This book follows Charlie Harris as his daughter is working with her husband showcasing a play at the University. Of course like any book it isn't long before the craziness begins. First it seems there are two play writers? Who is the real author of Carless Whispers?

As the play progress someone is deliberately sabotaging the play and driving Luke Lombardi crazy. At the night of the opening the tricks have gone too far and someone is killed Luke and Laura Charlie's daughter could have been next! Charlie is determined to try from afar to figure out what the heck is going on. Who had it out for the actor and just how determined are they to end the actor's life?

Even though Charlie is warned a few times by Laura to but out he can't because it could have easily have been her.

I love Charlie and Diesel since the first time I picked up a book. It's like going to check on old friends and see what they are up to. Of course the interaction with Azalea and the cats is so much fun to look forward to every time I pick up this author!

I have been reading this series for awhile and am a fan of Charlie and Diesel. This book was not my favorite. It felt draggy and slow. The murder did not occur until halfway through the book and there was too much extra stuff that detracted from the usual solving of the crime. I will continue to read the books, but this one did not stand out for me.

I love Miranda James! The newest book is no exception - the library drama heats up in the installment. James is a must read.

Charlie Harris has sworn off investigating murder and mayhem after a recent close call. Instead, he's delighted to cheer on his daughter, Laura, who's starring in a production of Careless Whispers. The theater department at Athena College is debuting the play written by a fledgling playwright with local connections and Charlie's son-in-law, Frank Salisbury, will be calling the directorial shots.

Laura is upset to learn that Luke Lombardi, an overbearing actor she knew from her time in Hollywood will also be taking part in the production as a guest artist. Lombardi arrives with an entourage in tow and promptly proceeds to annoy everyone involved with the production. When he collapses and dies on stage, after drinking from a glass Laura handed him, she becomes the chief suspect in his murder.

Charlie knows his daughter is innocent, and he’s not going to let anyone railroad his little girl. So, despite his intentions to put his amateur sleuthing days behind him, Charlie has to take center stage, and with Diesel’s help, shine a spotlight on the real killer.

This is book 12 in the Cat in the Stacks and fans will not be disappointed. Could be read as a stand alone but the characters interactions might be confusing. Miranda James gives us another great cozy with Diesel, a Maine Coon cat and his human companion Charlie. This book centers on Charlie's daughters stage production for Athena College. The college gets Luke Lombardi to star with Laura. He's an overbearing actor who thinks he God's gift to the theater world. From the start there are clashes and problems. Charlie and Diesel attend practices and start to figure out who is sabotaging the production. Good story and cozy. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I like the premise of these books: a librarian who solves mysteries along with his cat. However, this is the second one that I've read, and I've realized I just don't really like them. As was the case with the other novel in the series that I read, the victim is obvious from the first page. It's that obvious. The villains are mostly caricatures, and the mystery just isn't that interesting. Worse, though, I can't warm up to the main character. He seems so precious-precious, and everyone is so concerned about him. And he has all these people waiting on him, including his housekeeper (it's not clear to me why he needs one) and his tenants. I'm just not a fan.

Charlie and Diesel have stopped sleuthing, at least they think they have stopped. Then Charlie's daughter Laura comes too close to murder and Charlie wants the perpetrator found. The theatre is the background with a drink laced with something. Will there be another death before this one is solved?

Once again we join Charlie as he tries to solve the newest murder in his college town. This time one of the suspects is his daughter. This enjoyable entry in the Cat in the Stacks mystery is worth the read. Newcomers might be lost with some of the characters but there is enough descriptions of the recurring characters that it won't be too hard to pick it up as a stand alone book.

Brought to you by OBS Reviewer Daniele

With the ever endearing protagonist Charlie and Maine Coon Diesel, big theatrical personalities, and a challenging mystery, Careless Whiskers is charming and everything readers could want from a cozy.

After his close call in The Pawful Truth, Charlie has no intention of getting involved with yet another murder, but when his daughter Laura becomes the prime suspect in guest actor Luke Lombardi’s murder he can’t not investigate. There are plenty of people who are not Lombardi’s greatest fans that make perfect suspects, including his girlfriend, his stylist (who also happens to be the girlfriend’s ex), his understudy, a young actor he wronged and the actor’s aunt. With lots of motives – love, hate, greed, pride, jealousy – and sufficient clues and misdirection, the mystery keeps readers guessing throughout. The story moves along at a steady pace.

This is the twelfth book in the Cat in the Stacks series so the characters feel like old friends at this point. Charlie is an old-fashioned Southern gentleman (sometimes he comes across as much older than he is), and I adore him and Diesel the cat. Diesel’s every chirp and warble charm me to no end, and the addition of kitten Ramses makes the cat-centric books even better. Series regulars, including Charlie’s children and grandchildren, his boarders, housekeeper, friends, and significant other, all make appearances. All of the characters are relatable and interesting, and I enjoy spending time with them. The conclusion of this book portents an exciting change coming for Charlie, and I cannot wait to read the next book.

Careless Whiskers is a worthy addition to its long running series. Highly recommended.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying a free copy of this title in exchange for an honest review as part of their ongoing blog tour*

Careless Whiskers is exactly what I expect from a Cat in the Stacks book and still I’m delighted every time! It was packed full of a smart and well-developed plot.

The characters just won’t quit and personalities that make you want to call them friends. They have no problem showing love, morals, protectiveness and a trust in each other that binds, me, the reader to their plight.

And, if that wasn’t enough, Miranda James just writes great mysteries. Mysteries that glue you to the pages and supply a sleepless but well enjoyed night, because you just don’t want to put it down.

I received this ARC copy of Careless Whiskers from Berkley Publishing Group. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Love the Cat in Stacks series. It is great to visit this small Mississipi college town to see what murder semi-retired librarian, Charlie, and his giant Maine Coon Cat, Diesel, get themselves mixed up in next.

I’ve generally enjoyed the whole Cat in the Stacks series, starting with Murder Past Due. And I’ve always felt that the amateur detective around whom this series is based, Charlie Harris, is very much, “one of us” librarians. Which seems totally right, because his creator is also a real-life librarian.

So it seemed particularly appropriate to pick up Careless Whiskers while I was attending the recent American Library Association Midwinter Conference in Philadelphia, as I’ve also always said that Charlie is someone I’d love to catch a drink or a cup of coffee with at a conference.

I also picked this book because of Charlie’s “large and in charge” sidekick, his 35-pound Maine Coon cat named Diesel. I always miss our kitties when we are away, so I felt the urge to settle in with a feline book baby as my own were too far away too snuggle.

There are plenty of hints dropped at the end of the previous book in this series, The Pawful Truth, to let the reader know that this story would be focused on Charlie’s daughter Laura and son-in-law Frank and the next production of the college’s theater department.

And so it proves, with Frank directing and Laura co-starring in Careless Whispers by Finnegan Zwake. This particular production is a big part of the department’s annual fundraiser, an event where they get a relatively big name star to come to tiny Athena Mississippi for a couple of weeks to star in a play in the usually correct assumption that the big name star will draw big donor fans.

This year is not going to be their best year. Possibly their most dramatic, but even though some of that drama does occur onstage it is not of the type that contributes to a long run of any play.

Not that either Frank or Laura is all that eager to see once-upon-a-time Tony nominee Luke Lombardi “grace” their stage or their town. Laura has worked with the overacting thespian before and has no real desire to deal with him again – ever.

But as much as she can’t wait to see the back of him – she doesn’t want to see him dead. For real. On stage. On opening night.

Especially not when it looks like she’s either the prime suspect – or the next victim.

Escape Rating B-: I really, really, really wanted to get into this and love it because this series is such a comfort read for me. I adore Diesel, especially because he’s so himself and so cat at the same time – and he’s just a sweet boy and a smart cat at the cat level of smart. Not that I don’t love Joe Grey in his series, but Joe is human-smart and sometimes human-confused and human-conflicted and it’s a different experience.

Diesel is just big and perfectly cat. He’s not ordinary, but he’s not extraordinary in any way that is outside his species norms. And he’s adorable with it.

And, as I said at the top, Charlie just seems like “one of us” librarians in ways that writers don’t always get right. So when I settled in to read I thought I’d be all in – and I just wasn’t.

This entry in the series fell a bit flat for me. As I look back I’m not quite sure why, either, but it just didn’t zing or gel or any of the things that usually happen when I visit Athena.

I think that a lot of that was the theater setting. If I wanted a murder mystery crossed with Noises Off, I’d have found one. I wanted Athena and got locked in a playhouse instead. Another way I keep looking at it is that there was too much show business and not enough murder business. Or it went too far over the top in more than one direction.

First there was the business with Lombardi’s dresser and his mistress, who happened to be married to each other. And were both French and seemed more like characters from one of Moliere’s farces than even half-real people.

Especially when combined with the two men pretending to be the playwright Finnegan Zwake – accompanied by the equally farcical goings-on surrounding that red herring. Their rivalry, at least, made more sense than the French farce, but it added more comic relief than this particular story needed.

Although, now that I think about it, the real reason this didn’t work for me was its lack of dramatic tension. The blurb lures you in, as I did above, with the idea that Charlie’s daughter Laura is going to be the prime suspect in the murder. But she never really is. Even the police detective admits that she doesn’t actually suspect Laura – just that she has to investigate her enough to cross her off her list. And, while Charlie torments himself with the possibility that Laura could have been the next victim, by the time his brain starts going down that path the possibility is already over.

So color me disappointed with this entry in the series. But I’ll still be back for Diesel’s next adventure, Cat Me if You Can. I just hope that 13 turns out to be a luckier number for the series!

Charlie Harris, librarian and archivist, and his cat Diesel work to find who killed an arrogant actor; Charlie's daughter Laura was the producer of the play Careless Whispers, in which the victim was the lead actor. Fake playwrights, cruel jokes on the lead actor, and jealosies among the cast are all clues. Charlie has his work cut out for him in this latest cozy.

Careless Whiskers by Miranda James is the twelfth A Cat in the Stacks Mystery. It can be read as a standalone courtesy of the background information provided by the author. Charlie Harris and Diesel are back along with the adorable Ramses. Charlie has sworn off investigating after a close call, but, when his daughter is in the line of fire, he must dive in once again. Luke Lombardi is the guest actor for the performance of Careless Whispers written by a local playwright using the name Finn Zwake. Luke has an ego the size of Texas and an insufferable attitude to go with it. Laura and Luke have a series of altercations during the week of rehearsals with Laura stating more than once that she would “kill” him if he did such a thing again (she was frustrated). When Luke ends up dead on the stage after drinking from the glass handed to him by Laura, she finds herself at the top of the suspect list. Charlie knows his daughter is innocent and begins nosing around searching for answers. There are several suspects from Luke’s paramour to his understudy. I liked following Charlie’s investigation. There are good clues and misdirection to distract readers from the solution. In addition, there is the prankster in the theater and two men who both claim to be the playwright Finn Zwake. I thought Careless Whiskers was well-written with steady pacing. I appreciated the addition of my what my father termed ten dollar words (sangfroid and inamorata are two examples). The words suited the education of the characters. I thought that the characters were developed and realistic. The authors descriptions allowed me to visualize each one especially Finn Zwake with his shaggy mane of red hair and ridiculous mustache. Charlie continues to develop as he grows older. It is nice to see him slowing down at work and enjoying time with his grandchildren. I especially love the scenes with Charlie at home with Diesel and Ramses. I find Diesel’s little chirps and trills delightful. It is cute that Ramses tries to imitate his older brother. I laughed often while reading Careless Whiskers thanks to the abundance of humor. The ending was very special and left me smiling. Careless Whiskers is a diverting cozy mystery with an arrogant actor, a frisky feline, disquieting disputes, a phony playwright, and puzzling pranks.

I always enjoy time with Charlie and Diesel and the rest of the characters in this fun series! There was a slow build to the mystery this time - I don't think the murder happened until I was 40% or so into the story. The motives for the suspects weren't ultra strong, either, so Charlie had to really dig for nuances. There are - as always - some great animal moments in the book and there was one scene that cracked me up because it was so unexpected in some ways.

I was mostly satisfied in the end - I didn't feel like the "pranks" were well resolved in the end. There were 3 pranks, yet the first one was often forgotten. I thought maybe that was a plot device and in the end the "forgotten" prank would be a big part of the reveal, but it wasn't. I'm not sure the prankster was ever really tied to the first prank very well. It felt like an unresolved thread for me and I was distracted by it.

Overall, this was a satisfying Charlie and Diesel story - this has been a must-read series for me since book one, and it remains so.

There are many reasons I really like this cozy series. Set in a small university town, the “regulars” remain part of each book but the ever changing university atmosphere introduces us to different groups within the university. This time the action centers on the theater department. While sleuth Charlie Harris is occasionally called Jessica Fletcher, I enjoy that the cozy sleuth in this series is a man with a Maine Coon cat named Diesel. I also like the Old South, small town setting of the series. Others have given a good synopsis of the story, so I’d like to encourage you to read this delightful series. The books are standalone so feel free to jump in the middle of the series.

Although he has sworn off investigations after a recent run in with a murderer, Charlie and his sidekick Diesel are thrown into an investigation once again. Charlie's daughter Laura is excited to work with her husband on a new play produced by the theater department at Athena College. However when Luke Lombardi is added to the cast as a guest actor, Laura is less than pleased. She has had dealings with Luke in the past and his pompous attitude never makes for a smooth production. When Luke is poisoned on set after Laura hands him a drink, she immediately pops to the top of the suspect list. However Charlie knows his daughter could never intentionally harm another human, no matter how many times she may have threatened to "kill" him in the past. Charlie and Diesel work together to sort out the true killer and remove Laura's name from the suspect list.
Careless Whiskers is the twelfth in the long running Cat in the Stacks series however it can be read as a standalone for those new to the series. Charlie is a rarity in cozy mysteries, as most protagonists in these series are younger females however, I enjoy Charlie's unique perspective from a more mature, male standpoint. Diesel the cat's antics and Charlie's literary references are pure delight for any librarian or book lover. The characters in this series are well developed and almost seem like friends you catch up with once a year at this point. The mystery was well plotted with plenty of bread crumbs for the reader to follow throughout. I highly recommend this series to those looking for a new cozy with a fresh perspective and some comical cat antics.

A Maine coon cat and its inquisitive owner take center stage in “Careless Whiskers,” the latest novel by Miranda James. It is the 12th installment in the New York Times best-selling author’s “Cat in the Stacks” series.
Miranda James is the pseudonym of Dean James, a seventh-generation Mississippian who recently returned to his home state after 30 years in Texas, according to his website (catinthstacks.com). Whether writing under the pen name or his own, Dean James has fans eager for mystery and suspense with down-home heart and humor.
Charlie Harris is a librarian at a small college in fictional Athena, Miss. The widower is passionate about his family and friends, justice for all, and an arrogant cat named Diesel. The cat goes everywhere with Charlie, including the college theater where his daughter, Laura, is co-starring in a play directed by her husband, Frank Salisbury.
It is there that Charlie and Diesel are caught up in their latest adventure, even though Charlie has sworn off crime fighting. A guest performer, Luke Lombardi, whose fame is fading faster than a falling star, is poisoned on stage. The cast of suspects include Laura who handed him the poisoned drink, a mysterious stranger sneaking around backstage, an odd playwright with location connections, and two French followers (one a lover, one an employee) of the now-dead actor. Is one of these people also threatening Charlie’s daughter, or is there someone else lurking in the wings?
James keeps readers entertained with an easy-flowing dialogue and well-developed characters. Readers can identify with the cast and settings. As befitting a well-educated character, Charlie Harris has a way with words and literary references. Recurring characters, such as the Ducote sisters, Melba and Azalea, and developing relationships between humans and pets bring home the small-town feel of neighborhoods and family dinners.
And although this novel is part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone with easy-to-follow throwbacks to earlier stories. The series began with “Murder Past Due” in 2010, and a new novel has been released each year since then. The next – and 13th - novel, “Cat Me if You Can,” is due out in August 2020.

Charlie Harris has sworn off investigating crimes after his last and dangerous encounter. But in Careless Whiskers by Miranda James, he soon lapses especially when his daughter Laura is involved. Laura and her husband Frank Salisbury are involved in a production by the theater department at the Athena College in Alabama. When a sudden cast changes brings a disruptive actor to the cast, Laura and Frank worry about Luke Lombardi. Luke is nothing but self involved and he antagonizes everyone. Soon small incidents directed at him turn deadly.

3.5 stars

Another appealing adventure with Charlie, the mostly retired librarian and his Maine Coon cat Diesel. Fans of the series know these are mostly light-hearted adventures with a familiar supporting cast: Charlie's lodgers, his grown son and daughter and families, his lady friend Helen, his work friend Melba, and his housekeeper Azalea and her daughter Kanesha (who happens to be the chief of police).

In this outing, Charlie's actress daughter Laura is starring in a local play. The leading man is an egotistical male diva, and it isn't long before he becomes a murder victim. But as he is poisoned onstage in a scene with Laura, she falls under suspicion, so naturally Charlie involves himself in finding the real culprit. The situation is complicated when two different men claim to be the author of the play.

These characters are like old friends to fans of this gentle series and this one is an entertaining read. Thanks to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC.