Best Served Cold Paperback - 2007

Miranda James is the pseudonym of Dean James, a seventh-generation Mississippian recently returned home after over thirty years in Texas. A mystery fan since the age of ten, he wrote his first novel at the ripe old age of twelve. The only copy of The Mystery of the Willow Key vanished years ago, but since it was highly derivative of the Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden mystery series, that's probably a good thing. Currently a librarian, Dean has published articles on topics in library science, the history of science/medicine, and mystery fiction. His first book, with fellow librarian Jean Swanson, was By a Woman's Hand and won an Agatha Award. Dean and Jean collaborated on Killer Books and The Dick Francis Companion. In all he has co-authored or co-edited six works of mystery reference and one short story anthology. He has published more than eighteen novels, writing under his own name, Jimmie Ruth Evans, and as Honor Hartman. He's best known as Miranda James, for his New York Times bestselling Cat in the Stacks series, which features a librarian, Charlie Harris and his charming, partner-in-crime solving cat, Diesel. The books include Murder Past Due, Classified as Murder, File M for Murder, Out of Circulation, The Silence of the Library, Arsenic and Old Books, No Cats Allowed, Twelve Angry Librarians and the upcoming Claws for Concern. Dean lives with two young cats, thousands of books, and thinks frequently about killing people - but only in the pages of fiction. See www.catinthestacks.com to discover even more!