Out of Circulation & Silence of the Library by Miranda James

Reviewed by Jeanne 

The “Cat in the Stacks” mystery series by Miranda James is set in Athena, Mississippi, where widower Charlie lives with a part time housekeeper and some assorted lodgers. He works part time as an archivist at the local university and volunteers at the public library. Charlie has two adult children and a budding romance with Helen Louise who runs a café featuring French pastries. He also has an unusually large Maine Coon cat named Diesel who accompanies him everywhere.

In Out of Circulation, Charlie is on the library’s fund raising committee along with the Ducote sisters, two elderly ladies who preside over much of town society.  Also on the committee is Vera Cassity, an abrasive outsider with more money than grace or sense, and the knack of infuriating people.  When Vera turns up dead at the costumed gala, the suspects are many and include Charlie’s housekeeper, Azalea. The Ducotes are some of James’ best characters, feisty but well-bred ladies who are going to have a mystery of their own later in the year.  I like the way that the author used the gala to lightly explore character and to give a clue to the solution.

Silence of the Library, the latest book in the series, has the public library setting up a display devoted to teen sleuths, including Veronica Thane whose short lived series was overshadowed by Nancy Drew and company.  Surprisingly, the author is still alive and lives nearby.  She’s also willing to make an appearance in conjunction with the display. Suddenly fans and collectors are showing up, all anxious to meet the elderly woman or at least make some cash by having her autograph books. When someone turns up dead, Charlie feels he needs to try to figure out the mystery before anything else goes wrong.   For me, part of the fun of this one was reading about the teen sleuths of yesteryear, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, and others.  James even wrote some chapters for Victoria’s adventures in the style of the old mystery series. I especially appreciated the mentions of the lesser known series, which brought back fond memories.

Overall, this is a gentle cozy series, given to chaste romance and little cursing.  Charlie is good- natured, mild, and calm, while Diesel chirps and purrs. There’s some Southern atmosphere and usually some literary references for fun. I appreciate the series’ overriding theme of tolerance: for characters who are different, or for allowing people to live their own lives.  For example, Charlie struggles mightily not to interfere with his children’s lives.  He knows what he thinks they should do, but is careful to let them make their own decisions. Occasionally, there’s some repetition—everyone who meets Diesel for the first time wants to know what kind of cat he is and how much he weighs, which is natural, but when he meets three new people in short order it gets a bit old. 

Incidentally, when James decided to write the series, a deliberate decision was made to have a male protagonist instead of the more usual female cozy sleuth. On the other hand, tradition was upheld with a female author.  “Miranda James” is the nom de plume of Dean James. Perhaps it was felt that a male author and male protagonist wouldn’t be cozy enough!

File M for Murder by Miranda James

Reviewed by Jeanne

File M for Murder by Miranda James is the third of the “Cat in the Stacks” mysteries.  The narrator is Charlie Harris, an archivist librarian who works at a small college in Mississippi and volunteers at his local public library.  He has an enormous Maine Coon cat named Diesel whom he walks on a leash.  Charlie is a widower, living in an old house left to him by a deceased aunt.  He has two adult children, a son and a daughter, with whom he is attempting to reconnect following their mother’s lengthy illness and death.  Charlie is a laid back, mild mannered person, but not a wimp; he’s a large man whose ease comes from an inner assurance he can handle a situation. 

As the story opens, Charlie is delighted to find that his daughter Laura will be staying with him for the fall semester while filling in for a drama professor at the college.  Also in town is Connor Lawton, a visiting playwright, who is serving as author in residence for the summer and who happens to be an ex-boyfriend of Laura’s.  He’s considered a genius by some but an obnoxious twit by most.  Since Laura is the drama coach for the student actors, she and Connor run into each other frequently, and Connor makes no secret that he wants to resume their relationship.  Also in town is an actress carrying a major torch for Connor and who sees Laura as “the other woman.”  Given his talent for annoying people, it’s no surprise when Connor ends up dead.  Charlie’s too nice a guy to feel relieved that he’s gone, but it’s soon apparent that Connor dead can cause just as much trouble as Connor alive: the police think Laura is the murderer.

This is a pleasant, easy going series with a librarian and an adorable cat.  It’s set in the South.  What’s not to like?  Okay, if you want a blood and guts mystery with car chases, this isn’t going to be your glass of iced tea.  The plot was interesting and James plays fair with the reader, giving enough clues that the mystery can be solved if one is so inclined.  The setting is realistic enough, using some nice details without laying it on with a trowel. Charlie himself is a real sweetheart, very gentle and kind, even when he thinks he’s losing his temper.  In the first book I stopped and wondered a few times if this was really the way a guy would think.  Then I found out that “Miranda” is really Dean James, so either this is really the way some guys think or Dean is playing head games by writing a guy the way a woman would write a guy.  That would seem to be way too much trouble for me and besides, it makes me slightly dizzy.  Besides, Mr. James seems like way too nice a guy to be game playing like that.

This is a pleasant series that I’ll keep reading and I know a couple of folk to whom I’ll be recommending it. The books don’t need to be read in order, but the first two are Murder Past Due and Classified as Murder. Book four is due out in early 2013.