Pages: 297

Publisher: Berkley

Published: August 31, 2021

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Source: Hardcover Public Library Book

Available Formats: Digital, Audio, Hardcover, and Mass Market Paperback

My Review: A little history, a little murder, and a little family drama. What more can you ask for? As with all the books in the series I was hooked from page one. I just don’t think I could be as calm when finding a skeleton. I know for a fact that Charlie and Diesel would hear me scream.

Diesel and Ramses make plenty of appearances and keep us on our toes. I feel sorry for Ramses as he never gets to join in the fun and investigate. I hope when he gets older he gets to be more involved. He has the perfect teacher in Diesel.

I was a bit disappointed Helen Louise was off on a girls’ weekend but found it very intriguing that she and Charlie can’t come to an agreement on where to live. A real-world problem for older engaged couples. Both Charlie and Helen Louise have valid arguments. I am vested to see the decision. I vote that they live at Charlie’s since that is the home of Diesel and Ramses and they rent her house out to his borders.

I am already wishing the next book was available NOW. That is the problem with being caught up on a series…the wait.

From Goodreads: Librarian Charlie Harris and his faithful feline companion, Diesel, have inherited Charlie’s grandfather’s house, along with a deadly legacy: a decades-old crime scene, in this all-new mystery in the New York Times bestselling Cat in the Stacks series.

Charlie has always believed that his grandfather had sold his house to his longtime tenant, Martin Hale. So when Martin dies, Charlie is surprised to discover the house was not left to Martin but instead belongs to Charlie. As he and Diesel check out the house he remembers fondly from his childhood, he is pleasantly surprised that it is in better condition than expected. That is, until they find a literal skeleton in a closet.

While the sheriff’s department investigates the mysterious remains, Charlie digs deeper into the past for clues to the identity of the bones and why they are there. But the cold case heats up quickly when Martin’s grandson is found dead on the farm.

As Charlie delves into his own family history, he encounters many people who might have been motivated to take a life. But Charlie and Diesel know that things are not always what they seem, and that secrets seemingly lost to time have a way of finding their way back to haunt the present.