What the Cat Dragged In (Cat in the Stacks #14)
written by Miranda James
narrated by Erin Bennett
My Rating: 3 stars
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Age Category: Adult
Type of romance: m/f
Blurb:
When Charlie inherits a house from his grandfather, he and his cat, Diesel, discover some old bones that lead to a shocking new mystery in this latest installment in the New York Times best-selling Cat in the Stacks Mystery series.Charlie has always believed that his grandfather had sold his house to his longtime tenant, Martin Hale. So when Martin dies, Charlie is surprised to discover the house was not left to Martin, but instead belongs to Charlie. As he and Diesel check out the house he remembers fondly from his childhood, he is pleasantly surprised that it is in better condition than expected. That is, until they find a literal skeleton in a closet.
While the sheriff’s department investigates the mysterious remains, Charlie digs deeper into the past for clues to the identity of the bones and why they are there. But the cold case heats up quickly when Martin’s grandson is found dead on the farm.
As Charlie delves into his own family history, he encounters many people who might have been motivated to take a life. But Charlie and Diesel know that things are not always what they seem and that secrets seemingly lost to time have a way of finding their way back to haunt the present.
My Review
I received a free copy from Tantor Audio and voluntarily reviewed it.
What the Cat Dragged in is the 14th book in this series already. I was in the mood for a comforting read, so I decided to return to this series. This series feel so familiar by now with all the characters and locations I’ve listened about for 13 books before this one. That makes it a joy to return to and spend more time with these characters and another mystery ofcourse.
I have to say the mystery in this one didn’t really grip me. It started off strong when Diesel finds bones in the attic of the house Charlie inherited and then there was a new dead body as well shortly after that, but things kinda slowed down after that. I liked the part of the mystery with Charlie learning more about his family history and there are some interesting reveals there. The actual mystery however felt kinda obvious and there weren’t as many suspects. The mystery about the bones was slightly more interesting than the recent dead body mystery. I was happy there was a summary of everything toward the end as Charlie explains everything to his family as it helped get everything straight.
My favorite part of these books is returning to Athena and getting to spend time with Charlie and all the side characters. Each book has a different focus usually. There is more of Steward and Haskell in this one as well as a new side character called Alisa who appears later on, who was interesting to get to know. Helen-Louise hardly played a role in this one as she’s away for a weekend with friends, which was quite the change from the previous book where she was one of the more prominent side characters. There’s also quite a lot of Charlie’s son Shaun, but less about his daughter Laura this time. It’s so fun to see Charlie’s life and family change throughout the series.
To summarize: I had a good time listening to this one as I really like this series, but the mystery in this one didn’t fully capture my attention. It’s great being back in Athena and spending time with these familiar characters. I like seeing how Charlie’s life and family changes throughout the series. The audio versions of this series are great and I really like listening to them. The mystery in this one started off strong with bones found in the attic of a house Charlie inherited as well as a dead body showing up shortly after that. After that it slowed down a bit. I liked Charlie digging in his family history and some of the reveals from that. The actual mystery just didn’t grip me as much and I thought the mystery with the new dead body was kinda obvious with not too many suspects. All in all I still enjoyed it, but more for the daily life scenes than the mystery.
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