Short Synopsis
Everyone in Athena, Mississippi, knows Charlie Harris, the librarian with a rescued Maine coon cat named Diesel. He's returned to his hometown to immerse himself in books, but when a feud erupts between the town's richest ladies, the writing on the wall spells murder.

Full Synopsis
The Ducote sisters are in a tiff with Vera Cassity over the location of this year's library fundraising gala, and Charlie would rather curl up in a corner than get into the fray. It seems everyone—even his housekeeper Azalea—has it in for Vera. And at the gala, she gives them good reason, with a public display of rancor aimed at anyone who gets in her way.

But those bitter words wind up being her last. When Charlie discovers Azalea standing over Vera's dead body, it's up to him—with a little help from Diesel—to clear Azalea's name, and catch a killer before his last chapter is finished.

"Humor and plenty of Southern charm buoy James's fifth Cat in the Stacks mystery." ---Publishers Weekly

"The old southern charm recollects Rita Mae Brown's Sneaky Pie series (without the talking animals), while Charlie's investigative techniques may bring some of Agatha Christie's characters to mind." ---Library Journal