Everyone in Athena, Mississippi, knows Charlie Harris, the good-natured librarian who walks his rescued Maine coon cat, Diesel, on a leash. Godfrey Priest, famous author of gory bestsellers and Charlie's former classmate, is the pride of Athena. Charlie remembers him as an arrogant jerk, and he's not alone. Godfrey's homecoming as a distinguished alumnus couldn't possibly go worse: by lunch, he's put a man in the hospital. By dinner, Godfrey's dead....