What the Cat Dragged In by Miranda James

Rating: 4 stars

Charlie Harris and Diesel are a very interesting mix of old and new when it comes to the world of mystery. Charlie is reminiscent of the classic mystery novel detectives, genteel, a bit unassuming, with impeccable manners and connections with the best of the upper crust. Not wanting to get his hands dirty, Charlie's investigations are always mostly at a distance, with him feeding info to the police as needed. Diesel brings Charlie out of 20th century England into the cozy realm by being... a cat.

While I do enjoy these books and have been reading the series since there were only a few in print, I sometimes find them somewhat dull. There's usually not a lot going on, we hear a lot of details about what Charlie is drinking and eating. We also get to hear about what food Charlie is sharing with Diesel, Ramses, and Dante. In this book there was very little investigation, very few clues were gathered and in the end Charlie just happened to be at the right place at the right time to figure out what was happening (and even then it was kind of a leap to get from what he saw to the solving of the crimes).

Overall I enjoy the series and will continue to read them. I appreciate how very cozy these books are, how sweet everyone in them is, they're ideal for escaping from reality.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.