Book Summary
Cat Me If You Can by Miranda James has Charlie Harris, Helen Louise Brady, and Diesel in Asheville, North
Carolina. They are spending a week at a
boutique hotel with the rest of the members of the mystery reader’s club from
Athena, Mississippi. Miss An’gel and
Miss Dickce Ducote organized the event so the members could get a chance to
know each other better and discuss their favorite mystery authors. Charlie and Helen Louise are looking forward
to a tranquil week with an opportunity to see the sites of Asheville including
the Biltmore Estate. They enter their
suite at the hotel to find a maid supine on the couch. It turns out that woman has narcolepsy and fell
asleep (whew). The group is having their
first discussion when Denis Kilbride enters and causes a scene. Denis is an uninvited guest who followed
Ellie Arnold to Asheville. The next day
Denis is found dead in their meeting room and everyone in the group is on the
investigating detective’s suspect list. Charlie,
with help from the Ducote sisters, Helen Louise, and Diesel, begins searching
for links between the members and the victim.
Their pursuit of the killer, though, can lead to unexpected
consequences.
My Thoughts
Cat Me If You Can by Miranda James is the 13th A Cat in the Stacks Mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those new
to this feline cozy mystery series. I
thought Cat Me If You Can was well-written with developed characters. Charlie Harris and Diesel are back. They are heading out of town with Helen
Louise Brady, Charlie’s fiancé, for Asheville, North Carolina. A chance for their mystery’s reader club from
the Athena Public Library to get to know each other and talk about their
favorite mystery authors. The group also
gets a private tour of the Biltmore Estate and a chance to visit other sites in
Asheville. Their plans are soon derailed
when an uninvited guest is murdered. Charlie
along with Miss An’gel do a little investigating on their own. Of course, Diesel gets in on the action. They learn some surprising information and
uncover a clue or two. Then comes the reveal
reminiscent of Mrs. Fletcher. There are
multiple suspects, good clues, and misdirection. I enjoyed solving this whodunit. It was a nice change of pace for the story to
take place outside Athena. It gives
Charlie and Helen Louise some alone time which they rarely get back home. I enjoyed the groups discussion on the Golden
Age of mysteries. I wrote down several
authors that I am looking forward to exploring.
Diesel was his usual adorable self with his cute little trills and
chirps. Miranda James has created a
great cast of characters for this series.
They are likeable and relatable. There
were some discussions along with attitudes about a sensitive subject that were
realistic (I could imagine similar thoughts and actions happening around the
world). I enjoyed the humor scattered
throughout the book. Cat Me If You Can was
an entertaining cozy mystery and I cannot wait to read What the Cat Dragged In
next spring. Cat Me If You Can is a
charming tale with the beautiful Biltmore, a Golden Age gumshoe expose, mystery
meetings, a sleepy servant, a painful pin, and the darling Diesel.
Cat Me If You Can releases Tuesday, August 25 and is available from Amazon*. You can find the other books in A Cat in the Stacks Mystery series here. The series began with Murder Past Due. The next A Cat in the Stacks Mystery is What the Cat Dragged In which publishes April 6, 2021. You can find Miranda James' other novels by clicking here. Thank you for joining me today. Tomorrow I am featuring Dead End Detective by Amanda Flower. It is the debut of A Piper and Porter Mystery series. I hope that you have a merry day. Take care, be kind, and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
*This
post contains affiliate links.
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