From Publishers WeeklyDetective-journalist Jim Qwilleran and his prescient Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum (The Cat Who Sang for the Birds, 1997) star in their 21st novel here, and while not quite as spry as ever, they're still the cat's meow. Qwill and his cats move from Pickax, where he's a newspaper columnist, to his beach house in Mooseville, probably on Lake Superior. Qwill rehashes gossip with locals and old friends, and observes Koko's odd behavior, which always forecasts an important event, although Qwill usually interprets the cat's clues retrospectively. Mooseville is abuzz with talk of the upscale restaurant opened by Floridians Owen and Ernestine Bowen, speculation about UFOs (Moose County is a sightings mecca) and puzzlement over the whereabouts of a missing backpacker, whose body Koko quickly uncovers in a sand dune. While fishing with a pal, Qwill sees Owen's boat anchored next to another; Qwill, his twitching mustache alerting him to skullduggery, suspects drug traffic. Shortly thereafter, Owen drowns. The solution to the one mystery that is resolved?that of Owen's death? comes as an anticlimax, while the mystery that's not cleared up?the fate of the backpacker?is chalked up by the locals to alien abduction. A skeptical Qwill grudgingly admits the possibility of aliens, cracking that cats, with their enigmatic behavior, may be aliens. With his 60 whiskers and gifts of perception, Koko is, as always, by far the most intelligent creature in the book. This isn't Braun's best, but her fans will adore it and only spoilsports will accuse her of, well, dogging it. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Library JournalIn Braun's 25th "Cat" mystery, Quill is fighting rumors that aliens are visiting Moose County while feisty feline Koko keeps gazing at the stars. Very mysterious.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers WeeklyRetired journalist Jim Qwilleran and his Siamese cats solve a high school principal's murder. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library JournalYA-- Koko and Yum Yum cavort again, this time to help Qwill solve the puzzling, untimely deaths at their new home, a cavernous barn complete with picture windows from which the two cats watch the neighborhood birds. This highly entertaining novel is sure to please all who want a light mystery. Cat lovers particularly will enjoy the antics of the feline heroes, while others will appreciate the creative solution that grows out of seemingly unrelated clues. Qwill, a semi-retired newspaper writer, is owned by the cats and provides needed assistance as a sleuth. Relaxed, rural America is well drawn (except for the number of murders it has had since the series moved to this locale) and provides a delightful setting in this amusing romp that's perhaps Braun's best. --Claudia Moore, W. T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, VACopyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

There's something rotten in the small town of Pickax—at least to the sensitive noses of newspaperman Jim Qwilleran and his Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum. An accident has claimed the life of the local paper's eccentric publisher, but to Qwilleran and his feline friends it smells like murder. They soon sniff out a shocking secret, but Koko's snooping into an unusual edition of Shakespeare may prove CATastrophic...because somewhere in Pickax a lady loves not wisely but too well, a widow is scandalously merry, and a stranger has a lean and hungry look. The stage is set for Qwilleran, Koko, Yum Yum, and the second act of murder most meow...

Amazon.com ReviewIt's autumn in the little town of Pickax, Moose County, and the citizens are preparing for a new event: the Great Food Explo. A philanthropic creation of the Klingenschoen Foundation (a.k.a. Jack Qwilleran), the Explo was arranged to bring new restaurants, inns, and food specialty shops to the area. The great event is only a week away when a bomb goes off in the only hotel in town, killing a housekeeper. Luckily for Pickax, Qwilleran and his two sleuthing felines, Koko and Yum Yum, are on the case. Thrown into the melee are several new characters, including a mysterious woman, a gentle beekeeper, and the woman who wins a date with Qwilleran at a celebrity auction--although cheese seems to be the main character. Find out what's going on in Moose County and read about some delicious tidbits while you're at it! --Jhana BachFrom Publishers WeeklyOne of the best in the 19-title Cat Who . . . series (one of which is a short-story collection), this latest adventure finds newspaper columnist Jim Qwilleran more likable and his feline sleuthing partners, Siamese Yum Yum and Koko, more intuitive than ever. The small town of Pickax City is about to celebrate the Great Food Expo when a stranger moves into the community's dismal, but only, hotel. Both events engage even the reticent Qwill, as townsfolk get ready for restaurant openings and a pastry bake-off while trying to find out more about the mysterious woman. Qwill gets the jump on everyone when he runs into the woman at his summer cabin, but before he can learn much about her, a bomb explodes in her hotel room while she is out and kills one of the staff. When the woman then vanishes, Qwill suspects she is a fugitive fearing for her life. While the police investigate, attention is redirected toward the Food Expo, in which Qwill participates as both food judge and bachelor auction prize. But the hotel bombing and the mysterious woman are never far from his thoughts, nor from the inspired cogitations of Koko, who neatly untangles a web of eccentric characters and mistaken identities. Mystery Guild and Readers Digest Condensed Book selection; Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternate. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Qwilleran and the cats are visiting an island known by many names. Qwill has always called it Breakfast Island, but to the taciturn natives, it's Providence Island. To the rich summer residents it's Grand Island—and to the developers and tourists who are turning this once-peaceful place upside down, it's Pear Island. But when some odd accidents" occur, including a fatal boat explosion, Qwill suspects sabotage and sets out to investigate—because murder by any other name is just as deadly..."

From Publishers WeeklyWith this 11th entry, the popular Cat Who series ( The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts ) begins to flag, its charms growing tatty and listless for even the most steadfast cat-and-mystery lovers. Ex-newspaperman James "Qwill" Qwilleran and his Siamese Koko and Yum Yum leave Moose County for the big city Down Below to help old friends save the Casablanca, an aging and elegant apartment building threatened with demolition to make way for profitable development. Qwill decides to spend the winter in the Casablanca to determine if it might make a project for the philanthropic Klingenschoen Fund, which he controls. Ensconced in a 14th-floor penthouse, he discovers that its previous tenant, Dianne Bessinger, head of the group trying to save the building, was an art dealer ostensibly murdered by a jealous protegeok . Qwill also plays Scrabble with the building's owner, the eccentric and reclusive Countess; he teaches the game to Koko, who thereby provides him with clues in his investigation of the murder, which he suspects is tied to attempts against the Casablanca. Braun's latest pleases with its descriptions of gentrification and development, but the book ends abruptly, leaving too many loose ends, and central characters Koko and Yum Yum develop no further at all. Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library JournalYA-- They're back--the noble Koko, the charmer YumYum--and their wealthy retired owner, Quill. Here, the benevolent benefactor of Moose County packs the Purple Plum--his small, energy-efficient car--with the two inquisitive and endearing Siamese and leaves his cozy home for the winter. This newest addition to the series is a delight that will enchant long-time followers of the irresistible trio as well as first-time readers.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Amazon.com ReviewMoose County journalist and philanthropist James Qwilleran, better known to fans of Lilian Jackson Braun's evergreen series of feline-inspired thrillers as the owner of a couple of remarkably prescient Siamese cats named Koko and Yum Yum, is comfortably ensconced in his winter residence in Pickax at the beginning of The Cat Who Smelled a Rat. But he and the other citizens start hoping for snow when a series of arson fires threaten their safety as well as the historically significant shafthouses that sit atop the long-closed mine sites scattered throughout the county. Qwilleran and his pets take quite a while to connect the fires with the death of a local builder in a seemingly unrelated accident. But his leisurely jaunt to the conclusion of this lightly plotted adventure leaves plenty of room for the author to do what she does best, which is sketching the picaresque characters who people Pickax and dwelling on the small-town charms of a place where everybody knows everything about everybody. The cats are quicker to solve a crime than the local constabulary. Only Koko could find the clues hidden in an antique pitcher and an old-fashioned glove box, and only a cat lover could consider this a mystery or even a romance. There's no suspense, very little drama, hardly any blood, and not even a hint of sex between Qwilleran and his lady. But Braun's fans are legion, so we know she must be doing something right. --Jane AdamsFrom Publishers WeeklyThe 23rd entry in Braun's Cat Who... series (The Cat Who Robbed a Bank; The Cat Who Saw Stars; etc.) testifies to the amazing popularity of mysteries featuring cats. Once again philanthropist-journalist Jim Qwilleran, columnist for the Something, the local newspaper of Pickax City in Moose County, turns for crime-solving help to his insightful and sensitive Siamese sleuths, Koko and Yum Yum. It's late October and the residents of Pickax are praying for the Big One, the annual blizzard that ushers in the long winter. This year it is much needed since the extreme drought conditions have made the area a virtual tinderbox. After several fires break out, volunteers form the Citizens' Fire Watch to protect the historic shafthouses, all that remain of the county's once prosperous mines. Anxiety increases as more fires occur and a volunteer is shot dead at one of the shafthouses. When the president of the local curling club dies from a fall, Qwilleran, with a twitch of his moustache and an ear-splitting shriek from Koko, joins his feline assistants to find the rat responsible before snow flies. Regular fans will enjoy being back with old friends and will be intrigued by the eccentric new additions to Pickax. The complexities of small-town life and the feline antics portrayed with Braun's apt wit and humor combine with a puzzling mystery to make for a most welcome addition to the series. (Feb. 5) Forecast: With a solid bestseller track record for this series, this entry is sure to claw its way up the lists. British rights have been sold to Headline. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library JournalYA-Braun continues the adventures of the odd, but successful, sleuthing team of Jim Quilleran and his cats. When Koko begins knocking books off the library shelf, Jim knows that his feline is once again using his unusual talents to prophesy future events of the murderous kind. Taking hints from the cat, and clues from the murder of his elderly neighbor and the disappearance of a young artist, the man sorts out the motive for and perpetrator behind the mayhem. By providing background on the various characters and their relationships and mentioning previous events, the author makes sure that even first timers to the series can enjoy this title. The strongly defined personalities of the main characters lend interest and the plot has realistic complexities that assure a steady turning of pages. Braun's use of details and discussions about everyday events enhances the feeling of community interconnections and concerns. Koko's quirky predictions and other cat-ly antics add spice to an already enticing mystery. A light, entertaining whodunit that offers the added appeal of cats and their often mysterious ways.Pam Johnson, Fairfax County Public Library, VACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Kirkus ReviewsMore dire doings in Pickax (``400 miles north of everywhere''), where bachelor zillionaire Jim Qwilleran keeps a paternalistic eye on the town from his opulent barn house and his columnist job on Moose County Something, the local paper. Pickax has been saddened by the death of 93-year-old recluse Maude Coggin in a supposedly accidental fire in her decrepit house soon after she'd sold her hundred-acre farm, at a giveaway price, to buyers called Northern Land Improvement. Qwill's suspicions of this deal, reinforced by prescient cats Koko and Yum Yum, lead to his finding the company nonexistent. Some big-time chicanery is afoot, not to mention other odd happenings: a break-in and theft at the recently opened art center; an old scandal new to Qwill; the misgivings of boutique owner Elizabeth Hart about her boyfriend Derek's being offered a job as manager of Chet's Barbecuea downscale bar owned by town councilman Chet Ramsbottom. And then there's young butterfly-breeder Phoebe Sloan, whose unsavory boyfriend Jake is bartender at Chet's. When the town's major annual event takes placeit's a spelling beePhoebe is missing from her team. With help from Qwill and, of course, Koko and Yum Yum, the discovery of her body in Bloody Creek brings about the downfall of Pickax's corrupting elements. Braun's terminally arch mixture (The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, 1997, etc.) is even more extreme than before as confusion reigns, characters proliferate, and Qwill, with his second-sighted assistants, once more solves Pickax's problems. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

When Jim Qwilleran retired to Moose County (400 miles north of everywhere) with his old electric typewriter and his box of yellow lead pencils, he intended to write a book - a novel of crime and investigation with a metropolitan setting. He never finished the first page! Instead, he listened to the folktales of local people. As a journalist, Qwilleran was a good listener. He never left home without a tape recorder in his pocket. As descendants of pioneers told stories that had been handed down for generations, Qwilleran was recording a collection of Moose County legends worth publishing. He added some historic facts, stranger than fiction, gleaned from county archives. Now Qwilleran had his book! He titled it Short and Tall Tales. Most of the stories were short. Some may have been embellished with retelling through the years. Qwilleran's informants swore they were true - even though some had a supernatural twist that left one wondering... And one of them was strictly a "tall tale"!

Jim Qwilleran packs up his old kit bag and his two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum, for a sun-and-fun summer at his log cabin in Moose County. Their vacation starts out ominously with the disappearance of a handyman hired to patch up Qwilleran's cabin. But the felines really start throwing catfits when they come across a dead body or two...A serial killer may be right under Koko's nose, and now this ingenious Siamese must dig deeper to clear poor Qwilleran of suspicion--and dig up the motive for a catastrophic crime.

Something is amiss at Maus Haus. Not just the mystery of an unsolved "suicide" which hangs over the old mansion, but something ominous in the present-day residence. When Qwilleran moves in to work on his new gastronomical assignment, strange things begin to happen. First it's a scream in the night, then a vanishing houseboy. But when his old girlfriend disappears, something has to be done. Qwilleran, Koko, and Yum Yum set out to solve the mystery--and find a murderer!

Can Qwill and the cats find the rich embezzler who has cheated Moose County out of millions of dollars? When the affluent owner of a historic steam locomotive and private railcar absconds with millions of dollars belonging to Moose County investors, police are called in to search for the fugitive. In Pickax, journalist Jim Qwilleran and his feline sleuths probe another mystery, however: Who blew the whistle on the embezzler, and why? With the help of Koko and Yum Yum, Qwill proves that the police are on the wrong track. The mystery is just beginning to heat up, and no easy solutions are at hand. Disturbing questions are left unanswered: What caused a train wreck on the main line? Is there a connection between the wreck and the missing millionaire? When a dead body turns up in a railroad tavern, it's obvious someone has a secret he is willing to kill to keep. Can Qwill and the cats find out who blew the whistle, before they are silenced permanently?

Skulduggery strikes the Bonnie Scots Tour as Jim Qwilleran and his friends from Pickax set forth on a never-to-be-forgotten adventure, in Lilian Jackson Braun's fourteenth addition to her best-selling Cat Who...series. Persuaded by his beloved companion to join her in a group tour of Scotland, Qwill expects to revel in his Scottish heritage while keeping Polly Duncan safe from the Pickax Prowler. Instead, his trip is cut short when a thief swipes a suitcase, the bus driver disappears, and a fellow tourist is found dead - all in the same day. Distraught over the death of one of their own, the remaining tour members return to Pickax, only to find the town in a tizzy over recent events. But Qwill has other, more puzzling worries on his mind: Who is the fellow still following Polly? Why is Koko licking Qwill's photographs of Scotland and tackling him on the apple barn stairs? Convinced that Koko's odd actions are more than coincidence, Qwill investigates the secret life of the deceased, uncovering a possible lover with a torrid past. It isn't until village scuttlebutt focuses on the bizarre behavior of one of the tour's surviving members, however, that Qwills sensitive mustache tells him one thing: More trouble is on the way. But thanks to the esteemed scribe of The Moose County Something and his inscrutable Siamese, the scoundrel won't get off scot-free! AnnotationQwill agrees to join his beloved Polly on a group tour of Scotland to keep her safe from the Pickax Prowler. On their sixth day in Scotland, however, the tour organizer--Polly's best friend Irma--dies of an apparent heart attack, and Qwill suspects foul play. Koko and Yum Yum may have been miles away from the scene of the crime, but they're just a whisker away from cracking the case. LG Alternate.