Just finished reading...

File M for Murder (Cat in the Stacks #3) by Miranda James.

Semi-retired librarian Charlie Harris is surprised and thrilled when his daughter Laura comes home from Los Angeles to take a temporary teaching gig at Athena College.    He's not so thrilled when he meets the college's new writer-in-residence (and Laura's ex-boyfriend), the egotistical and rude Connor Lawton.

Charlie can't understand why Laura is still friendly with Connor; Lawton is as rude to her as he is to everyone else, but he must (grudgingly) admit that Laura is an adult and can make her own decisions.   He really can't fathom why on earth the deranged Damitra Vane,who follows Connor around like a groupie, is threatening his daughter.

When Laura calls him from Connor's, stunned by finding the writer's body in the living room, Charlie finds himself wondering why the man hadn't been killed sooner.  But Laura is genuinely upset, and he focuses on comforting her and, along with his lawyer son Sean, making sure she's not a suspect.

A Maine Coon

And almost always at Charlie's side is his friend and companion Diesel.  Charlie usually has the huge Maine coon cat with him on a leash, and talks to him as though he's human.  Diesel goes to work with Charlie and sits under his desk or on the window sill,  growls at dubious characters, and even grabs suspicious items out of the mail.

Charlie himself, though not yet 60, is a charming Southern gentleman who does not suffer bad manners or rudeness quietly.  Connor Lawton-types call him stodgy or old-fashioned, but he possesses a quick mind that organizes facts and details methodically, a useful trait for both a librarian and an amateur sleuth.




*FTC Full Disclosure: Many thanks to the publisher, who sent me a copy of the book for review purposes.