inspired to Google this animal to see just how large they really are. I enjoyed the mixing of real life vintage series with the fictional Veronica Thane series which we even get snippets of one of the Veronica Thane stories which is blended into the book as the hero, librarian Charlie Harris, is reading one of the vintage volumes while trying to solve the murder. Imagine if we all, discovered, that one of our favorite series book writers was still living and nearly 100. I imagine, quite like in this book, that people would end up converging upon the scene. Now, would they be as bold as character Gordon Betts, with more money than manners, expecting a nearly 100 year old writer, Electra Barnes Cartwright, to sign over 200 books? You never know.....With some quirky and possibly sinister series book fans lurking about, this made for an enjoyable read--especially for a fan of such books who regularly runs conventions and "hob nobs" with other fans. I think you'll enjoy it as much as I did.

James and Kim Keeline and I were recognized in the afterward and my website even gets a mention in the story. How honored was I to have Charlie checking out my site, the Nancy Drew Sleuth website, for some research on Nancy Drew! That's quite fun, indeed. I highly recommend this read, it's a great cozy mystery and the historical information weaved in here and there on some of our favorite books and series was very enjoyable too.

About Dean James:

Dean James, a seventh-generation Mississippian, is a librarian and Edgar-nominated author of over twenty works of fiction and nonfiction. His nonfiction has won both the Agatha Award and the prestigious Macavity Award. Writing as Miranda James, he is the New York Times bestselling author of the Cat in the Stacks series, featuring librarian Charlie Harris and his trusty rescue cat Diesel. He is also the author of The Trailer Park Mysteries, writing as Jimmie Ruth Evans and the Bridge Club Mysteries, writing as Honor Hartman. As Dean James, he’s authored The Deep South Mystery Series and The Simon Kirby-Jones Mysteries. He lives in Houston, Texas, with two cats and thousands of books.

See www.catinthestacks.com to discover even more!

Here's the list of books in the Cat in the Stacks series:

Murder Past Due     '10
Classified as Murder    '11
File M for Murder    '12
Out of Circulation     '13
The Silence of the Library    '14

Jenn:)

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