Humor and plenty of Southern charm buoy James's fifth Cat in the Stacks mystery (after 2012's File M for Murder). At the annual fundraising gala for the Friends of the Library, attended by the cream of Athena, Miss., society and held at the Ducote sisters' stately antebellum mansion, someone does in Vera Cassity, the least popular belle of the ball. Enter widowed librarian Charlie Harris and Diesel, his Maine coon cat with an attitude. Was there a witness to the murder? Charlie's maid, Azalea Berry, saw something, but she's reluctant to say what. And since the sheriff considers Azalea a suspect, the maid's deputy sheriff daughter, Kanesha, has been warned to stay off the case. Cozy fans will hope James (a pen name of Dean James) will keep Charlie and Diesel in action for years to come. Agent: Nancy Yost, Nancy Yost Literary Agency. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Librarian Charlie Harris's hometown of Athena, MS, is steeped in the culture of the South, along with old family dramas. With the location of the library's fundraising gala quickly becoming a point of contention between the Ducote sisters and Vera Cassity, Charlie would rather be in the stacks than stuck in the middle. It seems that everyone has had conflicts with Vera, including Charlie's unflappable housekeeper, Azalea. But even though the gala becomes affected by Vera's mean-spirited words, no one expects them to be her last. When Azalea is found with Vera's body, Charlie knows he can't stop sleuthing (along with his cat Diesel) until her name is cleared. VERDICT For Charlie's fourth outing (after File M For Murder) the story delves deeper into the background of some secondary characters. The old southern charm recollects Rita Mae Brown's Sneaky Pie series (without the talking animals), while Charlie's investigative techniques may bring some of Agatha Christie's characters to mind. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.