Classified as Murder

 Classified as Murder is the 2nd book in the Cat in the Stacks series by Miranda James.  Set in Athena, Mississippi it just evokes images of Southern charm and hospitality.  The MC, Charlie, is the quintessential gentleman and never ceases to think about proper manners before acting upon his feeling and emotions.  The book is structured around books, a rare book collection to be specific just as the first book in the series, Murder Past Due,  did as well; click here to see my review of this book in 2021 

This book develops the relationship between Charlie and his son, Sean and provides some history into that relationship as well as Charlie's past.  The characters feel authentic and realistic and you cannot help but want them to overcome the strain in their relationship.  

The mystery itself is two fold, involving both a death and some apparent missing books from the collection.  The clues make sense and the reader is kept guessing through to the conclusion. 

The high point of this book is probably the Maine Coon, Diesel.  He is a point of humor as well as an interesting character.  The relationship between him and Charlie as well as with the new puppy, Dante adds to the storyline.  These relationships also provide insight into Charlie's thoughts as he communicates aloud with Diesel.  The relationship with Dante provides necessary buffers between Charlie and Sean and makes their struggles seem that much more genuine.  

I look forward to reading more of this series to see how these relationships evolve.

Classified as Murder by Miranda James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

oozes Southern charm and the manners and customs that come with it. This book expands on the character of Charlie and gives the reader a glimpse at his history and his relationship with his son, Sean. The mystery itself is well structured and has plenty of references to books as there is a book collection at the center of the storyline. There are plenty of suspects and the cozy does a wonderful job of weaving the different components of the story and the characters together quite well.

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Challenge Prompts

The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:  

1. Library Love  #LibraryLoveChallenge  Book #11
2. Literary Escapes  #LiteraryEscapes  MS
3. Finishing the Series   #FinishingTheSeries2022  Series:8  Book #1
4. What an Animal Book #7
5. Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2022   Book #13
6. Back List Reader  #Backlistreader  Book #7
7. Beat the Backlist #BTB2022  #41 second or fourth book in a series
8. Cozy Mysteries   #19 with a male protagonist or sleuth
9. Cruisin thru Cozies  Free choice #4
10. Cloak & Dagger  #CloakDaggerChal  Book #14
11. Craving for Cozies  Book #14
12. Around the Year in 52 Books #31. A book published at least 10 years ago
13. Bookworm #13 Read a book published 5 years ago
14. 52 Book Club  #the52bookclub  #25 A wealthy character
15. Nancy Drew #30. The Clue of the Velvet Mask (1953) - read a book with a robbery in it
16. Nerdy Bookworm  #NerdyBookwormChallengeXO 45  A book with an animal in it
17. OWLS 22  #34 Unfogging the Future: A mystery or thriller
18. Pick your Poison #3 a book about letters
19. PopSugar #popsugarreadingchallenge #29. A different book by an author you read in 2021
20. Medical Examiner Challenge 2 Toe Tags
21. Beachcomber Challenge  
• Victims- James Delacorte; Elle Delacorte
22. Six Shooter Challenge  Target # 37  Shot #3
23. 52 books in 52 weeks  #24 Curious Cats and Courageous Canines
24. Unruly Reader Bingo  #18 slow