THE FIRST COZY MYSTERY IN THE BELOVED NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING CAT WHO SERIES!The world of modern art is a mystery to many. But for Jim Qwilleran, it turns into a mystery of another sort when his assignment for The Daily Fluxion leads down the path to murder. A stabbing in an art gallery, vandalized paintings, a fatal fall from a scaffolding—this is not at all what Qwilleran expects when he … what Qwilleran expects when he turns his reporter talents to art. But Qwilleran and his newly found partner, Koko the brilliant Siamese cat, are in their element—sniffing out clues and confounding criminals intent on mayhem and murder. This riveting beginning to the Cat Who series is the perfect cozy mystery for cat lovers to start sleuthing!
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for those of you who like to get into a good series that has a little mystery, a little humor and includes 2 smart cats then you should read “The Cat Who” series. I have read all of the books in this series and love the characters that Lilian Jackson Braun brings to us. Jim Qwilleran an over-the-hill reporter who is trying to get his life back on track takes in 2 Siamese cats –KoKo and Yum Yum. The books are their life together and the mischief they get into. If you are into audio books I highly recommend getting these in audio because George Guidall does a great job bringing these stories to life!
If you love cats, or have known cats, I highly suggest this series. As cat lovers will tell you, cats know much, much more than people might think. And these cats have a little something extra. I love the quiet philanthropy of Qwill. Lilian Jackson Braul is an American treasure gone too soon.
Loved all of the Cat Who…. books. Light, fun to read and very entertaining.
Loved it
Love all the cat books.
Wonderfully entertaining. Enjoyed the whole series.
loved the cat
all the books in this series are easy reads, and enjoyable!!!!!!!!!!!
If you like cat mysteries with quirky characters this is a good series. My only advice would be to stick with the early books because as the series, and author, aged the books suffered; so skip the last 4 or 5.
This is one of many of LJB’s Cat Who… books I’ve read. I have consumed this series (almost in its entirety) many times. These books are comforting. The characters are well-written and quirky, with Qwill, Koko, and Yum-Yum being my favorite (of course). This series is solidly-written. I credit LJB as the link between my childhood love of Scooby Doo with my adult interest in mysteries. Whenever I find myself in a reading slump, I inevitably find myself reaching for a Cat Who… title. I bought many, many of these in paperback format, borrowed the rest from the library, and then began purchasing them one by one in digital format once I got my first Kindle.
Any cat lover who hasn’t read the Cat Who… series should, preferably in order. This book, as do all in the series, involves the cat in the solution to a mystery. The characters are unusual, but oddly loveable, and the overarching plot situation is almost fairy tale in nature, but it all works together to seem realistic.
Love this series.
I have read all her series Cat books. Not what I would call great literature but very relaxing , good characters you can follow. for light reading I recommend , esp if you are a cat lover.
Sorry the series ended. Enjoyable and entertaining.
After I read “The Cat who could Read Backwards,” I quickly gobbled up the next books (I think there were two) in the series. Then I waited, and waited, and waited. Jackson Braun had evidently decided that was it. But 18 years later she started writing more in the series, and I was a happy camper. I’ve turned a lot of people on to The Cat Who series over the years, and all the book are fun mysteries, but the first two have to be the best because that’s where we are introduced to Qwill (sigh), Ko-Ko (both in this book) and Yum-Yum (book 2 – “The Cat who Ate Danish Modern). The two Siamese are a delight, and Qwill is scrumptious. I know you don’t have to be a cat fanatic to enjoy this book. I introduced my mother to the series; she loved it; and she never had cats. But, if you ARE a cat person, you will really get a kick out of the two in this series.
This first book in a 29-book-long series takes a while to really get started. Qwill is new in the area and has a lot of people to meet, and so do we. The murder comes quite a ways into the book, but it’s not the everything before that is pointless and boring. It’s a little slower than I might have liked, yes, but since I know this is going to be a murder-mystery, I’m guessing who the victim will be up until the point that someone dies (I was wrong, by the way…and then I was right). There were some downsides, especially near the end, but overall, I enjoyed the book.
I loved the way Qwill and Koko (the cat) began their relationship, how Koko was introduced by his owner, and Koko’s little visits to Qwill. Having read some of this series years ago, I knew that in every book, Koko has a new quirk, usually related to the title, that is somehow involved in the solving of the murder. This one was no different, though I felt it wasn’t as involved as I remember. Maybe that’s also due to it being the first book in the series, or maybe I’m over-selling it in my remembrance. Either way, it was still fun.
One downside is that one of the common elements of cozy mysteries, the way clues to the mystery are usually sprinkled into the story enough that the discerning reader could solve it before the detective, was not there in this book. I don’t think there was any real way to figure out who did it before it was suddenly revealed at the end. Though this book was published in 1966, and I doubt “cozy mysteries” were really a thing…Braun probably didn’t know was supposed to follow a formula. It doesn’t bother me personally anyway, as I’ve never been all that great at solving mysteries before being given the answer anyway.
Also being written in the 60s, there’s a definite vein of male chauvinism throughout the book. At first I thought it was strange, considering the female author, but the truth is, this is probably exactly what she was seeing back then.
As a stand-alone mystery, this book is lacking a bit. As the beginning to a series, it shows a lot of promise. I personally can’t wait to see what Koko gets up to in the future. At this time, I would recommend this book for fans of the classic whodunit & cozy mystery genres.
This series is the definition of Modern Cozy to me. Everything is above board, no steamy sex, no foul language, just a great whodunnit
It is a cat sleuth book with good human characters.
Lillian Jackson Braun never disappoints.
Very entertaining. A great,fun, quick read.