Classified as Murder

By: Miranda James

Narrated by: Erin Bennett

Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Aging eccentric James Delacorte asks Charlie the librarian to do an inventory of his rare book collection - but the job goes from tedious to terrifying when James turns up dead. Relying on his cat Diesel to paw around for clues, Charlie has to catch the killer before another victim checks out.

©2011 Dean James (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Interesting by the choice of narrator was wrong

What made the experience of listening to Classified as Murder the most enjoyable?

I liked the story line and the inclusion of the Maine Coon cat in helping with the investigation.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The narrator. The narrator is skilled at telling the story, however since the book is written in the first person who is a man and most of the dialog was made for male voices...having a woman do the narration took away from the story a lot for me. It kept me sidetracked from enjoying the story because I had to remind myself that they star was a man.

What three words best describe Erin Bennett’s voice?

Not good males.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reaction except I kept wishing the men sounded like men.

Any additional comments?

I would like to have given the story and the narrator more points but couldn't. Who ever matched the narrator with this story needs to re-evaluate choosing the right narrator for the story. She would do a good job in books that were first person with a woman as the main character.

Returning Son and Murdered Book Collector

The second in the series finds Charlie and Diesel cataloging James Delacorte's rare book collection for him. Mr. Delacorte believes that someone close to him is stealing some of his valuable old books, and wants Charlie to inventory them and determine which books are missing. But on his first day at work, while Charlie and Diesel go home to have lunch, someone murders the elderly man, and Charlie discovers his body when they return. The family is full of very strange people who would like to get their hands on Delacorte's money and treasures, but would one of them actually murder him? Meanwhile at home, Charlie is happy, yet puzzled to find that his son, Sean has returned home . . . and brought a dog along with him. Sean seems aloof and unapproachable to Charlie's dismay. And when Sean receives a call from a woman that Charlie doesn't recognize and sparks fly, he finally asks Sean what's wrong. A floodgate of emotions opens up . . . clearing the way for communication and new closeness between father and son. Sean and Diesel help Charlie (and the cops) get to the bottom of Mr. Delacorte's murder. I love the people in these murder mysteries. Great story and excellent conclusion!

Amazing

Great story, great plot, great cat! Good clean fun. I really enjoyed this book:0)

Steady pace full of twists and turns

Librarian Charlie Harris is working at his volunteer job at the library in Athena, Mississippi when an elderly gentleman asks for his assistance in finding a particular book. As they chatted, James Delacorte revealed that he had a sizable book collection and invited Charlie to view it and have tea with his family.
Meanwhile, Charlie's son Sean arrived looking to stay a while. Sean seemed angry and aloof, keeping to himself with his poodle Dante. Charlie needed to determine why his son had returned home.

James Delacorte had a variety of family members living with him. While James had never married nor had children, his brother and a mixture of nieces and nephews lived in his home. Charlie went to the Delacorte mansion for tea where he meets the family, who revealed a number of odd behaviors and traits. For instance Eloise was, at the moment, out of touch with reality wearing an antebellum gown and talking of eating cookies with Uncle James.

James wanted Charlie to check his book inventory and determine if all the volumes were present. James was certain that someone was stealing from him. In addition, he had found several books out of place. Charlie was vacationing from his Athena College job, so he returned to the Delacorte home the next Monday, ready to start. James explained his chronological method of filing the books: the first book he ever bought was the first on the shelves, and so on. The two men began, but lunchtime came quickly. While invited to dine, Charlie went home to eat so he could visit with Sean.

Upon Charlie's return to the Delacorte library, he found a very dead James. Within a day or two, Charlie discovers that he was named co-executor of the Will and that he was to continue reviewing the library. Each family member behaved poorly as the Will was read. It would be up to the deputy sheriff to follow the clues to James’s murder.

When Charlie returned the next day, Sean went with him to assist. Finishing the inventory became of utmost importance when they discovered a dozen rare, signed first editions were missing. Clues and another death occurred, leading the deputy and Charlie in different directions. Even Diesel helped reveal one key factor. Our professional and amateur sleuths worked together much more cordially than in the first book in this series. This entry was more relaxed and more enjoyable.

I wouldn't want to steal any fits of laughter you might experience while reading, but I can say that narrator Erin Bennett did a wonderful job with many accents and volatile events. It was also nice to learn more about Charlie and his life of the past several years, including where Diesel had come from. The pace was steady and full of twists and turns. I was even surprised when I reached the end of my very enjoyable visit to Athena. I look forward to my next visit with Charlie and Diesel.

Murder in the mansion

I am really enjoying this series. This time the murder was of someone Charlie was working for. And his son showed up and went along for the ride. Excellent story.

Solid,sweet mystery

This is a solid easy-listening mystery with interesting characters that fits into the more casual animal/small town mystery sub-genre. I don’t understand why there is a woman narrator, however, when the main character is a man. This was the first book I’ve listened to in the series (although it is the second book of the series) and I’ll likely listen to more when I want something light.

Engaging

This is book two of the Cat in the Stacks Mysteries. In this story retired librarian Charlie Harris and Maine Coon cat Diesel are hired by a wealthy man, James DeLacorte, to catalog his library of rare books. DeLacorte thinks someone is stealing from his collection and wants Charlie to determine how many books have disappeared.

Chief Deputy Kenosha Berry, from book one, arrives when Charlie discovers DeLacorte has been murdered. Berry asks for Charlie’s help because of the rare books. Charlie’s son, Sean, an attorney has quit his job in Texas and is now staying with Charlie for awhile. Charlie and Diesel are on the case.

The book is well written and easy to read. There is little action but lots of suspense. This is a book of words and mental deduction. James is an excellent story teller. Erin Bennett does an excellent job narrating the book.

Better than the first one.

What did you love best about Classified as Murder?

The discussion of rare books.

Did Erin Bennett do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

She might be an excellent narrator, but she was terribly miscast for this book. It was unfair to expect her, or probably almost any other actress, to convincingly portray a retied, near-elderly Mississippi man.

Any additional comments?

I was unimpressed by the first in the series, but with the second book, the author has things firmly under control. I'm glad I gave Diesel a second chance.

Fun murer mystery. Realistic cat involvement.

What did you love best about Classified as Murder?

Charlie and Diesel.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Charlie. He's believable. Or is it Diesel? I can't decide.

What does Erin Bennett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Erin is an excellent reader. But I think it's a little weird that a woman is reading a book whose main character (first person) is a man. I got used to it.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed a few times.

Any additional comments?

Diesel (Charlie's cat) is completely charming and believable.

Excellent narration

Would you consider the audio edition of Classified as Murder to be better than the print version?

I have been trying to use Immersion reading listening to and reading on my Kindle Fire. This book was truly a delight to read. First of all I like the ability to increase the speed of narration which increases my reading speed in general. This particular book was good because the narrator clearly distinguished between many characters' voices. I love cozy mysteries with pets, but ones that don't make the "mystery" too easy to solve. I liked the fact that I didn't figure out the murderer until the narrator did. I wish more cozy mysteries had reasonably priced audio narration.