Twelve Angry Librarians (Cat in the Stacks Mystery)

Twelve Angry Librarians by Miranda James is the eighth A Cat in the Stacks Mystery novel. Charlie Harris in is the interim library director at Athena College in Athena, Mississippi. Charlie must prepare a short speech to welcome the librarians to the Southern Academic Library Association Annual Conference. Charlie is shocked when he finds out that the keynote speaker is Gavin Fong. Charlie went to graduate school with Gavin over twenty-five years ago. There was an altercation between the two men after Gavin hit on Jackie, Charlie's wife. After the opening speeches, the guests are mingling when Gavin approaches Charlie. Gavin has not changed one bit since college. He is still arrogant, condescending, and difficult. When Gavin tries to hit Charlie (three times), Charlie is forced to defend himself. This is not a good start to the conference. The next day Gavin is giving his upsetting keynote speech. After taking a drink of water, Gavin starts to choke and clutch at his throat while gasping for air. Gavin dies in front of the audience. Chief Deputy Kenesha Berry quickly arrives at the Farrington House (where the conference is being held). Kenesha has an unusual problem with this victim. Usually, she lacks for suspects. This time there are too many people who disliked Gavin (and would not mind seeing him dead). Charlie is a prime suspect after his altercation with Gavin the day before. Charlie wants to find the real killer before the conference ends and the killer gets away (or he ends up head librarian at the local prison). Things take a turn for the worse when another librarian is found dead in her hotel room with a water bottle nearby. Charlie has some personal matters that are diverting his attention. Charlie is in for a challenging weekend in Twelve Angry Librarians.

I found Twelve Angry Librarians to be my favorite book in A Cat in the Stacks Mystery series. It is well-written and pleasurable to read. I also found it to have a good pace which makes it easy to read. Twelve Angry Librarians may be the eighth book in the series, but a reader can enjoy it as a stand-alone. Miranda James provides all the information a reader needs. Twelve Angry Librarians contains relatable characters that readers will love. Diesel, the Maine Coon Cat, is especially enjoyable (with his little chirps and trills). I give Twelve Angry Librarians 5 out of 5 stars. I especially appreciated the well-crafted mystery in Twelve Angry Librarians. It was puzzling (in a wonderful way). I do not believe that many people will be able to figure out the whole solution. I wish more authors would create out-of-box murder mysteries that are complex and difficult for the reader to crack. Twelve Angry Librarians has good characters, a little romance, family situations, and a perplexing mystery. All these qualities make for a delightful cozy mystery. I hope you let Miranda James transport you to Charlie and Diesel's world in Twelve Angry Librarians.