Book 16 Review: Murder Past Due

I am so behind on my blog posts so forgive me. I finally have a moment to write the review for this fabulous book! I am definitely going to be reading this rest of this series. I have seen that the book has gotten mixed reviews, but for me it was solid! All of the characters were written very well, including Diesel the Maine coon. Does Diesel help solve the murder? Of course not, he is just a really cool pet, but he is a fantastic judge of character. His owner is Charlie Harris, a part time archivist who volunteers at the local library and also the person who is going to try and help solve the murder of a local celebrity.

Star rating: 5 out of 5

I love a good murder mystery and this book is definity a great one. The book is set in Mississippi and it just has that sweet southern charm. Everyone is so well written and you almost feel like you could walk down the street and run into some of these characters. The book itself was written from the perspective of Charlie Harris and the way that he got involved in trying to solve the murder (without it being obvious he was helping) really just seemed so organic. His housekeeper’s daughter is the officer trying to solve the murder and asks him to try and help her.

If that was not enough, he has additional motivation when he realizes that the boader living in his home is a potential suspect in the murder. He cares about this boy and really wants to help him navigate this horrible situation. You see, the boy just found out that the famous novelist in town was his father! Just went he starts to get to know his father ends up murdered in his hotel room and he was the last one to see him alive….or so it seems.

Pros:

• I said this before but all of the characters were very well written, I really enjoyed them and how the author had them interact with eachother. I have read other cozy mysteries where some of the characters seemed a bit over the top but this did not fall into that category.
• The reason for the main character to try and solve the murder seemed valid. I also enjoyed the fact that even when Charlie was convinced that he knew who the murderer was he was wrong. The cop was the one that ultimately figured out the murder which was actually refreshing. In these cozy mysteries they always seem to be the last ones to know.
• Diesel, the cat is just adorable and I want him to be real. Yes I know, thats not a real “pro” but I don’t care, he was fantastic LOL

Cons:

• Sometimes the story seemed to be a little slow paced, but that is because the author was trying to go for the realistic feel. Some people might not enjoy how the author mentions Diesel’d interactions with the characters in the book, but I personally enjoyed it.

Overall: I just really enjoyed the story. It just seemed to be more realistic to me. Charlie was not out there trying to catch a murderer for the glory. He was just trying to make sure that the right person was put away. In the end he wasn’t even the one that solved the murder BUT he was able to point the cop in the right direction which ultimately lead to the murderer being revealed. I really just loved this book and how it was done. I really recommend this cozy murder mystery to others who like a bit of realism in the books.

~Book 4 of University Peak Complete!~

~16 books read, 19 minimum to go!!~