Reviews - Murder Past Due | The StoryGraph

284 reviews for:

Murder Past Due

Miranda James

3.45 AVERAGE

courtneystrom's review against another edition

3.0

lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

This book is the dollar store version of if Mamma Mia and Knives Out had a baby. The story follows our good ole librarian protagonist, Charlie, as he toddles his way through a murder investigation. His classmates from 30 years ago are making his life interesting all of a sudden: one is now a highly successful author (who is murdered), one is the mother to his tenant, one is an ego-maniacal misogynist, one's a janitor; and at least two are thought to be the father of said tenant. Let's just say that despite withholding evidence, being a bit of a stick-in-the-mud, and having a massive cat as his sidekick, Charlie actually manages to avoid getting himself into trouble as he attempts to solve the case.

houdini117's review against another edition

4.0

lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

sparky241's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense

toni_wyatt's review against another edition

3.0

I’ve read a couple of books in this series out of order, so I thought I might as well start at the beginning. They tend to be most enjoyable after reading something intense, bad, or during a reading slump.

This one begins with Charlie and Diesel(Charlie’s Maine coon cat) finding themselves involved with a young man who is boarding in their house. When the boy gets wrapped up in a murder, Charlie feels it is his duty to look out for him.

This one surprised me by not being as good as the others I’ve read. Maybe they get better as they go along? I would rate this one 3.5 stars, rounded down here.

elfduchess's review against another edition

DID NOT FINISH: 8%

Because the only format that is available to me through my library is the audio book version. The book, whose main character is a middle aged man, is narrated by a woman. The book takes long enough to specify the fact that the main character is a man, that I already had this very well formed opinion as to what the narrator looks like. My version and the book do not mesh and I am already tired of being pulled out of the book ever time I am reminded that this narrator does not match the main character.

(This is something that does bother me, I don't like when books narrators just don't...work for the character - and with multi narrator books, it can be hard to get a voice that can fit all the main characters. This book is not that, as it just seems like no one cared to actually get a voice that matched the singular main character. Add to that the covers that hardly have anything resembling a Maine Coon cat on them (except for one of the English kindle versions, the hardcover Spanish version and <i>possibly</i> the French kindle edition. Also, for good measure, the cover of the audio book I was listening to (which isn't actually listed as a version on Goodreads or Storygraph (the two places I am posting this review) for some reason) looking like a bad AI Photoshop, and I feel that I care about as much about reading more of this book as the people involved in it did about accuracy.)

(I'm also frustrated and in a bad mood. Deal with that as you will.)

jaymie_allison's review against another edition

2.0

I liked the cat...and the overall feel of a cozy mystery. That's about it.

The Good Stuff
Guys, I want a cat like Diesel real bad! I kind of already have one, but I'd like another, please! Thanks! Okay, I liked the small-town feel and the entire idea of an archivist as the main character. Those things made the book.

The Not-So-Good-Stuff
The dialogue....I get that it is based in the South so people are going to be a bit more friendly and polite, and even more passive-aggressive. But I'm from the South and let me tell you, we aren't that boring! The main character had barely any character to him, except for when it came to his cat. His routines are so dry, it hurts. I would have liked to get to know him a bit more too, as this is supposed to set up a whole series. And then the kid, Justin. Come on! He's 18 and he can't say anything other than "yes, sir." He acts like a child! I would have believed it if they had said he was 12, but 18 is far-fetched. Such a boring college student. Then we have the pompous boss who can't say a sentence without adding the word "one" into it after every other word. "One would assume one could see one's...blah blah blah." So repetitive. I liked Kanesha because she at least had some personality to her.

And then the mystery itself didn't really have the punch I was looking for. It kept me puzzled for a long time, but I wish the unveiling had been a bit longer. I felt like it came to an end so very quickly.

Overall
Look, I don't mean to be so horrible in reviewing this book. I give credit to the author for doing what she loves and having the guts to do it in the first place. I just had a lot of issues with it, even for a cozy mystery. I feel like those things shouldn't have been overlooked. I do have hopes for the next few books, though. I can't just stop at one book in a series because things can be changed from book to book. I also really love cozy mysteries and I like the idea for this one. But the polite, boring feel needs to go. It just does.