November 25, 2019
After odious Hollywood actor Luke Lombardi is fatally poisoned during a college play in Athena, Miss., there’s no shortage of suspects in James’s delightful 12th Cat in the Stacks mystery (after 2019’s The Pawful Truth). Everybody in Athena, including Laura Salisbury, the play’s female lead, thought Luke was obnoxious and unpleasant, but she shouldn’t be the prime suspect just because she handed her costar the poisoned drink on stage. Clearly, librarian archivist Charlie Harris, Laura’s father, and Laura’s husband, Frank Salisbury, along with a few friends, aided and abetted by Charlie’s extraordinary Maine coon cat, Diesel, should be able to come up with alternative suspects before Chief Deputy Kanesha Berry decides Laura is the killer. Meanwhile, an impostor needs to be unmasked, and Charlie’s romantic partner, Helen Louise Brady, is having her own problems at her restaurant. After a slow start, the action picks up speed and maintains the momentum to the satisfying ending. Cozy fans will have fun spending time with the charming Diesel and company. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary.