The Pawful Truth by Miranda James

Welcome!  Cliff Hanger by Mary Feliz, Buried by Ellison Cooper, Shamed by Linda Castillo, A Genuine Fix by J.C. Kenney and Window on the Bay by Debbie Macomber come out tomorrow. A Charming Misfortune by Tonya Kappes and Versions of Her by Andrea Lochen will be released on July 23.  Which new release are you looking forward to reading?

The Pawful Truth by Miranda James returns readers to Athena, Georgia.  Charlie Harris has enrolled in the history of early medieval England taught by the enigmatic Dr. Carey Warriner.  Charlie is glad to see another mature student in the classroom, but Professor Warriner is less than thrilled by the appearance of Dixie Belle Compton.  Charlie is surprised when Dixie later shows up at his office asking to be his study partner.   Charlie is happy to have an excuse to turn her down especially after Melba warns him that Dixie is trouble with a capital T.  On Friday, Dixie fails to show up for class.  When Charlie arrives at home, he finds Chief Deputy Kanesha Berry waiting for him.  Dixie was found dead in her apartment and Charlie cannot help but wonder if Professor Warriner could be responsible especially after his recent uncharacteristic behavior.  Melba shares gossip that has been circulating about Professor Warriner and his wife, Dr. Irene Warriner who teaches in the English department.  Irene happens to be best selling Regency romance author who has a book signing at the local bookstore on Saturday which Charlie attends.  Unfortunately, the event goes sideways when Carey Warriner attacks a colleague.  The next day, another murder rocks the town.  The Ducote sisters pay Charlie a visit to ask him to do a little snooping in order to get the crimes solves in a more expeditious manner.  Charlie is happy to oblige, but this time his curiosity may get him killed.  

The Pawful Truth by Miranda James is the eleventh A Cat in the Stacks Mystery. There is background information in the first half of The Pawful Truth to aid those who are new to A Cat in the Stacks Mystery.  Personally, I suggest you begin with Murder Past Due. I always enjoying picking up the latest installment in A Cat in the Stacks Mystery series.    I thought The Pawful Truth was well-written and the pace moved along steadily.  Athena, Georgia is a small Southern college town with charming shops and some quirky residents.  I like the cast of characters which includes Charlie, Diesel, Melba, Azalea, Helen Louise, Stewart, Haskell, the Ducote Sisters, and, the newest member, Ramses.  I like that Charlie is an older protagonist along with his love of books.  He is a good man who loves his family, friends and fur babies.  Charlie’s family is included so we can find out how his daughter-in-law is doing after her bout with postpartum depression.  I can tell that the author has cats from the way she describes their behavior especially Ramses.  When Ramses uses Charlie’s leg for a climbing tree, she perfectly described how it feels to have those sharp little claws digging into your leg.  I just love Diesel’s little chirps.  Those two cats are such charmers and their antics had me chuckling.  The mystery had several viable suspects and there were good clues.  It is a whodunit that can be solved before the solution is revealed, but that did not deter my enjoyment of this cozy mystery.  I did feel there was to much speculation and repetition of case details.  I did like seeing more of Miss Dickce Ducote.  She has a mischievous side that likes to come out now and then.  We also get to meet to two new ladies who are administrative assistants at the college, and they provide some helpful information.  The Pawful Truth has rampant gossip, two suspicious deaths, a curious kitten, a distrustful spouse, a tolerant Maine Coon Cat, and an admittingly nosey librarian.

The Pawful Truth will be out Tuesday, July 16 and can be purchased on Amazon (as well as Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks).  The next novel in A Cat in the Stacks Mystery series is Careless Whiskers which comes out on January 21, 2020.  You can find the complete list of A Cat in the Stack Mystery novels here.  Thank you for visiting today.  I will be sharing my review of Window on the Bay by Debbie Macomber tomorrow.  I hope you have a remarkable day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader