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* AmoralAttorney: [[spoiler:The main villain of Ladies #2 is Mirielle Champlain's lawyer Richard Thurston, who's trying to manipulate things so he can get all her money.]]
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* CallingTheOldManOut: Late in book 2, Charlie's son Sean lets him have it for basically ignoring his children since his wife died. Charlie acknowledges his own mistakes in judgement and promises to do better.
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* CallingTheOldManOut: CallingTheOldManOut:
** Late in book 2, Charlie's son Sean lets him have it for basically ignoring his children since his wife died. Charlie acknowledges his own mistakes in judgement and promises to do better.
** Newton Pittman Junior does it to his grandmother for her behavior, treating her children harshly and then throwing a fit when they dare to object.
** Late in book 2, Charlie's son Sean lets him have it for basically ignoring his children since his wife died. Charlie acknowledges his own mistakes in judgement and promises to do better.
** Newton Pittman Junior does it to his grandmother for her behavior, treating her children harshly and then throwing a fit when they dare to object.
* CreepyHousekeeper: Estelle in Ladies #2, a very superstitious woman who keeps saying the chosen date is bad luck for the wedding being planned, since there's another woman who was set to get married then and instead died the night before. Sondra, the bride-to-be, can't stand her.
* DisneyVillainDeath: In Ladies #2, a story is told of how a woman, the night before she was to get married, was caught by the wind and thrown from her balcony to her death. Later, when Sondra Delevan is found dead on the lawn, it's believed she was also caught by the wind and fell to her death. [[spoiler:Subverted when it turns out she was killed by a blow to the head and thrown off the balcony by her killer.]]
* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:In Ladies #2, the Ducote sisters' cousin Mireille Champlain fakes her death by heart attack in order to trick the man who's been trying to steal from her.]]
* FullNameUltimatum: Newton Aloysius Pittman Jr. is on the receiving end of this at one point in Ladies #1, from Rosabelle Sultan, when he [[CallingTheOldManOut calls her out]] on her bad behavior.
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* InterspeciesFriendship: In book 2, Sean Harris comes to Athena from Houston, bringing his poodle Dante. Dante and Diesel quickly become fast friends, and this remains even after Sean gives Dante to Stewart Delacorte, who becomes Charlie's new boarder.
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* InterspeciesFriendship: InterspeciesFriendship:
** In book 2, Sean Harris comes to Athena from Houston, bringing his poodle Dante. Dante and Diesel quickly become fast friends, and this remains even after Sean gives Dante to Stewart Delacorte, who becomes Charlie's new boarder.
** In Ladies #1, Dickce Ducote meets (and ultimately adopts) the labradoodle Peanut and his Abyssinian friend Endora, who are practically attached at the hip.
** In book 2, Sean Harris comes to Athena from Houston, bringing his poodle Dante. Dante and Diesel quickly become fast friends, and this remains even after Sean gives Dante to Stewart Delacorte, who becomes Charlie's new boarder.
** In Ladies #1, Dickce Ducote meets (and ultimately adopts) the labradoodle Peanut and his Abyssinian friend Endora, who are practically attached at the hip.
* MarriageOfConvenience: In Ladies #2, Sondra Delevan is set to marry Lance Perigold, a gay man who's not too bright, but has aspirations of being a model, in order to meet the conditions in her father's will (she inherits when she marries or turns 25, whichever comes sooner). She herself just wants to marry so she can claim her money, get out of the house and go to New York to become an actress. [[spoiler:And then she agrees to marry her grandmother's lawyer when he claimed he wanted to take her the next day to elope, despite his age. She's killed before it happens, and it turns out he was just manipulating her so ''he'' could get his hands on her money.]]
* NotBloodSiblings: In Ladies #2, Sondra Delevan and her stepbrother Horace Mims the Third, or Trey, get as far as having a child together. Sondra refuses to marry him though, even though he's head-over-heels for her.
* OnOneCondition: In Ladies #2, it's explained that Sondra Delevan will receive an inheritance from her late father either when she marries or when she turns 25, whichever comes first, but that if she marries ''before'' she turns 20, she gets nothing. This is part of why she refused to marry her stepbrother when she was seventeen, despite him getting her pregnant.
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* PersonaNonGrata: Anyone who complains about Diesel being at Helen Louise's restaurant gets banned from there for good.
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* PersonaNonGrata: Anyone who complains about Diesel being at Helen Louise's restaurant gets banned from there for good.good, as seen in book 2.
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* PlotAllergy: In book 2, both James Delacorte and his niece-in-law Eloise are deathly allergic to peanuts, and James doesn't allow them in the house because of it. This allergy is used to kill them.
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* PlotAllergy: PlotAllergy:
** In book 2, both James Delacorte and his niece-in-law Eloise are deathly allergic to peanuts, and James doesn't allow them in the house because of it. This allergy is used to kill them.
** Similarly, in Ladies #2, [[spoiler:Estelle]] is murdered when someone puts ground-up peanuts, which she's allergic to, in her whiskey.
** In book 2, both James Delacorte and his niece-in-law Eloise are deathly allergic to peanuts, and James doesn't allow them in the house because of it. This allergy is used to kill them.
** Similarly, in Ladies #2, [[spoiler:Estelle]] is murdered when someone puts ground-up peanuts, which she's allergic to, in her whiskey.
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* VehicularSabotage: In Ladies #2, Sondra Delevan's brand new car has its brake line cut, and she crashes into a tree. It's suspected the real target was her grandmother, who was supposed to be with her but backed out at the last minute.
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** The Ducote sisters' mother was deathly afraid of storms, and the sisters themselves don't like them either (though it's noted that they actually worked to try and get over their fear).
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* FromStrayToPet: In Ladies #1, while Dickce and Benjy Stephens are on their way to town to get groceries, they find a labradoodle by the side of the road, and an Abyssinian that comes running to join him. Later in the afternoon, after taking the animals to the vet's office to be checked out, Dickce meets the owner - a local farmer, who explains the two (named Peanut and Endora, respectively) were his mother's, but he was taking them to a shelter after she died (since he couldn't give them the attention they needed) and they escaped from his truck en route. Having already come to care for the two, Dickce immediately makes arrangements with Claud to adopt them.
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* FromStrayToPet: FromStrayToPet:
** Diesel himself, found shivering in the rain as a six-week-old kitten. Charlie rescues him, takes him to a vet to be checked out, and adopts him.
** In Ladies #1, while Dickce and Benjy Stephens are on their way to town to get groceries, they find a labradoodle by the side of the road, and an Abyssinian that comes running to join him. Later in the afternoon, after taking the animals to the vet's office to be checked out, Dickce meets the owner - a local farmer, who explains the two (named Peanut and Endora, respectively) were his mother's, but he was taking them to a shelter after she died (since he couldn't give them the attention they needed) and they escaped from his truck en route. Having already come to care for the two, Dickce immediately makes arrangements with Claud to adopt them.
** Diesel himself, found shivering in the rain as a six-week-old kitten. Charlie rescues him, takes him to a vet to be checked out, and adopts him.
** In Ladies #1, while Dickce and Benjy Stephens are on their way to town to get groceries, they find a labradoodle by the side of the road, and an Abyssinian that comes running to join him. Later in the afternoon, after taking the animals to the vet's office to be checked out, Dickce meets the owner - a local farmer, who explains the two (named Peanut and Endora, respectively) were his mother's, but he was taking them to a shelter after she died (since he couldn't give them the attention they needed) and they escaped from his truck en route. Having already come to care for the two, Dickce immediately makes arrangements with Claud to adopt them.
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* TheCorpseStopsHere: In book 4, Azalea Berry becomes the main suspect after being found over the dead woman's body.
* FalseWidow: In Ladies #1, Rosabelle Sultan claims her husbands have all died. It turns out the last one had just gone overseas, and he returns for her partway through the book.
* FriendToAllLivingThings: Benjy Stephens, introduced in Ladies #1, who is in training to be a vet. He befriends Diesel easily, and is the one to see Peanut by the side of the road when he and Dickce went out to get groceries.
* FromStrayToPet: In Ladies #1, while Dickce and Benjy Stephens are on their way to town to get groceries, they find a labradoodle by the side of the road, and an Abyssinian that comes running to join him. Later in the afternoon, after taking the animals to the vet's office to be checked out, Dickce meets the owner - a local farmer, who explains the two (named Peanut and Endora, respectively) were his mother's, but he was taking them to a shelter after she died (since he couldn't give them the attention they needed) and they escaped from his truck en route. Having already come to care for the two, Dickce immediately makes arrangements with Claud to adopt them.
* FromStrayToPet: In Ladies #1, while Dickce and Benjy Stephens are on their way to town to get groceries, they find a labradoodle by the side of the road, and an Abyssinian that comes running to join him. Later in the afternoon, after taking the animals to the vet's office to be checked out, Dickce meets the owner - a local farmer, who explains the two (named Peanut and Endora, respectively) were his mother's, but he was taking them to a shelter after she died (since he couldn't give them the attention they needed) and they escaped from his truck en route. Having already come to care for the two, Dickce immediately makes arrangements with Claud to adopt them.
** In Ladies #1, the victims are all killed to clear the way for the murderer to inherit, the first two because their portions revert to the estate that way and the last a straight-out inheritance murder.
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* ItIsPronouncedTroPay: The Ducote sisters' surname is pronounced "Du-COH-tee", and they (and their friends) don't let other people forget it.
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* ItIsPronouncedTroPay: The Ducote sisters' surname is pronounced "Du-COH-tee", "Du/Dew-COH-tee", and they (and their friends) don't let other people forget it.
* TheKillerBecomesTheKilled: [[spoiler:Bernice Cameron, Rosabelle's second daughter in Ladies #1, is suffocated to death by her own daughter after Juanita realizes Bernice had murdered Rosabelle, her daughter-in-law Marla, and Bernice's older sister Maudine. Juanita justifies it as a case of KillingInSelfDefense, since Bernice had attacked her when confronted, and says she couldn't stand to see her mother go to jail or a mental institution for her crimes.]]
* KillingInSelfDefense: The murderer in Ladies #1 dies after attacking [[spoiler:their own daughter. When she stumbled and fell mid-attack, the daughter acted quickly and smothered her with a pillow]].
* KillingInSelfDefense: The murderer in Ladies #1 dies after attacking [[spoiler:their own daughter. When she stumbled and fell mid-attack, the daughter acted quickly and smothered her with a pillow]].
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* WitchWithACapitalB: In book 3, Laura quotes another character, but censors herself because she doesn't want the language to upset her father.
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* WitchWithACapitalB: WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes:
** In book 5, Della Duffy is deathly afraid of cats.
** In Ladies #1, Maudine Pittman is deathly afraid of spiders, and suffers a fatal heart attack at the sight of rubber spiders in her bath towel, placed there by the killer.
* WitchWithACapitalB:
** In book 3, Laura quotes another character, but censors herself because she doesn't want the language to upset her father.
** In book 5, Della Duffy is deathly afraid of cats.
** In Ladies #1, Maudine Pittman is deathly afraid of spiders, and suffers a fatal heart attack at the sight of rubber spiders in her bath towel, placed there by the killer.
* WitchWithACapitalB:
** In book 3, Laura quotes another character, but censors herself because she doesn't want the language to upset her father.
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** Ladies #1 does it too, when Rosabelle Sultan talks about her daughter-in-law Marla.
-->"If I weren't in polite company, I could tell you what I think of her in a single word, and I'm sure you can imagine the word I mean - it rhymes with ''witch''."
-->"If I weren't in polite company, I could tell you what I think of her in a single word, and I'm sure you can imagine the word I mean - it rhymes with ''witch''."
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* AbsenteeActor: Charlie's boarder Justin Wardlaw is absent for the entirety of book 5. Unlike other cases (see WrittenInAbsence), there's no reason given for his not being around this time.
* DisguisedInDrag: [[spoiler:In book 5, Mrs. Cartwright's grandson Eugene disguises himself as his grandmother for public appearances. He also used his disguise to throw off any potential witnesses when he entered (as a man) and left (as a woman) the house of the woman he murdered.]]
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** Discussed more than once, as the first two books make mention of the fact that in Mississippi, murderers aren't allowed to profit from their crimes, so killing someone they'd inherit from automatically makes them ineligible to inherit.
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** Discussed more than once, as the first two books make mention of the fact that in Mississippi, murderers aren't allowed to profit from their crimes, so killing someone they'd they were supposed to inherit from automatically makes them ineligible to inherit.
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** Referenced in book 5, when Sean jokingky says he doesn't want his father to die until he's made out his will. Charlie just as jokingly says he already has, and that he left everything to Diesel, to which Sean rolls his eyes.
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** Referenced again in book 5, when Sean jokingky jokingly says he doesn't want his father to die until he's made out his will. Charlie just as jokingly says he already has, and that he left everything to Diesel, to which Sean rolls his eyes.
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* ShowWithinAShow: Book 5 contains much of the text of ''The Mystery at Spellwood Mansion'', the first in the fictional ''Veronica Thane'' series by Electra Barnes Cartwright.
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* SomeoneToRememberHimBy: A downplayed version in book 5. While researching author Electra Barnes Cartwright (who is almost 100 by this point), Charlie finds that her daughter Marcella, an adult with a grown son of her own by this time, was born two months after Mr. Cartwright's death by heart attack.
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* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Subverted - Charlie is noted as being very careful not to let Diesel eat anything that isn't good for cats, such as onions. In book 4, he lets Azalea's sister Lily know exactly what Diesel can't have, including milk, cheese, chocolate, raisins, grapes, green tomatoes, raw potatoes and the aforementioned onions. It's also noted that while Diesel loves to play with ribbon, Charlie's always careful to make sure he doesn't eat any.
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* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Subverted - Charlie is noted as being very careful not to let Diesel eat anything that isn't good for cats, such as onions. In book 4, he lets Azalea's sister Lily know exactly what Diesel can't have, including milk, cheese, chocolate, raisins, grapes, )grapes, green tomatoes, raw potatoes and the aforementioned onions. It's also noted that while Diesel loves to play with ribbon, Charlie's always careful to make sure he doesn't eat any.
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* PetHeir: Discussed but subverted in book 2, when the lawyer of the by-then deceased James Delacorte calls Charlie to meet with him about the will, and Sean Harris jokingly suggests that Delacorte might have changed his will to include Diesel as an heir. It's not the case though.
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* PetHeir: PetHeir:
** Discussed but subverted in book 2, when the lawyer of the by-then deceased James Delacorte calls Charlie to meet with him about the will, and Sean Harris jokingly suggests that Delacorte might have changed his will to include Diesel as an heir. It's not the case though.
** Discussed but subverted in book 2, when the lawyer of the by-then deceased James Delacorte calls Charlie to meet with him about the will, and Sean Harris jokingly suggests that Delacorte might have changed his will to include Diesel as an heir. It's not the case though.
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** Referenced in book 5, when Sean jokingky says he doesn't want his father to die until he's made out his will. Charlie just as jokingly says he already has, and that he left everything to Diesel, to which Sean rolls his eyes.
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* FamilyOfChoice: Charlie comes to see Stewart as a younger brother.
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* FamilyOfChoice: Charlie comes to see Stewart Delacorte as a younger brother.brother, as he admits to himself in book 4.
* IfIHadANickel: In Charlie's narration in book 2, when talking about how most people aren't familiar with the Maine Coon breed of cat and are confused when they see Diesel, he thinks to himself that "If I had the proverbial dime for every time someone asked me, "What is that?" I could donate a hefty sum to the library and solve some of its ongoing budget woes."
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* NarrativeProfanityFilter: In book 4, Helen Louise is subject to this when Charlie informs her of what Vera Cassity had tried earlier.
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* NarrativeProfanityFilter: Used multiple times throughout the series. In book 4, 4 in particular, Helen Louise is subject to this when Charlie informs her of what Vera Cassity had tried earlier.
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* TallDarkAndHandsome: Stewart Delacorte describes Sean Harris as "Tall, dark and gorgeous" shortly after they first meet in book 2.
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* AbsenteeActor: Justin Wardlaw is absent from books 2 and 7, being away with his family for spring break in the former and in England for the semester in the latter.
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->"All he said was 'That fat witch' - except he didn't say ''witch'' - 'may think she can shut me in like she used to, but I'm too big now.'"
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* WrittenInAbsence: Justin Wardlaw, one of Charlie's boarders in book 1 and a regular for much of the series, is absent from books 2 and 7. It's explained that he's away with his family for spring break in the former and in England for the semester in the latter.
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* AbsenteeActor: Justin Wardlaw is absent from books 2 and 7, being away with his family for spring break in the former and in England for the semester in the latter.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: The Delacortes in book 2. James cares only for his books (and secretly pines for his butler), his sister Daphne's always pretending to be ill, her son Hubert can't hold down a job because he thinks he's entitled to anything because of his lineage (something he got from his mother), Hubert's wife Eloise is mentally ill, and James' grandniece Cynthia (granddaughter of James' late brother Thomas) is cold to most everyone. The closest to normal is James' flamboyantly gay grandnephew Stewart (grandson of James' other late brother, Arthur), who can't stand most of his blood relatives (except for James, to some extent) and can't wait to get out of that house, just to get away from them all (save for Eloise, the only non-blood relative among them and the one he liked most) - he mainly stayed in order to save money on housing.
* BigShutUp: In book 2, when they catch Hubert Morris yelling at his cowering wife Eloise, both Sean and Deputy Bates roar "Quiet!" at him.
* BigShutUp: In book 2, when they catch Hubert Morris yelling at his cowering wife Eloise, both Sean and Deputy Bates roar "Quiet!" at him.
* CallingTheOldManOut: Late in book 2, Charlie's son Sean lets him have it for basically ignoring his children since his wife died. Charlie acknowledges his own mistakes in judgement and promises to do better.
* CampGay: Stewart Delacorte, introduced in book 2, is out and not shy about it.
* CampGay: Stewart Delacorte, introduced in book 2, is out and not shy about it.
* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: James Delacorte's niece-in-law Eloise Morris, in book 2, who makes strange comments at random times and tends to dress up like [[Film/GoneWithTheWind Scarlet O'Hara]]. It's implied that she's genuinely mentally ill, and it's not helped by everyone except James and Stewart yelling at her whenever she says anything.
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* InheritanceMurder: A variant happens in book 1, when Godfrey Priest has added his supposed son Justin Wardlaw to his will, but soon figures out that Justin is actually his ''nephew''. It's not Justin himself, but rather [[spoiler:Justin's mother]] who kills Godfrey to ensure that he can't change his will again in light of this discovery.
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* InheritanceMurder: IceQueen: Cynthia Delacorte, James Delacorte's great-niece in book 2, who is rather cold to essentially everyone. However, she eventually provides a key piece of evidence that reveals the real killer.
* IncompatibleOrientation:
** In book 2, Stewart Delacorte flirts with Sean Harris, but Sean is straight as an arrow. Sean later mentions to his father that a coworker of his, Arthur, had also hit on him but stopped when Sean made it clear he wasn't interested.
** In the same book, James Delacorte has been in love with his butler Nigel Truesdale for years, but Nigel is very straight.
* InheritanceMurder:
** Discussed more than once, as the first two books make mention of the fact that in Mississippi, murderers aren't allowed to profit from their crimes, so killing someone they'd inherit from automatically makes them ineligible to inherit.
** A variant happens in book 1, when Godfrey Priest has added his supposed son Justin Wardlaw to his will, but soon figures out that Justin is actually his ''nephew''. It's not Justin himself, but rather [[spoiler:Justin's mother]] who kills Godfrey to ensure that he can't change his will again in light of this discovery.
** In book 2, when James Delacorte turns up dead, it's suspected that the killer did so to speed up their inheritance. Turns out that's exactly the case. [[spoiler:It's not a family member, as initially suspected, though - it's his butler and primary heir, Nigel Truesdale.]]
* InterspeciesFriendship: In book 2, Sean Harris comes to Athena from Houston, bringing his poodle Dante. Dante and Diesel quickly become fast friends, and this remains even after Sean gives Dante to Stewart Delacorte, who becomes Charlie's new boarder.
* IncompatibleOrientation:
** In book 2, Stewart Delacorte flirts with Sean Harris, but Sean is straight as an arrow. Sean later mentions to his father that a coworker of his, Arthur, had also hit on him but stopped when Sean made it clear he wasn't interested.
** In the same book, James Delacorte has been in love with his butler Nigel Truesdale for years, but Nigel is very straight.
* InheritanceMurder:
** Discussed more than once, as the first two books make mention of the fact that in Mississippi, murderers aren't allowed to profit from their crimes, so killing someone they'd inherit from automatically makes them ineligible to inherit.
** A variant happens in book 1, when Godfrey Priest has added his supposed son Justin Wardlaw to his will, but soon figures out that Justin is actually his ''nephew''. It's not Justin himself, but rather [[spoiler:Justin's mother]] who kills Godfrey to ensure that he can't change his will again in light of this discovery.
** In book 2, when James Delacorte turns up dead, it's suspected that the killer did so to speed up their inheritance. Turns out that's exactly the case. [[spoiler:It's not a family member, as initially suspected, though - it's his butler and primary heir, Nigel Truesdale.]]
* InterspeciesFriendship: In book 2, Sean Harris comes to Athena from Houston, bringing his poodle Dante. Dante and Diesel quickly become fast friends, and this remains even after Sean gives Dante to Stewart Delacorte, who becomes Charlie's new boarder.
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* KickTheDog: Almost literally in book 2. Sean Harris was in a relationship with his boss, even buying her a dog as a present, but she refused to take the animal (a poodle named Dante) when she found out he came from a shelter. It's only ''after'' this that Sean finds out she was just using him.
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* NobodyOver50IsGay: Subverted with James Delacorte in book 2 - he's in his eighties, and his great-nephew Stewart informs Charlie that James has been gay but closeted (not that he's very good at hiding it) his whole life.
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* PassedOverInheritance: In book 2, James Delacorte leaves his mansion and the majority of his money (excluding certain other bequests) to his butler, Nigel Truesdale, rather than to a direct relative. His nephew Hubert Morris (son of James' sister Daphne) is most upset, having expected to inherit the bulk of it. [[spoiler:When it turns out Truesdale is the killer, it's suggested that the trope will be subverted and Daphne, as the next of kin, will inherit Truesdale's share.]]
* PersonalEffectsReveal: In book 2, James Delacorte's library and personal papers reveals his most recent rare book purchase - and also that someone had stolen it.
* PersonaNonGrata: Anyone who complains about Diesel being at Helen Louise's restaurant gets banned from there for good.
* PetHeir: Discussed but subverted in book 2, when the lawyer of the by-then deceased James Delacorte calls Charlie to meet with him about the will, and Sean Harris jokingly suggests that Delacorte might have changed his will to include Diesel as an heir. It's not the case though.
-->'''Sean''': "You could have a very wealthy cat on your hands."
* PlayingSick: In book 2, Daphne Morris is always playing like she's deathly ill. She does have some heart troubles, but most of her illnesses are just faking for attention.
* PlotAllergy: In book 2, both James Delacorte and his niece-in-law Eloise are deathly allergic to peanuts, and James doesn't allow them in the house because of it. This allergy is used to kill them.
* PersonalEffectsReveal: In book 2, James Delacorte's library and personal papers reveals his most recent rare book purchase - and also that someone had stolen it.
* PersonaNonGrata: Anyone who complains about Diesel being at Helen Louise's restaurant gets banned from there for good.
* PetHeir: Discussed but subverted in book 2, when the lawyer of the by-then deceased James Delacorte calls Charlie to meet with him about the will, and Sean Harris jokingly suggests that Delacorte might have changed his will to include Diesel as an heir. It's not the case though.
-->'''Sean''': "You could have a very wealthy cat on your hands."
* PlayingSick: In book 2, Daphne Morris is always playing like she's deathly ill. She does have some heart troubles, but most of her illnesses are just faking for attention.
* PlotAllergy: In book 2, both James Delacorte and his niece-in-law Eloise are deathly allergic to peanuts, and James doesn't allow them in the house because of it. This allergy is used to kill them.
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* SleepingWithTheBoss: In book 2, Charlie's son Sean unexpectedly turns up at his house, and reveals he quit his job at the law firm he worked at in Houston. He eventually confesses that his boss had manipulated him, sleeping with him while getting him to do most of the work on a project, and then moving on to the next guy. He quit to get away from her after he figured out her con.
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* SpitefulWill: When James Delacorte dies in book 2, he shows just how poorly he thought of his surviving relatives.
** He leaves some money to his brother's grandson Stewart and his other brother's granddaughter Cynthia, but also gives them just three months from the date of his death to move out of his house, and specifically informs Stewart that when he leaves, he may not take any furnishings he himself didn't bring into the house.
** To his nephew Hubert (son of James' sister Daphne), he leaves a trust fund, to be managed by James' lawyer, but anything left of it when Hubert himself dies will go to Athena College to fund a scholarship in James' name. He also orders Hubert and his wife to move out of Delacorte House, leaving them a sum that can ''only'' be used on a house (including taxes).
** To his sister Daphne, he basically tells her to move out, either to stay with her son or into an assisted living facility - she gets nothing if she doesn't choose the latter option.
** Finally, he leaves everything else (save for his rare book collection, which goes to Athena College, and a sum that goes to Charlie Harris for his work in cataloguing it), including the house, to his butler (with a stipulation that when Truesdale dies, the house and estate go to the Athena County Historical Society).
** He leaves some money to his brother's grandson Stewart and his other brother's granddaughter Cynthia, but also gives them just three months from the date of his death to move out of his house, and specifically informs Stewart that when he leaves, he may not take any furnishings he himself didn't bring into the house.
** To his nephew Hubert (son of James' sister Daphne), he leaves a trust fund, to be managed by James' lawyer, but anything left of it when Hubert himself dies will go to Athena College to fund a scholarship in James' name. He also orders Hubert and his wife to move out of Delacorte House, leaving them a sum that can ''only'' be used on a house (including taxes).
** To his sister Daphne, he basically tells her to move out, either to stay with her son or into an assisted living facility - she gets nothing if she doesn't choose the latter option.
** Finally, he leaves everything else (save for his rare book collection, which goes to Athena College, and a sum that goes to Charlie Harris for his work in cataloguing it), including the house, to his butler (with a stipulation that when Truesdale dies, the house and estate go to the Athena County Historical Society).
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* TilMurderDoUsPart: In book 2, when Eloise Morris turns up dead, Charlie considers that her husband might have killed her to clear the way for him to marry the woman he's been having an affair with. It's not him though.
* UnexpectedInheritance:
** In book 2, James Delacorte's butler Nigel Truesdale faints when he finds out Delacorte left him almost all his money and the house. [[spoiler:He's faking, having learned about the contents of the will in advance and murdered Delacorte to speed up the process.]]
** A variant with Charlie Harris, who is shocked to find he was named co-executor of the will. He's also surprised to find that Delacorte had specifically named him ''in'' the will, leaving Charlie the job of cataloguing Delacorte's library (a job he'd only hired Charlie for just a short while ago). He also left his rare book collection to Athena College, where Charlie works.
* UnexpectedInheritance:
** In book 2, James Delacorte's butler Nigel Truesdale faints when he finds out Delacorte left him almost all his money and the house. [[spoiler:He's faking, having learned about the contents of the will in advance and murdered Delacorte to speed up the process.]]
** A variant with Charlie Harris, who is shocked to find he was named co-executor of the will. He's also surprised to find that Delacorte had specifically named him ''in'' the will, leaving Charlie the job of cataloguing Delacorte's library (a job he'd only hired Charlie for just a short while ago). He also left his rare book collection to Athena College, where Charlie works.
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* InheritanceMurder: A variant happens in book 1, when Godfrey Priest has added his supposed son Justin Wardlaw to his will, but soon figures out that Justin is actually his ''nephew''. It's not Justin himself, but rather [[spoiler:Justin's mother]] who kills Godfrey to ensure that he can't change his will again in light of this discovery.
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** Godfrey Priest, notorious lady's man, in book 1.
** Vera Cassity, the town busybody who wants to be known as Someone in their town, in book 4. She's made plenty of enemies, and when she dies, most people are more surprised it didn't happen sooner.
** Vera Cassity, the town busybody who wants to be known as Someone in their town, in book 4. She's made plenty of enemies, and when she dies, most people are more surprised it didn't happen sooner.
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** Godfrey Priest, a notorious lady's man, man [[spoiler:who was also regularly cheating his business partner, the man who wrote most of the books published under Priest's name, out of his fair share of the money they brought in]], in book 1.
** Vera Cassity, the town busybody who wants to be known as Someone in their town, in book 4. She's made plenty ofenemies, enemies with her offensive and manipulative ways, and when she dies, she's killed, most people are more surprised it didn't happen sooner.
** Vera Cassity, the town busybody who wants to be known as Someone in their town, in book 4. She's made plenty of
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* MegaNeko: Diesel, the titular "cat in the stacks", is a massive and very intelligent 36-pound Maine Coon (a species that's naturally very large) who is said to be about half the size of a full-grown Labrador and accompanies his owner Charlie Harris everywhere on a leash. The small Mississippi town they live in are still adjusting to the sight of him (and some don't even realize he's a cat at first). It's explained in-story that Charlie had found him as a stray six-week-old kitten and, due to his size, had mistaken him for an adult cat until the vet corrected him.
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* MegaNeko: Diesel, the titular "cat in the stacks", is a massive and very intelligent 36-pound Maine Coon (a species that's naturally very large) who is said to be about half the size of a full-grown Labrador and accompanies his owner Charlie Harris everywhere on a leash.leash and harness. The small Mississippi town they live in are still adjusting to the sight of him (and some don't even realize he's a cat at first). It's explained in-story that Charlie had found him as a stray six-week-old kitten and, due to his size, had mistaken him for an adult cat until the vet corrected him.
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* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Subverted - Charlie is noted as being very careful not to let Diesel eat anything that isn't good for cats, such as onions. In book 4, he lets Azalea's sister Lily know exactly what Diesel can't have, including milk, cheese, chocolate, raisins, grapes, green tomatoes, raw potatoes and the aforementioned onions.
to:
* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Subverted - Charlie is noted as being very careful not to let Diesel eat anything that isn't good for cats, such as onions. In book 4, he lets Azalea's sister Lily know exactly what Diesel can't have, including milk, cheese, chocolate, raisins, grapes, green tomatoes, raw potatoes and the aforementioned onions. It's also noted that while Diesel loves to play with ribbon, Charlie's always careful to make sure he doesn't eat any.
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** Vera Cassity, the town busybody who wants to be known as Someone in their town, in book 4. She's made plenty of enemies, and when she dies, most people are more surprised it didn't happen sooner.
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* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Subverted - Charlie is noted as being very careful not to let Diesel eat anything that isn't good for cats, such as onions.
to:
* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Subverted - Charlie is noted as being very careful not to let Diesel eat anything that isn't good for cats, such as onions. In book 4, he lets Azalea's sister Lily know exactly what Diesel can't have, including milk, cheese, chocolate, raisins, grapes, green tomatoes, raw potatoes and the aforementioned onions.
* TheBeard: In book 4, [[spoiler:Vera Cassity's husband Morty is having an affair with Hank Beauchamp. While Hank is openly gay, Morty isn't, so Hank's sister Sissy pretends to be the one that Morty's with. She eventually kills Vera so Hank and Morty can be together openly, since the Beauchamps are broke and Morty can't divorce his wife like he wants without being taken to the cleaners by her.]]
* TheBeard: In book 4, [[spoiler:Vera Cassity's husband Morty is having an affair with Hank Beauchamp. While Hank is openly gay, Morty isn't, so Hank's sister Sissy pretends to be the one that Morty's with. She eventually kills Vera so Hank and Morty can be together openly, since the Beauchamps are broke and Morty can't divorce his wife like he wants without being taken to the cleaners by her.]]
* ClearMyName: Charlie, in book 8.
* ClearTheirName: More than a few of the books have Charlie working to clear the name of a friend or relative of his.
* ClearTheirName: More than a few of the books have Charlie working to clear the name of a friend or relative of his.
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* CoolOldLady: Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, who debuted in the fourth book of the original series and wind up as amateur sleuths themselves. Charlie also thinks of his late aunt Dottie as one.
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* CoolOldLady: Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Richelle "Dickce" Ducote, who debuted in the fourth book of the original series and wind up as amateur sleuths themselves. Charlie also thinks of his late aunt Dottie as one.
* FamilyOfChoice: Charlie comes to see Stewart as a younger brother.
* FurAndLoathing: Vera Cassity, the thoroughly unpleasant victim in book 4, wears a mink coat when she comes to see Charlie, who reacts with disgust.
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* IWantGrandkids: Despite the fact that they tend to butt heads on several matters, Azalea Berry is fiercely proud of her daughter Kanesha and her accomplishments, with one exception - Azalea is disappointed that Kanesha hasn't married and given her grandchildren, which is a touchy subject between the pair.
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* IWantGrandkids: IWantGrandkids:
** Despite the fact that they tend to butt heads on several matters, Azalea Berry is fiercely proud of her daughter Kanesha and her accomplishments, with one exception - Azalea is disappointed that Kanesha hasn't married and given her grandchildren, which is a touchy subject between thepair.pair.
** Charlie is mentioned as looking forward to being a grandfather as well.
** Despite the fact that they tend to butt heads on several matters, Azalea Berry is fiercely proud of her daughter Kanesha and her accomplishments, with one exception - Azalea is disappointed that Kanesha hasn't married and given her grandchildren, which is a touchy subject between the
** Charlie is mentioned as looking forward to being a grandfather as well.
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* NarrativeProfanityFilter: In book 4, Helen Louise is subject to this when Charlie informs her of what Vera Cassity had tried earlier.
-->Helen Louise used a word I had never heard her speak, disconcerting me.
-->Helen Louise used a word I had never heard her speak, disconcerting me.
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* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: Attempted in book 4, Vera Cassity tries to use her status and wealth as a library donor to get access to the Ducote family papers in the college library's archives. Charlie, however, won't back down, since the papers aren't available to the public without written permission from a member or a legal representative of the Ducote family.
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* SoreLoser: Vera Cassity in book 4, who threatens Charlie's job and cat when he refuses to break the rules and let her see the Ducote family papers without written permission. The Ducote sisters hear about this and have their lawyer deliver a warning. Vera then tries to hassle Charlie's girlfriend, but again, the Ducote sisters find out and step in.
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* StrongFamilyResemblance: Azalea and her sister Lily are almost identical, as Charlie discovers when he sees them together for the first time in book 4.
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* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Averted - Charlie is very careful not to let Diesel eat anything that isn't good for cats, such as onions.
to:
* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Averted Subverted - Charlie is noted as being very careful not to let Diesel eat anything that isn't good for cats, such as onions.
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* Cat #12: ''Careless Whiskers'' (announced for January 2020) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena College's theater department is putting on a play by Charlie's son-in-law Frank Salisbury and starring Charlie's daughter Laura, but when another of the actors drops dead from a poisoned drink Laura handed him, she becomes the number one suspect, and Charlie and Diesel must figure out the real killer.[[/labelnote]]
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* Cat #2: ''Classified as Murder'' (May 2011) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is hired to inventory the rare book collection of aging eccentric James Delacorte, and soon finds himself having to solve the old man's murder. He also becomes friends with Delacorte's nephew Stewart, who [[/labelnote]]
to:
* Cat #2: ''Classified as Murder'' (May 2011) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is hired to inventory the rare book collection of aging eccentric James Delacorte, and soon finds himself having to solve the old man's murder. He also becomes friends with Delacorte's nephew Stewart, who becomes one of his boarders.[[/labelnote]]
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* Cat #2: ''Classified as Murder'' (May 2011) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is hired to inventory the rare book collection of aging eccentric James Delacorte, and soon finds himself having to solve the old man's murder.[[/labelnote]]
to:
* Cat #2: ''Classified as Murder'' (May 2011) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is hired to inventory the rare book collection of aging eccentric James Delacorte, and soon finds himself having to solve the old man's murder. He also becomes friends with Delacorte's nephew Stewart, who [[/labelnote]]
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* CoolOldLady: Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, who debuted in the fourth book of the original series and wind up as amateur sleuths themselves.
to:
* CoolOldLady: Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, who debuted in the fourth book of the original series and wind up as amateur sleuths themselves. Charlie also thinks of his late aunt Dottie as one.
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* DisproportionateRetribution: Charlie corrects Oscar Reilly's pronunciation of the Ducote sisters' surname, and Reilly responds by doing everything he can to harass Charlie into quitting (including by trying to ban him from bringing Diesel to work with him), finally deciding to close the archives outright and sell off the rare book collection, ostensibly to make up a deficit in the library budget (though it's pretty obvious that his real motivation is to cut Charlie's job). Before Reilly can actually go through with this, he's killed by the real villains of the book, and Charlie is requested to take over Reilly's job as interim head of the department by the college president.
to:
* DisproportionateRetribution: DisproportionateRetribution:
** In book 7, Charlie corrects Oscar Reilly's pronunciation of the Ducote sisters' surname, and Reilly responds by doing everything he can to harass Charlie into quitting (including by trying to ban him from bringing Diesel to work with him), finally deciding to close the archives outright and sell off the rare book collection, ostensibly to make up a deficit in the library budget (though it's pretty obvious that his real motivation is to cut Charlie's job). Before Reilly can actually go through with this, he's killed by the real villains of the book, and Charlie is requested to take over Reilly's job as interim head of the department by the college president.
** Also in book 7, Cassandra Brownley, head of the library's collection development and acquisitions department, is identified as having done this to two different people. One tactfully corrected her in front of several people; Cassandra's retaliation (filling her office with plastic bugs, since she was scared of them) caused her to suffer a panic attack and break two limbs when she tripped over a chair while trying to flee them. The other went over her head to get some materials for the library that he felt were needed and she didn't; she tricked him into eating a large quantity of laxatives, which resulted in a hospital visit. In both cases, the victims left the college soon after.
** In book 7, Charlie corrects Oscar Reilly's pronunciation of the Ducote sisters' surname, and Reilly responds by doing everything he can to harass Charlie into quitting (including by trying to ban him from bringing Diesel to work with him), finally deciding to close the archives outright and sell off the rare book collection, ostensibly to make up a deficit in the library budget (though it's pretty obvious that his real motivation is to cut Charlie's job). Before Reilly can actually go through with this, he's killed by the real villains of the book, and Charlie is requested to take over Reilly's job as interim head of the department by the college president.
** Also in book 7, Cassandra Brownley, head of the library's collection development and acquisitions department, is identified as having done this to two different people. One tactfully corrected her in front of several people; Cassandra's retaliation (filling her office with plastic bugs, since she was scared of them) caused her to suffer a panic attack and break two limbs when she tripped over a chair while trying to flee them. The other went over her head to get some materials for the library that he felt were needed and she didn't; she tricked him into eating a large quantity of laxatives, which resulted in a hospital visit. In both cases, the victims left the college soon after.
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* ItIsPronouncedTroPay: The Ducote sisters' surname is pronounced "Du-coh-tay", and they (and their friends) don't let other people forget it.
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* ItIsPronouncedTroPay: The Ducote sisters' surname is pronounced "Du-coh-tay", "Du-COH-tee", and they (and their friends) don't let other people forget it.
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* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:Peter Vanderkeller, Athena College's library director (and Charlie's boss) in the first six books, abruptly sent in a resignation letter in book 7; he is later discovered to have been murdered, and the letter was sent by his killers to delay the discovery of their crime.]]
to:
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:Peter Vanderkeller, Athena College's library director (and Charlie's boss) in the first six books, abruptly sent in a resignation letter in book 7; he is later discovered to have been murdered, and the letter was sent by his killers to delay the discovery of their crime.]]]]
* WitchWithACapitalB: In book 3, Laura quotes another character, but censors herself because she doesn't want the language to upset her father.
->"All he said was 'That fat witch' - except he didn't say ''witch'' - 'may think she can shut me in like she used to, but I'm too big now.'"
* YouGotMurder: Charlie receives a letter bomb in book 3. Luckily, Diesel detects that something's off about it, warning Charlie away before he can set it off, and he calls the sheriff's department right away so it can be safely disposed of.
* WitchWithACapitalB: In book 3, Laura quotes another character, but censors herself because she doesn't want the language to upset her father.
->"All he said was 'That fat witch' - except he didn't say ''witch'' - 'may think she can shut me in like she used to, but I'm too big now.'"
* YouGotMurder: Charlie receives a letter bomb in book 3. Luckily, Diesel detects that something's off about it, warning Charlie away before he can set it off, and he calls the sheriff's department right away so it can be safely disposed of.
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* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:Peter Vanderkeller, Athena College's library director in the first six books, abruptly resigns in book 7 and is later discovered to have been murdered.]]
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* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:Peter Vanderkeller, Athena College's library director (and Charlie's boss) in the first six books, abruptly resigns sent in a resignation letter in book 7 and 7; he is later discovered to have been murdered.murdered, and the letter was sent by his killers to delay the discovery of their crime.]]
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** Oscar Reilly, the interim library director, in book 7. A wife-beater [[spoiler:who robbed his own wife of her heirloom jewelry]] and notorious flirt, who tries to fire anyone who disagrees with him; he also tried to cut valued library services just to reduce the budget [[spoiler:and let the villains, who'd been embezzling from the library, continue their scheme while also taking a cut of their profits for himself; this effort at blackmail is what got him killed]].
to:
** Oscar Reilly, the interim library director, in book 7. A wife-beater [[spoiler:who robbed his own wife of her heirloom jewelry]] and notorious flirt, who tries to fire anyone who disagrees with him; he also tried to cut valued library services just to reduce the budget [[spoiler:and let the villains, who'd been embezzling from the library, continue their scheme while also taking a cut of their profits for himself; this effort at blackmail is what got him killed]].killed. His brother-in-law, likewise, is a huge jerk who tries to pick up where Reilly left off with his blackmail scheme and is also murdered]].
* DisproportionateRetribution: Charlie corrects Oscar Reilly's pronunciation of the Ducote sisters' surname, and Reilly responds by doing everything he can to harass Charlie into quitting (including by trying to ban him from bringing Diesel to work with him), finally deciding to close the archives outright and sell off the rare book collection, ostensibly to make up a deficit in the library budget (though it's pretty obvious that his real motivation is to cut Charlie's job). Before Reilly can actually go through with this, he's killed by the real villains of the book, and Charlie is requested to take over Reilly's job as interim head of the department by the college president.
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* StealingFromTheTill: [[spoiler:The villains in book 7 were embezzling from the library budget for over a decade using a phony e-book company, which they themselves had set up and then got a subscription to it for the library, allowing the college access to the e-books it provided. Except all the items were permanently checked out, and the money supposedly going to the company went straight into the villains' pocket. When the library director tried to cancel the subscription in order to reduce the library's spending, the villains killed him and faked his resignation; when his successor figured out what was going on and tried to blackmail the villains, he was killed; and a witness who tried to continue the blackmail was also killed.]]
to:
* StealingFromTheTill: [[spoiler:The villains in book 7 were embezzling from the library budget for over a decade using a phony e-book company, which they themselves had set up and then got a subscription to it for the library, allowing the college access to the e-books it provided. Except all the items were permanently checked out, and the money supposedly going to the company went straight into the villains' pocket. When the library director tried to cancel the subscription in order to reduce the library's spending, the villains killed him and faked his resignation; when his successor figured out what was going on and tried to blackmail the villains, he was killed; and a witness who tried to continue the blackmail was also killed.]]
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:Peter Vanderkeller, Athena College's library director in the first six books, abruptly resigns in book 7 and is later discovered to have been murdered.]]
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome: [[spoiler:Peter Vanderkeller, Athena College's library director in the first six books, abruptly resigns in book 7 and is later discovered to have been murdered.]]
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* Cat #1: ''Murder Past Due'' (August 2010) [[labelnote:Summary]]Bestselling novelist Godfrey Priest returns to Athena to donate his papers to his ''alma mater'', and to meet the son he never knew. But when he turns up dead, Charlie Harris and Diesel must figure out who's responsible. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #2: ''Classified as Murder'' (May 2011) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is hired to inventory the rare book collection of aging eccentric James Delacorte, and soon finds himself having to solve the old man's murder. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #3: ''File M for Murder'' (January 2012) [[labelnote:Summary]]Caustic playwright Connor Lawton comes to work for Athena College, and helps Charlie's daughter Laura get a job at the college as well. But when Conner turns up dead, Laura is the prime suspect, and Charlie must find a way to clear her name. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #4: ''Out of Circulation'' (January 2013) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie Harris has joined the Friends of the Library board and is helping to plan the upcoming library Christmas fundraiser gala. Unfortunately, town busybody Vera Cassity is also a member, and it seems that almost everyone, including sisters Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, has it out for her. When her dead body is discovered with Charlie's housekeeper Azalea standing over it, Charlie must figure out the real killer. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #5: ''The Silence of the Library'' (January 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Athena Public Library is holding an exhibit to honor famous novelist Electra Barnes Cartwright, who has agreed to make a rare public appearance. But things soon turn ugly when a rabid fan resorts to murder to get ahold of some of her rarer books. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #1: ''Bless Her Dead Little Heart'' (October 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters find themselves caught up in a murder mystery, in which the greedy children of their former sorority sister Rosabelle Sultan will resort to anything in order to find out the contents of her will. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #6: ''Arsenic and Old Books'' (January 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's mayor Lucinda Beckwith Long donates a set of Civil War-era diaries to the archives of Athena College. However, enemies of the family and a history professor at the college have a vested interest in acquiring the diaries for themselves, with fatal results that leave Charlie scrambling for answers. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #2: ''Dead with the Wind'' (September 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters head to Louisiana for a family wedding, but when the bride dies suddenly and under suspicious circumstances, Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce must solve the crime. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #7: ''No Cats Allowed'' (January 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's new library director, Oscar Reilly, has made a number of his enemies in his efforts to cut costs and replace some of the staff with younger members. He even bans all animals, including Diesel, from the library. But when Reilly turns up dead, suspicion falls on Charlie's friend Melba, and Charlie must figure out the real culprit before it's too late. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #3: ''Digging Up the Dirt'' (September 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters are busy with plans for the Athena Garden Club's spring tour of grand old homes, but when a dead body turns up on the estate of recently returned Hadley Partridge, the sisters must figure out who it is and who was responsible. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #8: ''Twelve Angry Librarians'' (February 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Southern Academic Libraries Association is holding their annual meeting at Athena College, and as interim library director, it's up to Charlie to deliver the welcome speech to all the visiting librarians, including his old classmate and world-class jerk Gavin Fong. When Gavin turns up dead, it's Charlie who's believed guilty, and now he must clear his ''own'' name. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #4: ''Fixing to Die'' (October 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters go to Mississippi in order to help Mary Turner Catlin, the granddaughter of an old friend, discover the true cause behind ghostly goings-on in her house, including a sudden murder. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #9: ''Claws for Concern'' (February 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is forced to solve a murder mystery from his family's past, and to deal with true-crime writer Jack Pemberton, who is insistent on making Charlie the subject of his latest book. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #10: ''Six Cats a Slayin''' (October 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie prepares to enjoy his first Christmas as a grandfather, but things are complicated through the arrival of a box of five kittens on his doorstep with a note begging him to keep them safe, and through the murder of Charlie's nosy neighbor, real estate agent Gerry Arbitron, who's very interested in acquiring his house. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #11: ''The Pawful Truth'' (announced for July 2019) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie gets involved in a mystery once more, involving a new history professor at the college and the man's wife, another colleague of Charlie's. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #2: ''Classified as Murder'' (May 2011) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is hired to inventory the rare book collection of aging eccentric James Delacorte, and soon finds himself having to solve the old man's murder. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #3: ''File M for Murder'' (January 2012) [[labelnote:Summary]]Caustic playwright Connor Lawton comes to work for Athena College, and helps Charlie's daughter Laura get a job at the college as well. But when Conner turns up dead, Laura is the prime suspect, and Charlie must find a way to clear her name. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #4: ''Out of Circulation'' (January 2013) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie Harris has joined the Friends of the Library board and is helping to plan the upcoming library Christmas fundraiser gala. Unfortunately, town busybody Vera Cassity is also a member, and it seems that almost everyone, including sisters Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, has it out for her. When her dead body is discovered with Charlie's housekeeper Azalea standing over it, Charlie must figure out the real killer. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #5: ''The Silence of the Library'' (January 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Athena Public Library is holding an exhibit to honor famous novelist Electra Barnes Cartwright, who has agreed to make a rare public appearance. But things soon turn ugly when a rabid fan resorts to murder to get ahold of some of her rarer books. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #1: ''Bless Her Dead Little Heart'' (October 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters find themselves caught up in a murder mystery, in which the greedy children of their former sorority sister Rosabelle Sultan will resort to anything in order to find out the contents of her will. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #6: ''Arsenic and Old Books'' (January 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's mayor Lucinda Beckwith Long donates a set of Civil War-era diaries to the archives of Athena College. However, enemies of the family and a history professor at the college have a vested interest in acquiring the diaries for themselves, with fatal results that leave Charlie scrambling for answers. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #2: ''Dead with the Wind'' (September 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters head to Louisiana for a family wedding, but when the bride dies suddenly and under suspicious circumstances, Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce must solve the crime. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #7: ''No Cats Allowed'' (January 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's new library director, Oscar Reilly, has made a number of his enemies in his efforts to cut costs and replace some of the staff with younger members. He even bans all animals, including Diesel, from the library. But when Reilly turns up dead, suspicion falls on Charlie's friend Melba, and Charlie must figure out the real culprit before it's too late. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #3: ''Digging Up the Dirt'' (September 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters are busy with plans for the Athena Garden Club's spring tour of grand old homes, but when a dead body turns up on the estate of recently returned Hadley Partridge, the sisters must figure out who it is and who was responsible. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #8: ''Twelve Angry Librarians'' (February 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Southern Academic Libraries Association is holding their annual meeting at Athena College, and as interim library director, it's up to Charlie to deliver the welcome speech to all the visiting librarians, including his old classmate and world-class jerk Gavin Fong. When Gavin turns up dead, it's Charlie who's believed guilty, and now he must clear his ''own'' name. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #4: ''Fixing to Die'' (October 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters go to Mississippi in order to help Mary Turner Catlin, the granddaughter of an old friend, discover the true cause behind ghostly goings-on in her house, including a sudden murder. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #9: ''Claws for Concern'' (February 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is forced to solve a murder mystery from his family's past, and to deal with true-crime writer Jack Pemberton, who is insistent on making Charlie the subject of his latest book. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #10: ''Six Cats a Slayin''' (October 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie prepares to enjoy his first Christmas as a grandfather, but things are complicated through the arrival of a box of five kittens on his doorstep with a note begging him to keep them safe, and through the murder of Charlie's nosy neighbor, real estate agent Gerry Arbitron, who's very interested in acquiring his house. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #11: ''The Pawful Truth'' (announced for July 2019) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie gets involved in a mystery once more, involving a new history professor at the college and the man's wife, another colleague of Charlie's. [[/labelnote]]
to:
* Cat #1: ''Murder Past Due'' (August 2010) [[labelnote:Summary]]Bestselling novelist Godfrey Priest returns to Athena to donate his papers to his ''alma mater'', and to meet the son he never knew. But when he turns up dead, Charlie Harris and Diesel must figure out who's responsible. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #2: ''Classified as Murder'' (May 2011) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is hired to inventory the rare book collection of aging eccentric James Delacorte, and soon finds himself having to solve the old man's murder. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #3: ''File M for Murder'' (January 2012) [[labelnote:Summary]]Caustic playwright Connor Lawton comes to work for Athena College, and helps Charlie's daughter Laura get a job at the college as well. But when Conner turns up dead, Laura is the prime suspect, and Charlie must find a way to clear her name. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #4: ''Out of Circulation'' (January 2013) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie Harris has joined the Friends of the Library board and is helping to plan the upcoming library Christmas fundraiser gala. Unfortunately, town busybody Vera Cassity is also a member, and it seems that almost everyone, including sisters Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, has it out for her. When her dead body is discovered with Charlie's housekeeper Azalea standing over it, Charlie must figure out the real killer. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #5: ''The Silence of the Library'' (January 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Athena Public Library is holding an exhibit to honor famous novelist Electra Barnes Cartwright, who has agreed to make a rare public appearance. But things soon turn ugly when a rabid fan resorts to murder to get ahold of some of her rarer books. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #1: ''Bless Her Dead Little Heart'' (October 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters find themselves caught up in a murder mystery, in which the greedy children of their former sorority sister Rosabelle Sultan will resort to anything in order to find out the contents of her will. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #6: ''Arsenic and Old Books'' (January 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's mayor Lucinda Beckwith Long donates a set of Civil War-era diaries to the archives of Athena College. However, enemies of the family and a history professor at the college have a vested interest in acquiring the diaries for themselves, with fatal results that leave Charlie scrambling for answers. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #2: ''Dead with the Wind'' (September 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters head to Louisiana for a family wedding, but when the bride dies suddenly and under suspicious circumstances, Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce must solve the crime. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #7: ''No Cats Allowed'' (January 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's new library director, Oscar Reilly, has made a number of his enemies in his efforts to cut costs and replace some of the staff with younger members. He even bans all animals, including Diesel, from the library. But when Reilly turns up dead, suspicion falls on Charlie's friend Melba, and Charlie must figure out the real culprit before it's too late. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #3: ''Digging Up the Dirt'' (September 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters are busy with plans for the Athena Garden Club's spring tour of grand old homes, but when a dead body turns up on the estate of recently returned Hadley Partridge, the sisters must figure out who it is and who was responsible. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #8: ''Twelve Angry Librarians'' (February 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Southern Academic Libraries Association is holding their annual meeting at Athena College, and as interim library director, it's up to Charlie to deliver the welcome speech to all the visiting librarians, including his old classmate and world-class jerk Gavin Fong. When Gavin turns up dead, it's Charlie who's believed guilty, and now he must clear his ''own'' name. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #4: ''Fixing to Die'' (October 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters go to Mississippi in order to help Mary Turner Catlin, the granddaughter of an old friend, discover the true cause behind ghostly goings-on in her house, including a sudden murder. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #9: ''Claws for Concern'' (February 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is forced to solve a murder mystery from his family's past, and to deal with true-crime writer Jack Pemberton, who is insistent on making Charlie the subject of his latest book. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #10: ''Six Cats a Slayin''' (October 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie prepares to enjoy his first Christmas as a grandfather, but things are complicated through the arrival of a box of five kittens on his doorstep with a note begging him to keep them safe, and through the murder of Charlie's nosy neighbor, real estate agent Gerry Arbitron, who's very interested in acquiring his house. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #11: ''The Pawful Truth'' (announced for July 2019) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie gets involved in a mystery once more, involving a new history professor at the college and the man's wife, another colleague of Charlie's. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #2: ''Classified as Murder'' (May 2011) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is hired to inventory the rare book collection of aging eccentric James Delacorte, and soon finds himself having to solve the old man's murder.
* Cat #3: ''File M for Murder'' (January 2012) [[labelnote:Summary]]Caustic playwright Connor Lawton comes to work for Athena College, and helps Charlie's daughter Laura get a job at the college as well. But when Conner turns up dead, Laura is the prime suspect, and Charlie must find a way to clear her name.
* Cat #4: ''Out of Circulation'' (January 2013) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie Harris has joined the Friends of the Library board and is helping to plan the upcoming library Christmas fundraiser gala. Unfortunately, town busybody Vera Cassity is also a member, and it seems that almost everyone, including sisters Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, has it out for her. When her dead body is discovered with Charlie's housekeeper Azalea standing over it, Charlie must figure out the real killer.
* Cat #5: ''The Silence of the Library'' (January 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Athena Public Library is holding an exhibit to honor famous novelist Electra Barnes Cartwright, who has agreed to make a rare public appearance. But things soon turn ugly when a rabid fan resorts to murder to get ahold of some of her rarer books.
* Ladies #1: ''Bless Her Dead Little Heart'' (October 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters find themselves caught up in a murder mystery, in which the greedy children of their former sorority sister Rosabelle Sultan will resort to anything in order to find out the contents of her will.
* Cat #6: ''Arsenic and Old Books'' (January 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's mayor Lucinda Beckwith Long donates a set of Civil War-era diaries to the archives of Athena College. However, enemies of the family and a history professor at the college have a vested interest in acquiring the diaries for themselves, with fatal results that leave Charlie scrambling for answers.
* Ladies #2: ''Dead with the Wind'' (September 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters head to Louisiana for a family wedding, but when the bride dies suddenly and under suspicious circumstances, Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce must solve the crime.
* Cat #7: ''No Cats Allowed'' (January 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's new library director, Oscar Reilly, has made a number of his enemies in his efforts to cut costs and replace some of the staff with younger members. He even bans all animals, including Diesel, from the library. But when Reilly turns up dead, suspicion falls on Charlie's friend Melba, and Charlie must figure out the real culprit before it's too late.
* Ladies #3: ''Digging Up the Dirt'' (September 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters are busy with plans for the Athena Garden Club's spring tour of grand old homes, but when a dead body turns up on the estate of recently returned Hadley Partridge, the sisters must figure out who it is and who was responsible.
* Cat #8: ''Twelve Angry Librarians'' (February 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Southern Academic Libraries Association is holding their annual meeting at Athena College, and as interim library director, it's up to Charlie to deliver the welcome speech to all the visiting librarians, including his old classmate and world-class jerk Gavin Fong. When Gavin turns up dead, it's Charlie who's believed guilty, and now he must clear his ''own'' name.
* Ladies #4: ''Fixing to Die'' (October 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters go to Mississippi in order to help Mary Turner Catlin, the granddaughter of an old friend, discover the true cause behind ghostly goings-on in her house, including a sudden murder.
* Cat #9: ''Claws for Concern'' (February 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is forced to solve a murder mystery from his family's past, and to deal with true-crime writer Jack Pemberton, who is insistent on making Charlie the subject of his latest book.
* Cat #10: ''Six Cats a Slayin''' (October 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie prepares to enjoy his first Christmas as a grandfather, but things are complicated through the arrival of a box of five kittens on his doorstep with a note begging him to keep them safe, and through the murder of Charlie's nosy neighbor, real estate agent Gerry Arbitron, who's very interested in acquiring his house.
* Cat #11: ''The Pawful Truth'' (announced for July 2019) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie gets involved in a mystery once more, involving a new history professor at the college and the man's wife, another colleague of Charlie's.
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** Oscar Reilly, the interim library director, in book 7. A wife-beater [[spoiler:who robbed his own wife of her heirloom jewelry]] and notorious flirt, who tries to fire anyone who disagrees with him.
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** Oscar Reilly, the interim library director, in book 7. A wife-beater [[spoiler:who robbed his own wife of her heirloom jewelry]] and notorious flirt, who tries to fire anyone who disagrees with him. him; he also tried to cut valued library services just to reduce the budget [[spoiler:and let the villains, who'd been embezzling from the library, continue their scheme while also taking a cut of their profits for himself; this effort at blackmail is what got him killed]].
* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Averted - Charlie is very careful not to let Diesel eat anything that isn't good for cats, such as onions.
* BlackmailBackfire: Twice in book [[spoiler:7. Oscar Reilly's attempt at blackmailing the villains of the book gets him killed by them. When his former brother-in-law tries to pick up where he left off, the killers eliminate him too.]]
* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Averted - Charlie is very careful not to let Diesel eat anything that isn't good for cats, such as onions.
* BlackmailBackfire: Twice in book [[spoiler:7. Oscar Reilly's attempt at blackmailing the villains of the book gets him killed by them. When his former brother-in-law tries to pick up where he left off, the killers eliminate him too.]]
* FriendOnTheForce:
** Initially averted with Kanesha Berry, who's annoyed that Charlie keeps getting involved in cases around Athena (and also doesn't like that her mother insists on continuing to work for him instead of retiring). Finally played straight in book 4 when she asks him to investigate on her behalf and clear her mother's name, and comes to accept his aid afterward.
** Haskell Bates, a fellow deputy, also becomes friendly with Charlie and becomes one of his boarders at the end of book 7, sharing a room with another of Charlie's boarders - Bates' boyfriend Stewart Delacorte.
** Initially averted with Kanesha Berry, who's annoyed that Charlie keeps getting involved in cases around Athena (and also doesn't like that her mother insists on continuing to work for him instead of retiring). Finally played straight in book 4 when she asks him to investigate on her behalf and clear her mother's name, and comes to accept his aid afterward.
** Haskell Bates, a fellow deputy, also becomes friendly with Charlie and becomes one of his boarders at the end of book 7, sharing a room with another of Charlie's boarders - Bates' boyfriend Stewart Delacorte.
* IWantGrandkids: Despite the fact that they tend to butt heads on several matters, Azalea Berry is fiercely proud of her daughter Kanesha and her accomplishments, with one exception - Azalea is disappointed that Kanesha hasn't married and given her grandchildren, which is a touchy subject between the pair.
* RevealingCoverup: The first observed murder in book 7 is a cover-up for a longer-running scheme. Investigating the man's death leads to the discovery of an [[spoiler:embezzlement scheme that lasted over a decade, plus an earlier murder that was also an attempt to cover it up]].
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* ShoutOutThemeNaming: The five kittens that appear in book 10 are all given names that are shout-outs to literature. Charlie names one of them Marlowe after the Elizabethan playwright Creator/ChristopherMarlowe (also after a female cat he'd once owned by the same name). Her sister is named Bastet, after a character from Elizabeth Peters' ''Literature/AmeliaPeabody'' books, and one of her brothers is Ramses, after a character from the same series. The last two males are named Fred and George, after the [[Franchise/HarryPotter Weasley twins]].
to:
* ShoutOutThemeNaming: The five kittens that appear in book 10 are all given names that are shout-outs to literature. Charlie names one of them Marlowe after the Elizabethan playwright Creator/ChristopherMarlowe (also after a female cat he'd once owned by the same name). Her sister is named Bastet, after a character from Elizabeth Peters' ''Literature/AmeliaPeabody'' books, and one of her brothers is Ramses, after a character from the same series. The last two males are named Fred and George, after the [[Franchise/HarryPotter Weasley twins]].twins]].
* StealingFromTheTill: [[spoiler:The villains in book 7 were embezzling from the library budget for over a decade using a phony e-book company, which they themselves had set up and then got a subscription to it for the library, allowing the college access to the e-books it provided. Except all the items were permanently checked out, and the money supposedly going to the company went straight into the villains' pocket. When the library director tried to cancel the subscription in order to reduce the library's spending, the villains killed him and faked his resignation; when his successor figured out what was going on and tried to blackmail the villains, he was killed; and a witness who tried to continue the blackmail was also killed.]]
* StealingFromTheTill: [[spoiler:The villains in book 7 were embezzling from the library budget for over a decade using a phony e-book company, which they themselves had set up and then got a subscription to it for the library, allowing the college access to the e-books it provided. Except all the items were permanently checked out, and the money supposedly going to the company went straight into the villains' pocket. When the library director tried to cancel the subscription in order to reduce the library's spending, the villains killed him and faked his resignation; when his successor figured out what was going on and tried to blackmail the villains, he was killed; and a witness who tried to continue the blackmail was also killed.]]
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* AssholeVictim:
** Godfrey Priest, notorious lady's man, in book 1.
** Oscar Reilly, the interim library director, in book 7. A wife-beater [[spoiler:who robbed his own wife of her heirloom jewelry]] and notorious flirt, who tries to fire anyone who disagrees with him.
** Godfrey Priest, notorious lady's man, in book 1.
** Oscar Reilly, the interim library director, in book 7. A wife-beater [[spoiler:who robbed his own wife of her heirloom jewelry]] and notorious flirt, who tries to fire anyone who disagrees with him.
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* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Oscar Reilly is found crushed to death in the compact, automated shelves in the library basement in book 7.
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* ItIsPronouncedTroPay: The Ducote sisters' surname is pronounced "Du-coh-tay", and they (and their friends) don't let other people forget it.
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* ShotgunWedding: No shotguns or threats are involved, but in book 7, Sean Harris and his fiancee Alexandra Pendergast move their wedding up to immediately as soon as they find out Alexandra is pregnant.
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* KindlyHousekeeper: Azalea Berry, who was a part-time housekeeper for Charlie Harris' Aunt Dottie for years and continues in the role for Charlie after Dottie dies and Charlie inherits the house, in part since she's not ready to stop working (she also works part-time for other families). Azalea's daughter Kanesha, a deputy for the local police, is not happy about this and just wants her mother to retire, blaming Charlie for Azalea's refusal to do so.
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* KindlyHousekeeper: Azalea Berry, who was a part-time housekeeper for Charlie Harris' Aunt Dottie for years and continues in the role for Charlie after Dottie dies and Charlie inherits the house, in part since she's not ready to stop working (she also works part-time for other families). Azalea's daughter Kanesha, a deputy for the local police, is not happy about this and just wants her mother to retire, blaming Charlie for Azalea's refusal to do so.
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* OldRetainer: Azalea Berry, who served as a part-time housekeeper for Charlie Harris' Aunt Dottie for years and continues in the role for Charlie after Dottie dies and Charlie inherits the house, in part since she's not ready to stop working (unusually for the trope, she also works part-time for other families). Azalea's daughter Kanesha, a deputy for the local police, is not happy about this and just wants her mother to retire, blaming Charlie for Azalea's refusal to do so.
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* KindlyHousekeeper: Azalea Berry, who was a part-time housekeeper for Charlie Harris' Aunt Dottie for years and continues in the role for Charlie after Dottie dies and Charlie inherits the house, in part since she's not ready to stop working (she also works part-time for other families). Azalea's daughter Kanesha, a deputy for the local police, is not happy about this and just wants her mother to retire, blaming Charlie for Azalea's refusal to do so.
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* OldRetainer: Azalea Berry, who was a part-time housekeeper for Charlie Harris' Aunt Dottie for years and continues in the role for Charlie after Dottie dies and Charlie inherits the house, in part since she's not ready to stop working (unusually for the trope, she also works part-time for other families). Azalea's daughter Kanesha, a deputy for the local police, is not happy about this and just wants her mother to retire, blaming Charlie for Azalea's refusal to do so.
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* ShoutOutThemeNaming: Of the five kittens that appear in book 10, Charlie names one of them Marlowe after the Elizabethan playwright Creator/ChristopherMarlowe (also after a female cat he'd once owned by the same name). Her sister is named Bastet, after a character from Elizabeth Peters' ''Literature/AmeliaPeabody'' books, and one of her brothers is Ramses, after a character from the same series. The last two males are named Fred and George, after the [[Franchise/HarryPotter Weasley twins]].
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* ShoutOutThemeNaming: Of the The five kittens that appear in book 10, 10 are all given names that are shout-outs to literature. Charlie names one of them Marlowe after the Elizabethan playwright Creator/ChristopherMarlowe (also after a female cat he'd once owned by the same name). Her sister is named Bastet, after a character from Elizabeth Peters' ''Literature/AmeliaPeabody'' books, and one of her brothers is Ramses, after a character from the same series. The last two males are named Fred and George, after the [[Franchise/HarryPotter Weasley twins]].
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* PosthumousCharacter: Charlie's wife Jackie and aunt Dottie, who'd both died of cancer within a few weeks of one another three years before the series began.
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* PosthumousCharacter: Charlie's wife Jackie and aunt Dottie, who'd both died of cancer within a few weeks of one another three years before the series began.began.
* ShoutOutThemeNaming: Of the five kittens that appear in book 10, Charlie names one of them Marlowe after the Elizabethan playwright Creator/ChristopherMarlowe (also after a female cat he'd once owned by the same name). Her sister is named Bastet, after a character from Elizabeth Peters' ''Literature/AmeliaPeabody'' books, and one of her brothers is Ramses, after a character from the same series. The last two males are named Fred and George, after the [[Franchise/HarryPotter Weasley twins]].
* ShoutOutThemeNaming: Of the five kittens that appear in book 10, Charlie names one of them Marlowe after the Elizabethan playwright Creator/ChristopherMarlowe (also after a female cat he'd once owned by the same name). Her sister is named Bastet, after a character from Elizabeth Peters' ''Literature/AmeliaPeabody'' books, and one of her brothers is Ramses, after a character from the same series. The last two males are named Fred and George, after the [[Franchise/HarryPotter Weasley twins]].
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* KindHeartedCatLover: Charlie, who found the young Diesel as a cold, wet stray and quickly took him in. He also takes in five kittens in book 10, and is noted as having owned cats before.
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'''''The Cat in the Stacks''''' is an armchair/amateur sleuth/cozy mystery series by Dean James [[MoustacheDePlume writing as Miranda James]]. The series features librarian Charlie Harris, a widowed father of two adult children, and his pet Maine coon cat Diesel. Having moved back to his old hometown of Athena, Mississippi three years before the start of the series and met Diesel one year later, Charlie works at an archivist in the library of Athena College and, with Diesel, has a tendency to stumble across mysteries.
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'''''The Cat in the Stacks''''' is an armchair/amateur sleuth/cozy mystery sleuth/CozyMystery series by Dean James [[MoustacheDePlume writing as Miranda James]]. The series features librarian Charlie Harris, a widowed father of two adult children, and his pet Maine coon cat Diesel. Having moved back to his old hometown of Athena, Mississippi three years before the start of the series and met Diesel one year later, Charlie works at an archivist in the library of Athena College and, with Diesel, has a tendency to stumble across mysteries.
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* Cat #11: ''The Pawful Truth'' (announced for July 2019) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie gets involved in a mystery once more, involving a new history professor at the college and the man's wife, another colleague of Charlie's. [[/labelnote]]
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Changed line(s) 7,21 (click to see context) from:
* Cat #1. ''Murder Past Due'' (August 2010) [[labelnote:Summary]]Bestselling novelist Godfrey Priest returns to Athena to donate his papers to his ''alma mater'', and to meet the son he never knew. But when he turns up dead, Charlie Harris and Diesel must figure out who's responsible. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #2. ''Classified as Murder'' (May 2011) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is hired to inventory the rare book collection of aging eccentric James Delacorte, and soon finds himself having to solve the old man's murder. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #3. ''File M for Murder'' (January 2012) [[labelnote:Summary]]Caustic playwright Connor Lawton comes to work for Athena College, and helps Charlie's daughter Laura get a job at the college as well. But when Conner turns up dead, Laura is the prime suspect, and Charlie must find a way to clear her name. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #4. ''Out of Circulation'' (January 2013) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie Harris has joined the Friends of the Library board and is helping to plan the upcoming library Christmas fundraiser gala. Unfortunately, town busybody Vera Cassity is also a member, and it seems that almost everyone, including sisters Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, has it out for her. When her dead body is discovered with Charlie's housekeeper Azalea standing over it, Charlie must figure out the real killer. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #5. ''The Silence of the Library'' (January 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Athena Public Library is holding an exhibit to honor famous novelist Electra Barnes Cartwright, who has agreed to make a rare public appearance. But things soon turn ugly when a rabid fan resorts to murder to get ahold of some of her rarer books. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #1. ''Bless Her Dead Little Heart'' (October 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters find themselves caught up in a murder mystery, in which the greedy children of their former sorority sister Rosabelle Sultan will resort to anything in order to find out the contents of her will. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #6. ''Arsenic and Old Books'' (January 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's mayor Lucinda Beckwith Long donates a set of Civil War-era diaries to the archives of Athena College. However, enemies of the family and a history professor at the college have a vested interest in acquiring the diaries for themselves, with fatal results that leave Charlie scrambling for answers. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #2. ''Dead with the Wind'' (September 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters head to Louisiana for a family wedding, but when the bride dies suddenly and under suspicious circumstances, Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce must solve the crime. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #7. ''No Cats Allowed'' (January 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's new library director, Oscar Reilly, has made a number of his enemies in his efforts to cut costs and replace some of the staff with younger members. He even bans all animals, including Diesel, from the library. But when Reilly turns up dead, suspicion falls on Charlie's friend Melba, and Charlie must figure out the real culprit before it's too late. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #3. ''Digging Up the Dirt'' (September 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters are busy with plans for the Athena Garden Club's spring tour of grand old homes, but when a dead body turns up on the estate of recently returned Hadley Partridge, the sisters must figure out who it is and who was responsible. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #8. ''Twelve Angry Librarians'' (February 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Southern Academic Libraries Association is holding their annual meeting at Athena College, and as interim library director, it's up to Charlie to deliver the welcome speech to all the visiting librarians, including his old classmate and world-class jerk Gavin Fong. When Gavin turns up dead, it's Charlie who's believed guilty, and now he must clear his ''own'' name. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #4. ''Fixing to Die'' (October 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters go to Mississippi in order to help Mary Turner Catlin, the granddaughter of an old friend, discover the true cause behind ghostly goings-on in her house, including a sudden murder. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #9. ''Claws for Concern'' (February 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is forced to solve a murder mystery from his family's past, and to deal with true-crime writer Jack Pemberton, who is insistent on making Charlie the subject of his latest book. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #10. ''Six Cats a Slayin''' (October 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie prepares to enjoy his first Christmas as a grandfather, but things are complicated through the arrival of a box of five kittens on his doorstep with a note begging him to keep them safe, and through the murder of Charlie's nosy neighbor, real estate agent Gerry Arbitron, who's very interested in acquiring his house. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #2. ''Classified as Murder'' (May 2011) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is hired to inventory the rare book collection of aging eccentric James Delacorte, and soon finds himself having to solve the old man's murder. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #3. ''File M for Murder'' (January 2012) [[labelnote:Summary]]Caustic playwright Connor Lawton comes to work for Athena College, and helps Charlie's daughter Laura get a job at the college as well. But when Conner turns up dead, Laura is the prime suspect, and Charlie must find a way to clear her name. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #4. ''Out of Circulation'' (January 2013) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie Harris has joined the Friends of the Library board and is helping to plan the upcoming library Christmas fundraiser gala. Unfortunately, town busybody Vera Cassity is also a member, and it seems that almost everyone, including sisters Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, has it out for her. When her dead body is discovered with Charlie's housekeeper Azalea standing over it, Charlie must figure out the real killer. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #5. ''The Silence of the Library'' (January 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Athena Public Library is holding an exhibit to honor famous novelist Electra Barnes Cartwright, who has agreed to make a rare public appearance. But things soon turn ugly when a rabid fan resorts to murder to get ahold of some of her rarer books. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #1. ''Bless Her Dead Little Heart'' (October 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters find themselves caught up in a murder mystery, in which the greedy children of their former sorority sister Rosabelle Sultan will resort to anything in order to find out the contents of her will. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #6. ''Arsenic and Old Books'' (January 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's mayor Lucinda Beckwith Long donates a set of Civil War-era diaries to the archives of Athena College. However, enemies of the family and a history professor at the college have a vested interest in acquiring the diaries for themselves, with fatal results that leave Charlie scrambling for answers. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #2. ''Dead with the Wind'' (September 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters head to Louisiana for a family wedding, but when the bride dies suddenly and under suspicious circumstances, Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce must solve the crime. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #7. ''No Cats Allowed'' (January 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's new library director, Oscar Reilly, has made a number of his enemies in his efforts to cut costs and replace some of the staff with younger members. He even bans all animals, including Diesel, from the library. But when Reilly turns up dead, suspicion falls on Charlie's friend Melba, and Charlie must figure out the real culprit before it's too late. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #3. ''Digging Up the Dirt'' (September 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters are busy with plans for the Athena Garden Club's spring tour of grand old homes, but when a dead body turns up on the estate of recently returned Hadley Partridge, the sisters must figure out who it is and who was responsible. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #8. ''Twelve Angry Librarians'' (February 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Southern Academic Libraries Association is holding their annual meeting at Athena College, and as interim library director, it's up to Charlie to deliver the welcome speech to all the visiting librarians, including his old classmate and world-class jerk Gavin Fong. When Gavin turns up dead, it's Charlie who's believed guilty, and now he must clear his ''own'' name. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #4. ''Fixing to Die'' (October 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters go to Mississippi in order to help Mary Turner Catlin, the granddaughter of an old friend, discover the true cause behind ghostly goings-on in her house, including a sudden murder. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #9. ''Claws for Concern'' (February 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is forced to solve a murder mystery from his family's past, and to deal with true-crime writer Jack Pemberton, who is insistent on making Charlie the subject of his latest book. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #10. ''Six Cats a Slayin''' (October 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie prepares to enjoy his first Christmas as a grandfather, but things are complicated through the arrival of a box of five kittens on his doorstep with a note begging him to keep them safe, and through the murder of Charlie's nosy neighbor, real estate agent Gerry Arbitron, who's very interested in acquiring his house. [[/labelnote]]
to:
* Cat #1. #1: ''Murder Past Due'' (August 2010) [[labelnote:Summary]]Bestselling novelist Godfrey Priest returns to Athena to donate his papers to his ''alma mater'', and to meet the son he never knew. But when he turns up dead, Charlie Harris and Diesel must figure out who's responsible. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat#2. #2: ''Classified as Murder'' (May 2011) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is hired to inventory the rare book collection of aging eccentric James Delacorte, and soon finds himself having to solve the old man's murder. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat#3. #3: ''File M for Murder'' (January 2012) [[labelnote:Summary]]Caustic playwright Connor Lawton comes to work for Athena College, and helps Charlie's daughter Laura get a job at the college as well. But when Conner turns up dead, Laura is the prime suspect, and Charlie must find a way to clear her name. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat#4. #4: ''Out of Circulation'' (January 2013) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie Harris has joined the Friends of the Library board and is helping to plan the upcoming library Christmas fundraiser gala. Unfortunately, town busybody Vera Cassity is also a member, and it seems that almost everyone, including sisters Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, has it out for her. When her dead body is discovered with Charlie's housekeeper Azalea standing over it, Charlie must figure out the real killer. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat#5. #5: ''The Silence of the Library'' (January 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Athena Public Library is holding an exhibit to honor famous novelist Electra Barnes Cartwright, who has agreed to make a rare public appearance. But things soon turn ugly when a rabid fan resorts to murder to get ahold of some of her rarer books. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies#1. #1: ''Bless Her Dead Little Heart'' (October 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters find themselves caught up in a murder mystery, in which the greedy children of their former sorority sister Rosabelle Sultan will resort to anything in order to find out the contents of her will. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat#6. #6: ''Arsenic and Old Books'' (January 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's mayor Lucinda Beckwith Long donates a set of Civil War-era diaries to the archives of Athena College. However, enemies of the family and a history professor at the college have a vested interest in acquiring the diaries for themselves, with fatal results that leave Charlie scrambling for answers. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies#2. #2: ''Dead with the Wind'' (September 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters head to Louisiana for a family wedding, but when the bride dies suddenly and under suspicious circumstances, Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce must solve the crime. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat#7. #7: ''No Cats Allowed'' (January 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's new library director, Oscar Reilly, has made a number of his enemies in his efforts to cut costs and replace some of the staff with younger members. He even bans all animals, including Diesel, from the library. But when Reilly turns up dead, suspicion falls on Charlie's friend Melba, and Charlie must figure out the real culprit before it's too late. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies#3. #3: ''Digging Up the Dirt'' (September 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters are busy with plans for the Athena Garden Club's spring tour of grand old homes, but when a dead body turns up on the estate of recently returned Hadley Partridge, the sisters must figure out who it is and who was responsible. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat#8. #8: ''Twelve Angry Librarians'' (February 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Southern Academic Libraries Association is holding their annual meeting at Athena College, and as interim library director, it's up to Charlie to deliver the welcome speech to all the visiting librarians, including his old classmate and world-class jerk Gavin Fong. When Gavin turns up dead, it's Charlie who's believed guilty, and now he must clear his ''own'' name. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies#4. #4: ''Fixing to Die'' (October 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters go to Mississippi in order to help Mary Turner Catlin, the granddaughter of an old friend, discover the true cause behind ghostly goings-on in her house, including a sudden murder. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat#9. #9: ''Claws for Concern'' (February 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is forced to solve a murder mystery from his family's past, and to deal with true-crime writer Jack Pemberton, who is insistent on making Charlie the subject of his latest book. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat#10. #10: ''Six Cats a Slayin''' (October 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie prepares to enjoy his first Christmas as a grandfather, but things are complicated through the arrival of a box of five kittens on his doorstep with a note begging him to keep them safe, and through the murder of Charlie's nosy neighbor, real estate agent Gerry Arbitron, who's very interested in acquiring his house. [[/labelnote]]
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'''''The Cat in the Stacks''''' is an armchair/amateur sleuth/cozy mystery series by Dean James [[MoustacheDePlume writing as Miranda James]]. The series features librarian Charlie Harris, a widowed father of two adult children, and his pet Maine coon cat Diesel. Having moved back to his old hometown of Athena, Mississippi three years before the start of the series and met Diesel one year later, Charlie works at an archivist in the library of Athena College and, with Diesel, has a tendency to stumble across mysteries.
The series also has a {{Spinoff}} series, ''Southern Ladies Mysteries'', featuring sisters Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, who debuted in the fourth book of the original series.
The two series (by publication order) consist of:
* Cat #1. ''Murder Past Due'' (August 2010) [[labelnote:Summary]]Bestselling novelist Godfrey Priest returns to Athena to donate his papers to his ''alma mater'', and to meet the son he never knew. But when he turns up dead, Charlie Harris and Diesel must figure out who's responsible. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #2. ''Classified as Murder'' (May 2011) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is hired to inventory the rare book collection of aging eccentric James Delacorte, and soon finds himself having to solve the old man's murder. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #3. ''File M for Murder'' (January 2012) [[labelnote:Summary]]Caustic playwright Connor Lawton comes to work for Athena College, and helps Charlie's daughter Laura get a job at the college as well. But when Conner turns up dead, Laura is the prime suspect, and Charlie must find a way to clear her name. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #4. ''Out of Circulation'' (January 2013) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie Harris has joined the Friends of the Library board and is helping to plan the upcoming library Christmas fundraiser gala. Unfortunately, town busybody Vera Cassity is also a member, and it seems that almost everyone, including sisters Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, has it out for her. When her dead body is discovered with Charlie's housekeeper Azalea standing over it, Charlie must figure out the real killer. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #5. ''The Silence of the Library'' (January 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Athena Public Library is holding an exhibit to honor famous novelist Electra Barnes Cartwright, who has agreed to make a rare public appearance. But things soon turn ugly when a rabid fan resorts to murder to get ahold of some of her rarer books. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #1. ''Bless Her Dead Little Heart'' (October 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters find themselves caught up in a murder mystery, in which the greedy children of their former sorority sister Rosabelle Sultan will resort to anything in order to find out the contents of her will. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #6. ''Arsenic and Old Books'' (January 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's mayor Lucinda Beckwith Long donates a set of Civil War-era diaries to the archives of Athena College. However, enemies of the family and a history professor at the college have a vested interest in acquiring the diaries for themselves, with fatal results that leave Charlie scrambling for answers. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #2. ''Dead with the Wind'' (September 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters head to Louisiana for a family wedding, but when the bride dies suddenly and under suspicious circumstances, Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce must solve the crime. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #7. ''No Cats Allowed'' (January 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's new library director, Oscar Reilly, has made a number of his enemies in his efforts to cut costs and replace some of the staff with younger members. He even bans all animals, including Diesel, from the library. But when Reilly turns up dead, suspicion falls on Charlie's friend Melba, and Charlie must figure out the real culprit before it's too late. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #3. ''Digging Up the Dirt'' (September 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters are busy with plans for the Athena Garden Club's spring tour of grand old homes, but when a dead body turns up on the estate of recently returned Hadley Partridge, the sisters must figure out who it is and who was responsible. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #8. ''Twelve Angry Librarians'' (February 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Southern Academic Libraries Association is holding their annual meeting at Athena College, and as interim library director, it's up to Charlie to deliver the welcome speech to all the visiting librarians, including his old classmate and world-class jerk Gavin Fong. When Gavin turns up dead, it's Charlie who's believed guilty, and now he must clear his ''own'' name. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #4. ''Fixing to Die'' (October 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters go to Mississippi in order to help Mary Turner Catlin, the granddaughter of an old friend, discover the true cause behind ghostly goings-on in her house, including a sudden murder. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #9. ''Claws for Concern'' (February 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is forced to solve a murder mystery from his family's past, and to deal with true-crime writer Jack Pemberton, who is insistent on making Charlie the subject of his latest book. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #10. ''Six Cats a Slayin''' (October 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie prepares to enjoy his first Christmas as a grandfather, but things are complicated through the arrival of a box of five kittens on his doorstep with a note begging him to keep them safe, and through the murder of Charlie's nosy neighbor, real estate agent Gerry Arbitron, who's very interested in acquiring his house. [[/labelnote]]
----
!!These series provide examples of:
* AmateurSleuth: Charlie Harris in the main series, sisters Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote in the spinoff series.
* TheCasanova: Godfrey Priest, the VictimOfTheWeek in book 1, is a notorious ladies' man with four ex-wives and multiple lovers over the years. His father is noted as having been one too.
* CoolOldGuy: Charlie Harris himself, who's almost fifty in the first book and is a supportive friend and father figure to his boarders.
* CoolOldLady: Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, who debuted in the fourth book of the original series and wind up as amateur sleuths themselves.
* DaddysGirl: Charlie's daughter Laura, a 23-year-old actress at the time of the first book, who is noted as having always been closer to her father than her mother.
* FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo: Justin Wardlaw, supporting character throughout the series, learns early in book 1 that his biological father is supposedly famous writer Godfrey Priest. Godfrey ends up the book's VictimOfTheWeek when he figures out he was lied to and who Justin's ''actual'' birth father was - it's Godfrey's older half-brother Rick Tackett, making Godfrey into Justin's uncle instead. [[spoiler: Justin's mother, who was the one lying about Justin's parentage so that he'd inherit Godfrey's millions, is the killer.]]
* HeManWomanHater: Willie Clark in the first book, who's pretty grouchy towards everyone but especially disdainful towards women. [[spoiler:It also comes through in the books he wrote for Godfrey Priest, where women are often the victims of brutal violence.]]
* MegaNeko: Diesel, the titular "cat in the stacks", is a massive and very intelligent 36-pound Maine Coon (a species that's naturally very large) who is said to be about half the size of a full-grown Labrador and accompanies his owner Charlie Harris everywhere on a leash. The small Mississippi town they live in are still adjusting to the sight of him (and some don't even realize he's a cat at first). It's explained in-story that Charlie had found him as a stray six-week-old kitten and, due to his size, had mistaken him for an adult cat until the vet corrected him.
* MommasBoy: Positive version in 27-year-old (as of book 1) lawyer Sean Harris, who is noted as having been closer to his mother before she died. He gets to bond more with his father in books 2 and beyond.
* OldRetainer: Azalea Berry, who was a part-time housekeeper for Charlie Harris' Aunt Dottie for years and continues in the role for Charlie after Dottie dies and Charlie inherits the house, in part since she's not ready to stop working (unusually for the trope, she also works part-time for other families). Azalea's daughter Kanesha, a deputy for the local police, is not happy about this and just wants her mother to retire, blaming Charlie for Azalea's refusal to do so.
* PosthumousCharacter: Charlie's wife Jackie and aunt Dottie, who'd both died of cancer within a few weeks of one another three years before the series began.
The series also has a {{Spinoff}} series, ''Southern Ladies Mysteries'', featuring sisters Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, who debuted in the fourth book of the original series.
The two series (by publication order) consist of:
* Cat #1. ''Murder Past Due'' (August 2010) [[labelnote:Summary]]Bestselling novelist Godfrey Priest returns to Athena to donate his papers to his ''alma mater'', and to meet the son he never knew. But when he turns up dead, Charlie Harris and Diesel must figure out who's responsible. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #2. ''Classified as Murder'' (May 2011) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is hired to inventory the rare book collection of aging eccentric James Delacorte, and soon finds himself having to solve the old man's murder. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #3. ''File M for Murder'' (January 2012) [[labelnote:Summary]]Caustic playwright Connor Lawton comes to work for Athena College, and helps Charlie's daughter Laura get a job at the college as well. But when Conner turns up dead, Laura is the prime suspect, and Charlie must find a way to clear her name. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #4. ''Out of Circulation'' (January 2013) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie Harris has joined the Friends of the Library board and is helping to plan the upcoming library Christmas fundraiser gala. Unfortunately, town busybody Vera Cassity is also a member, and it seems that almost everyone, including sisters Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, has it out for her. When her dead body is discovered with Charlie's housekeeper Azalea standing over it, Charlie must figure out the real killer. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #5. ''The Silence of the Library'' (January 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Athena Public Library is holding an exhibit to honor famous novelist Electra Barnes Cartwright, who has agreed to make a rare public appearance. But things soon turn ugly when a rabid fan resorts to murder to get ahold of some of her rarer books. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #1. ''Bless Her Dead Little Heart'' (October 2014) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters find themselves caught up in a murder mystery, in which the greedy children of their former sorority sister Rosabelle Sultan will resort to anything in order to find out the contents of her will. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #6. ''Arsenic and Old Books'' (January 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's mayor Lucinda Beckwith Long donates a set of Civil War-era diaries to the archives of Athena College. However, enemies of the family and a history professor at the college have a vested interest in acquiring the diaries for themselves, with fatal results that leave Charlie scrambling for answers. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #2. ''Dead with the Wind'' (September 2015) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters head to Louisiana for a family wedding, but when the bride dies suddenly and under suspicious circumstances, Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce must solve the crime. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #7. ''No Cats Allowed'' (January 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]Athena's new library director, Oscar Reilly, has made a number of his enemies in his efforts to cut costs and replace some of the staff with younger members. He even bans all animals, including Diesel, from the library. But when Reilly turns up dead, suspicion falls on Charlie's friend Melba, and Charlie must figure out the real culprit before it's too late. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #3. ''Digging Up the Dirt'' (September 2016) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters are busy with plans for the Athena Garden Club's spring tour of grand old homes, but when a dead body turns up on the estate of recently returned Hadley Partridge, the sisters must figure out who it is and who was responsible. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #8. ''Twelve Angry Librarians'' (February 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Southern Academic Libraries Association is holding their annual meeting at Athena College, and as interim library director, it's up to Charlie to deliver the welcome speech to all the visiting librarians, including his old classmate and world-class jerk Gavin Fong. When Gavin turns up dead, it's Charlie who's believed guilty, and now he must clear his ''own'' name. [[/labelnote]]
* Ladies #4. ''Fixing to Die'' (October 2017) [[labelnote:Summary]]The Ducote sisters go to Mississippi in order to help Mary Turner Catlin, the granddaughter of an old friend, discover the true cause behind ghostly goings-on in her house, including a sudden murder. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #9. ''Claws for Concern'' (February 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie is forced to solve a murder mystery from his family's past, and to deal with true-crime writer Jack Pemberton, who is insistent on making Charlie the subject of his latest book. [[/labelnote]]
* Cat #10. ''Six Cats a Slayin''' (October 2018) [[labelnote:Summary]]Charlie prepares to enjoy his first Christmas as a grandfather, but things are complicated through the arrival of a box of five kittens on his doorstep with a note begging him to keep them safe, and through the murder of Charlie's nosy neighbor, real estate agent Gerry Arbitron, who's very interested in acquiring his house. [[/labelnote]]
----
!!These series provide examples of:
* AmateurSleuth: Charlie Harris in the main series, sisters Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote in the spinoff series.
* TheCasanova: Godfrey Priest, the VictimOfTheWeek in book 1, is a notorious ladies' man with four ex-wives and multiple lovers over the years. His father is noted as having been one too.
* CoolOldGuy: Charlie Harris himself, who's almost fifty in the first book and is a supportive friend and father figure to his boarders.
* CoolOldLady: Miss An'gel and Miss Dickce Ducote, who debuted in the fourth book of the original series and wind up as amateur sleuths themselves.
* DaddysGirl: Charlie's daughter Laura, a 23-year-old actress at the time of the first book, who is noted as having always been closer to her father than her mother.
* FamilyRelationshipSwitcheroo: Justin Wardlaw, supporting character throughout the series, learns early in book 1 that his biological father is supposedly famous writer Godfrey Priest. Godfrey ends up the book's VictimOfTheWeek when he figures out he was lied to and who Justin's ''actual'' birth father was - it's Godfrey's older half-brother Rick Tackett, making Godfrey into Justin's uncle instead. [[spoiler: Justin's mother, who was the one lying about Justin's parentage so that he'd inherit Godfrey's millions, is the killer.]]
* HeManWomanHater: Willie Clark in the first book, who's pretty grouchy towards everyone but especially disdainful towards women. [[spoiler:It also comes through in the books he wrote for Godfrey Priest, where women are often the victims of brutal violence.]]
* MegaNeko: Diesel, the titular "cat in the stacks", is a massive and very intelligent 36-pound Maine Coon (a species that's naturally very large) who is said to be about half the size of a full-grown Labrador and accompanies his owner Charlie Harris everywhere on a leash. The small Mississippi town they live in are still adjusting to the sight of him (and some don't even realize he's a cat at first). It's explained in-story that Charlie had found him as a stray six-week-old kitten and, due to his size, had mistaken him for an adult cat until the vet corrected him.
* MommasBoy: Positive version in 27-year-old (as of book 1) lawyer Sean Harris, who is noted as having been closer to his mother before she died. He gets to bond more with his father in books 2 and beyond.
* OldRetainer: Azalea Berry, who was a part-time housekeeper for Charlie Harris' Aunt Dottie for years and continues in the role for Charlie after Dottie dies and Charlie inherits the house, in part since she's not ready to stop working (unusually for the trope, she also works part-time for other families). Azalea's daughter Kanesha, a deputy for the local police, is not happy about this and just wants her mother to retire, blaming Charlie for Azalea's refusal to do so.
* PosthumousCharacter: Charlie's wife Jackie and aunt Dottie, who'd both died of cancer within a few weeks of one another three years before the series began.
