The Silence of the Library by Miranda James is the fifth book in the “Cat in the Stacks” mystery series. Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime, February 2014

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 a celebrated author’s visit draws an unruly swarm of fanatic mystery buffs…and one devious killer!

It’s National Library Week, and the Athena Public Library is planning an exhibit to honor the centenary of famous novelist Electra Barnes Cartwright—creator of the beloved Veronica Thane series.

Charlie has a soft spot for Cartwright’s girl detective stories (not to mention an extensive collection of her books!). When the author agrees to make a rare public appearance, the news of her whereabouts goes viral overnight, and series devotees and book collectors converge on Athena.

After all, it’s rumored that Cartwright penned Veronica Thane stories that remain under wraps, and one rabid fan will stop at nothing—not even murder—to get hold of the rare books.

Charlie is thrilled to meet one of his favorite author from his childhood and when she agrees to make an appearance at the library’s exhibit which has become the talk small town Athena. Trouble soon follows when the president of the author’s fan club is murdered and Charlie is pulled into the fray to find a killer. Charlie ponders why was she murdered? Was it something she said or did? You’ll discover the answers in this well-written book that quickly became a page-turner.

This book had a natural flow that made it easy to follow and hard to put down. The author did a good job in supply us with plenty of viable suspects and clues that when all was said and done, led to a “wow” moment that I didn’t see coming until after reading the story within the story, which by the way, was nicely done. Charlie is at the top of his game, especially when it all came together as he unraveled that last piece of the puzzle that would eventually lead to the apprehension of the killer and what a surprise that was. The best part of the book was the last few chapters waiting with anticipation as to how it was all going to end. It was also good seeing Charlie and Kanesha coming together on this case. Again, a great read and I look forward to the next book in this endearing series.