The public library is putting on an exhibition on children's mystery series in honour of the 100th birthday of one of Charlie Harris's favourite authors and she has agreed to participate.

It's a mystery so we know somebody is going to get murdered but as usual the murder doesn't happen till about 1/3 of the way through the book and this time the murderee doesn't have a big flashing victim sign flashing over their head when they are first introduced as is usually the case. Watching the antics of the superfans and reading the parody novel within the novel made this the funniest so far in the series. ( )

This is an excellent book: well-written and well-plotted as is the rest of the series so far. In fact, I probably enjoyed this one more than the previous four, as the mystery revolved around a children's mystery series (think Nancy Drew) author thought dead but very much alive and the five unpublished manuscripts she's squirrelled away all these years. Charlie's re-read of one of his childhood favorite reads by the author helps him solve a very clever crime.

In spite of the quality of the story and writing, I've decided I'm going to drop the series from my reading lists. I just can't get excited about reading them even though I know they are better than average, so rather than buying them only to have them languish on my TBR piles, contributing to the structural instability, I'm just going to say good-bye with high recommendations to anyone who might enjoy a slower paced mystery with a more sedate, mature MC. ( )

It’s National Library Week and an idea to honor a writer of a children’s mystery series starts a chain of events that leads to murder. When Charlie discovers that the author is not only still living, she is fairly local, the library invites her the event. But the notices of her attending draws out collectors who seem to want to exploit her. Like in many cases, to boils down to money. There is also a story within this story, one the author wrote long ago, which actually figures in solving the murder. Of course, without Charlie and his wonderful cat Diesel, this mystery wouldn’t half so good. ( )

It’s National Library Week, and the librarians at the Athena Public Library are planning a display about teen girl detectives, as well as an exhibit to honor the famous author Electra Barnes Cartwright of the Veronica Thane series. Charlie's got a soft spot for the girl detective stories, as well as a collection of her books that he inherited from his Aunt Dottie. When Electra Barnes Cartwright agrees to make a public appearance, the news of her being alive and her whereabouts goes viral overnight, and Veronica Thane devotees and book collectors ascend on Athena. There's also a rumor going around that Cartwright has 5 unpublished Veronica Thane manuscripts, and one serious fan will stop at nothing to get a hold of the books, even if it means killing someone.

This mystery has a nice book in a book plot with Charlie rereading one of his books in the Veronica Thane series whose plot helps him solve the main stories mystery. Charlie's relationship with Diesel is so realistically you can see the two of them walking down the streets of Athena, Diesel in his harness and Charlie stopping to visit with friends or just waving at people as they pass. Diesel is also intuitive to when people need a little comfort during tense and difficult situations. Charlie, his son Sean, and his daughter Laura have all grown closer into together, and each of them have found love and maybe potential spouses. The mystery is full of twists and turns with plenty of secrets that are revealed that make the conclusion even more of a surprise. ( )

It’s National Library Week, and the librarians at the Athena Public Library are planning a display about teen girl detectives, as well as an exhibit to honor the famous author Electra Barnes Cartwright of the Veronica Thane series. Charlie's got a soft spot for the girl detective stories, as well as a collection of her books that he inherited from his Aunt Dottie. When Electra Barnes Cartwright agrees to make a public appearance, the news of her being alive and her whereabouts goes viral overnight, and Veronica Thane devotees and book collectors ascend on Athena. There's also a rumor going around that Cartwright has 5 unpublished Veronica Thane manuscripts, and one serious fan will stop at nothing to get a hold of the books, even if it means killing someone.

This mystery has a nice book in a book plot with Charlie rereading one of his books in the Veronica Thane series whose plot helps him solve the main stories mystery. Charlie's relationship with Diesel is so realistically you can see the two of them walking down the streets of Athena, Diesel in his harness and Charlie stopping to visit with friends or just waving at people as they pass. Diesel is also intuitive to when people need a little comfort during tense and difficult situations. Charlie, his son Sean, and his daughter Laura have all grown closer into together, and each of them have found love and maybe potential spouses. The mystery is full of twists and turns with plenty of secrets that are revealed that make the conclusion even more of a surprise. ( )