Cozy Wednesday - Welcomes Author Miranda James (with Giveaway)

I fell in love with the first book in the Cats In The Stacks Mystery Series Murder Past Due from the very first page and am so excited that Miranda is here today to tell us all about Classified as Murder, the latest book in the series that was released just yesterday and gives us a little peek into her world.  

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Empty Nest Syndrome – something parents are well-acquainted with these days. But another “syndrome” that may be equally well known: “Return to the Nest Syndrome.” What happens to bring an adult child back home to live with a parent? That question was the starting point of an important plot thread in the second “Cat in the Stacks” mystery, Classified as Murder.

My hero, Charlie Harris, is a widower with two adult children when we first meet him in Murder Past Due. He has moved back to his hometown of Athena, Mississippi, after the death of his wife. He has also adopted a kitten he found in the parking lot at the public library. That Maine coon kitten he named Diesel for his rumbling purr, and to his amazement, Diesel at nearly forty pounds has grown much larger than the average male Maine coon -- often twenty-five pounds.

Cover Illustration
by Dan Craig
Cover Design
by Lesley Worrell

Charlie and Diesel come home from a volunteer shift at the public library – Diesel goes almost everywhere that Charlie goes – to find Charlie’s son Sean at his house, along with a small poodle named Dante. When Sean calmly announces that he has quit his job as a corporate attorney in Houston, Charlie is flabbergasted. And puzzled, because Sean won’t tell him why he quit. Charlie also discovers, to his great dismay, his relationship with Sean has become strained since the death of his wife. What can he do to restore the loving relationship they once had?

As Charlie contemplates this personal problem, he also finds an interesting professional challenge. Elderly James Delacorte, allegedly the richest man in Athena, wants Charlie to help inventory his extensive rare book collection. As the rare book librarian at the college, Charlie has the expertise and the interest to do the job. But once Charlie meets the eccentric Delacorte family, he has second thoughts about taking the job.

I have been a librarian for over twenty years, and cataloging rare books has been one of my favorite tasks during that time. I decided that Charlie would share this experience with me, and one of the really fun parts of writing Classified as Murder was filling the shelves in James Delacorte’s house with some of the rare books I’d love to own. I also have two cats, quite elderly now, that I dearly love. Neither of them is a Maine coon, but they do provide the kind of companionship that Charlie has needed after the loss of his beloved wife. Now that Sean is on the scene and wants to live with his father for a while, along with his dog, how is this going to affect Charlie and Diesel? And will Charlie be able to fix his relationship with his son?

I hope you’ll read Classified as Murder to find out.

Miranda

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I just have to say I LOVED THIS BOOK!! as much or more than the last.

Miranda says the Delacorte family "eccentric", I call that an understatement, a few could come right out the same line as members of the Addams Family as they were "creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky".  Their butler really started to remind me of Lurch. These characters were spectacular!! 

The author also hits your heart with the relationship of Charlie and his son.  I too love the way Diesel relates to Dante, the dog entering his feline domicile, but the way this cat reacts to other people and situations, using his cat sense, I wouldn't have expected any less. This cat is truly special in many ways. 


The book was a pure joy to read, extremely entertaining and filled with intrigue.  This reviewer proclaims it the "purrfect" book to "escape into" as soon as possible. You will be "chirping" about this series to all your friends.

Your Escape With A Good Book Travel  Agent
 

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Berkley Prime Crime, a division of Penguin Publishing.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”


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Thanks to the wonderful people at Berkley Prime Crime I have 2 copies of Classified as Murder to giveaway and as a special treat one of these books will also come with a copy of Miranda James' first book in the series Murder Past Due!!