Jim Qwilleran and his cat Koko get a taste of trouble in the second mystery in the bestselling Cat Who series.Jim Qwilleran isn’t exactly overwhelmed by his new assignment for the Daily Fluxion. Interior design has never been one of his specialties and now he’s supposed to turn out an entire magazine on the subject every week! But the first issue of Gracious Abodes is barely off the presses when … barely off the presses when Qwilleran finds himself back on more familiar territory—the exclusive residence featured on the cover has been burglarized and the lady of the house found dead.
Now Qwilleran and his brilliant Siamese cat, Koko, have their respective moustache and whiskers twitching. And when Koko starts pawing clues in the dictionary and sniffing designer furniture, Qwilleran finds himself doing a feature on a very clever murder…
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Reading Lilian Jackson Braun is liking coming home after work, taking your shoes off, and relaxing by the fireplace. She’s so comfortable. Her “Cat Who…” books are all set in a place that time hasn’t touched. Everybody knows everybody. But just like the bar Cheers, “you want to go where everybody knows your name.” I am hoping eventually to collect her entire corpus. Enchanting.
I read everything Lillian Jackson Braun writes. I love her books and enjoy Ko Ko and Yum-Yum the crime solving Siamese cats, Her books always entertain and engaged me in her mysteries!.
Former crime reporter Jim Qwilleran is ready to get off the art beat, though he doesn’t expect to move on to interior design. But the work isn’t boring, when the first subject of the newspaper’s new interior design magazine is burglarized, and there’s even a death involved. And it won’t be the last death in the interior design world.
The first full adventure of Koko and Qwill has a lot of charm, as Qwill takes to cat ownership with aplomb. Koko’s antics lead Qwill to question whether the cat is somehow psychic or it’s all just a big coincidence. The interactions between man and cat are always my favorite thing about the books in this series. And now we have Yum Yum to add to the fun in future books.
The mystery itself was better done than the first book, in my opinion. I was more interested in it and felt I had a chance of solving it. I didn’t, not really, but there was at least one crime I had pretty much figured out correctly.
In my review for the first book, I mentioned the male chauvinism, which is still present in this book, but not as heartily. Unless you count Odd Bunsen, a married father of six, who makes somewhat suggestive comments about other women all throughout this book. But hey, at least he only talks about looking, and nothing more…a distinction I’m sure his wife would appreciate.
Overall, it was a fun read, and I would recommend this book for fans of the classic whodunit & cozy mystery genres.
I love these books have read them over and over again.
Enjoyed all of the “Cat Who” books. Had been waiting for the next one to come out when the author died. Is best to read the books in order so you know who people are when they reappear.
I really enjoyed this one. Art is the theme and is the book you’re formally introduced to Koko and and his crime solving prowess.
I love everything by this author, and I love cats—win, win.
Love the entire series!
This book is of a series that would now be called “cozy mysteries”. Great fun if you’re a cat person. Light reading to balance your thrillers, spy novels, & generally more intense subjects.
I’ve enjoyed every Cat Who book I’ve read so far.
I love to read the “Cat Who” books. They are pretty mild mysteries with the same cast of characters throughout the series. They are cleverly written and will keep you guessing till the end.
Love the cats!
love it
Always enjoy The Cat Who mysteries.
The Cat Who books are all wonderful! Great writing and I love the cats. Exciting, suspenseful, funny, what’s not to love!
Always a fun read
I like this author when I wanted a book to just sit down and enjoy reading. They’re not real heavy kind of Light reading but very good
The first three early Cat Who books were something different at the time they were published–before the market became swamped with cute cats and dogs who could solve mysteries and talk. In addition, Quill is an interesting, likable, but very human character. Today, in a market that gobbles up over-the-top violent and edge of the seat thrillers, they are considered terribly tame, but for those of us that just enjoy a puzzle of a story inhabited by interesting characters, they still appeal. I recommend these and just might go back and re-read the rest of the series.
Classed as a cozy mystery but more character development than most cosy fluff. The audio book versions of Brain’s books are read by George Guidel.
This book appears to be the first in a series by this author. I have read several of the others and they never disappoint. Great mysteries with the added bonus of the charming cat behaviors woven into the story. Love these!