loribonesscaswell

Dollycas’s Thoughts
Every time these books arrive I look at the cover and see my cat, Wiley. He is now living with my daughter because we can’t have cats here and I miss him so much. He is just a little bit smaller than Diesel but not by much.

In this installment Charlie’s new boss, Oscar Reilly has decided he is allergic to cats and wants to ban Diesel from coming to the library. He also has the rest of the staff ticked off by some of his other actions. He is a human resources nightmare. I was not surprised to find someone had put him out of everyone’s misery, but when the police arrested Melba I knew the had they wrong person. Charlie knows it too, and he is going to get her out of jail and get the right person booked as soon as possible.

James continues to impress me with this series. This time the method of murder was something off the wall and totally unexpected and I had to read it twice to fully grasp the situation. One big ouch let me tell you. But before the crime he takes his time introducing us to Mr. Oscar Reilly, and I disliked him immediately and praise the employees for their restraint. I may not have killed him but probably would have been fired for telling him off and probably slapping him across the face and stomping out. What a first class jerk! The mystery has quite a few twists and turns and several suspects, I would guess anyone the man ever met could be a suspect.

In addition to the murder there are a couple of little subplots that fans of this series will enjoy. I hesitate to say more because I do not want to spoil anything.

I love this series has a male protagonist. A fine Southern gentleman who stays calm but takes action. He opens his home and his heart and draws us right into to these stories. All the characters are wonderfully developed and so real.

The pages pass quickly and as always my visit to Athena comes to an end much too soon. This was a delightful way to spend an afternoon but I need a few more warbles from Diesel and more time with Charlie and his friends and family. Next year…