No Cats Allowed Book Review

No Cats Allowed by Miranda James is the first book I've read in the Cat in the Stacks series, and it was great!

About the Book: The library has a new director - Oscar Reilly - and nobody likes him.  He's rude and unfriendly, and he's irritating the entire library staff.  Reilly is working hard to cut library costs, and his first targets are the rare book collection and the archives.

Charlie Harris, who works in the library archives, has been bringing his Maine Coon cat, Diesel, to work with him for years, but Reilly now insists that Diesel stay home.  Reilly also wants to replace Charlie's good friend Melba, who works as an assistant to the library director, with someone younger.

The suspect list is long when Reilly's body is found in the basement of the library.  Though the evidence points to Melba as the murderer, Charlie knows she's not guilty.  He and Diesel must work together to find the real killer before Melba is deemed guilty.

My Thoughts: As I stated in the beginning of this post, this is the first book I've read in the Cat in the Stacks mystery series.  I didn't have any trouble following the storyline.  The author gives enough backstory that this book can be read as a stand-alone, though I don't know why you wouldn't want to read the rest of the books in this awesome series.




Diesel is a major character in the story, and he always seems to have something to say.  He doesn't have any magical powers - he's just a great cat and companion to his human, Charlie.  I love that the author hones in on Diesel's instincts about people.  As I'm sure many of you know, cats are great judges of character, and Diesel is no different.

I love that the main human character in this series is male.  In every other cozy mystery I've read so far, the main character has been female.  Having Charlie as the main character makes this series unique.  Charlie's love for Diesel is obvious and heartwarming.  He is a man after my own heart - he'd do anything for his cat!

If you are a fan of cozy mysteries, I believe you'll love No Cats Allowed.  I also believe that cat lovers will really enjoy this book.

I look forward to reading more books in the series.  In fact, I'm currently reading Arsenic and Old Books, another book in the Cat in the Stacks mystery series.  Please look for a review of that book shortly!

FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of "No Cats Allowed: A Cat in the Stacks Mystery" for a fair and honest review.  Receiving the book did not influence my opinions.  All opinions expressed on Fur Everywhere are my own.