What the Cat Dragged In
The Blurb
Charlie has always believed that his grandfather had sold his house to his longtime tenant, Martin Hale. So when Martin dies, Charlie is surprised to discover the house was not left to Martin but instead belongs to Charlie. As he and his cat Diesel check out the house he remembers fondly from his childhood, he is pleasantly surprised that it is in better condition than expected. That is until they find a literal skeleton’s bones in a closet.
While the sheriff’s department investigates the mysterious bones, Charlie digs deeper into the past for clues to the identity of the bones and why they are there. But the cold case heats up quickly when Martin’s grandson is found dead on the farm.
As Charlie delves into his own family history, he encounters many people who might have been motivated to take a life. But Charlie and Diesel know that things are not always what they seem and that secrets seemingly lost to time have a way of finding their way back to haunt the present.
The Details
Series: Cat in the Stacks Mystery – Book #14
Author: Miranda James
Genre/Category: Cozy – Amateur Sleuth/Pet
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
ISBN: 0593199464
Page Count: 304
Rating: 
The Review
There are bones in this story, literally, and Charlie and his cat Diesel are determined to find out who they belonged to. The newest addition to the “Cat in the Stacks Mystery” series, What the Cat Dragged In has our favorite cat and his delightful owner digging into the past and coming up with some skeletons in more than one closet.
Charlie is one of those characters that make us all wish we had a dad or grandfather that was half as entertaining; add his excellent cat companion, and it’s a combination made in cozy lover heaven. Other characters such as Charlie’s son Sean and daughter, as well as his fiance and co-workers, make this series one of the most thrilling being written today. There may not be much physical activity, but make no bones about it, these books are never short of hair-raising suspense that keeps readers riveted to their seats.
Charlie inherits his old family home unexpectedly, after having thought it had been sold many years ago. He and his cat, Diesel, go to inspect the old place. Diesel stumbles onto some old bones in a wardrobe in the attic. The skeleton looks old and as if they had been there a long time, but no one seems to know how they got there or who put them in the attic. The police investigation has just started when a fresh body is found on the property. After a lot of hard work, time-consuming research, and a bit of luck, the bones are identified. But it takes a little longer to catch a killer.
What the Cat Dragged In is everything readers have come to expect from this series and more. We get introduced to a batch of suspects that are original and believable and a few motives that harbor on the fantastical and yet strangely realistic. In addition, there are a couple of unexpected twists that will delight readers. Charlie and Diesel accidentally encounter the killer and the motive, and almost find themselves up to their eyeballs in cat doo doo. Old bones are one thing, but Charlie doesn’t want to add an all-new set to the family history. With help from an unexpected source, and a new family member, Charlie and Diesel are saved, the killer caught, and an incredible ending is obtained.
At the end of the day, this book is a wonderful fast read with engaging characters, family hopes and dreams, and friendships built to last. A cat, two actually, keep things light, and Charlie puts the intelligence in the who-done-it. You can’t go wrong on a story when you have such strong characters with storylines, cats, old mysterious bones, and a few mishaps that make readers smile as they turn each page. I am thrilled to recommend this book along with the entire series to readers of all genres.
The Author
Miranda (Dean) James is a native of Mississippi and recently returned to live in Jackson after spending thirty-three years in Houston, Texas. He has loved mysteries (and cats) since he discovered Nancy Drew at the age of ten. At twelve or thirteen, he wrote a mystery and even submitted it to a publisher — and promptly received a form rejection letter. That dashed his hopes for a writing career for a while, but he went back to writing mysteries while he was in graduate school at Rice. His first published adult mystery was the second one he wrote: Cruel as the Grave.
Since then, he has published twenty additional mysteries. In his day-to-day life, Dean is a librarian like Charlie (except his specialty is medical libraries), and he has two cats, neither of whom is a Maine Coon. Dean loves reading and writing mysteries and taking care of two spoiled cats (that’s probably redundant–all cats are spoiled because they generally accept no less). He writes mysteries to entertain readers and help them relax and get away from the pressures of daily life.
More books by Miranda James readers may enjoy are The Pawful Truth from the “Cat in the Stacks Mystery” series or for the upcoming holidays, Six Cats a Slayin’.
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