Miranda James books

Miranda James is the pen name of Dean James, a Mississippi librarian and mystery author best known for the New York Times bestselling Cat in the Stacks cozy mystery series.

Anthologies

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Deadly Women 1997 Buy
Malice Domestic 7 1998 Buy
Canine Crimes 1998 Buy
Magnolias and Mayhem 2000 Buy
Derby Rotten Scoundrels: A Silver Dagger Anthology 2004 Buy
Death Dines In 2004 Buy
A Kudzu Christmas 2005 Buy
Suspense Magazine June 2013 2013 Buy
Dead But Not Forgotten 2014 Buy

Bridge Club Mysteries Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
On the Slam 2007 Buy
The Unkindest Cut 2008 Buy

Cat In The Stacks Mysteries Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Murder Past Due 2010 Buy
Succès Mortel 2010 N/A
Classified as Murder 2011 Buy
Inventaire fatal 2011 N/A
File M for Murder 2012 Buy
Out of Circulation 2012 Buy
The Silence of the Library 2014 Buy
Arsenic and Old Books 2015 Buy
No Cats Allowed 2016 Buy
Twelve Angry Librarians 2017 Buy
Claws for Concern 2018 Buy
Six Cats a Slayin' 2018 Buy
The Pawful Truth 2019 Buy
Careless Whiskers 2020 Buy
Cat Me If You Can 2020 Buy
What the Cat Dragged In 2021 Buy
Hiss Me Deadly 2023 Buy
Requiem for a Mouse 2024 Buy
Something Whiskered 2025 Buy

Dean James Short Stories/Novellas

Title Published Buy on Amazon
The Village Vampire and the Oboe of Death 1998 Buy

Deep South Mysteries Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Cruel as the Grave 2000 Buy
Closer Than the Bones 2001 Buy
Death by Dissertation 2013 Buy

Non-Fiction

Title Published Buy on Amazon
By a Woman’s Hand 1994 Buy
Killer Books 1998 Buy
The Dick Francis Companion 2003 Buy
The Robert B. Parker Companion 2005 Buy

Simon Kirby-Jones Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Posted to Death 2002 Buy
Faked to Death 2003 Buy
Decorated to Death 2004 Buy
Baked to Death 2005 Buy

Southern Ladies Mysteries Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Bless Her Dead Little Heart 2014 Buy
Dead with the Wind 2015 Buy
Digging Up the Dirt 2016 Buy
Fixing to Die 2017 Buy

Trailer Park Mysteries Reading Order

Title Published Buy on Amazon
Flamingo Fatale 2005 Buy
Murder Over Easy 2006 Buy
Best Served Cold 2007 Buy
Bring Your Own Poison 2008 Buy
Leftover Dead 2008 Buy

Miranda James is the pen name of Dean James, a librarian and lifelong mystery fan from Mississippi. James has been a mystery reader since age ten and has worked at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. He co-authored By a Woman’s Hand with Jean Swanson in 1994, which won an Agatha Award for Best Mystery Non-Fiction, and has published under several pen names over the years.

His biggest success came in 2010 with Murder Past Due, the first Cat in the Stacks Mystery, which spent four weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. That series, featuring librarian Charlie Harris and his Maine Coon cat Diesel, now has 19 books. James has also written the Southern Ladies Mysteries, the Simon Kirby-Jones series (set in an English village), the Trailer Park Mysteries (under the Jimmie Ruth Evans name), and the Bridge Club Mysteries (as Honor Hartman). Across all his pen names, he has published over 50 books since the mid-1990s.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many books has Miranda James written?

Miranda James has written 51 books across 9 series.

What was Miranda James's first book?

Miranda James’s first book is By a Woman’s Hand(As: Dean James, With: Jean Swanson), published in 1994.

Is Miranda James a pen name?

Yes, Miranda James is one of several pen names used by Dean James, a seventh-generation Mississippian and librarian. He also writes under the names Jimmie Ruth Evans and Honor Hartman. His nonfiction and earlier mysteries were published under his real name, Dean James.

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