The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers
Book #29
by Lilian Jackson Braun

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Cozy mystery

I’m not sure I have the motivation to write an actual review for this book. It’s feeling like deja vu anymore, since I don’t have much different to say than I did for the last few books in this series. I’ll get to a few specifics from this book in a little bit, but first I just want to say what an overall pleasure it’s been reading through this series. Though the last few weren’t spectacular, and overall, there were some duds (for me), in a series of 29 books, one thing Braun did well throughout this series is give me a sense of community. Once Qwilleran arrives in Moose County for the first time in book #5, the county and especially the town of Pickax becomes a character unto itself, growing and changing, going through tragedy and triumph, like a well-rounded addition to the family. After almost 30 books, I feel connected to the county and its people and am sad to bid them farewell.

My biggest issue with this book isn’t that the mystery was light or that Qwilleran again has the solution sort of handed to him. It’s the way Braun seemed to thumb her nose at long-standing institutions from her series. (Warning, spoilers ahead.) It feels like the intentional end of a series, but evidence shows that she had a 30th book planned to follow this one. So why did she destroy both Qwilleran’s relationship and home, to start anew in the next book, this late in the series? If she was bored with them, then considering her advanced age, a better solution would have been to call this the end, and leave us happy, knowing that Qwilleran would continue with his life as we have known it. And even worse, Qwilleran doesn’t seem particularly bothered by either of these losses. I kinda get the barn being almost a relief, since he expressed frustration in this book at having a home that people always wanted to tour and gape at. But minimal effort is given to make it believable that he not only didn’t care that Polly was moving to Paris but also was ready to move on within days.

After all is said and done, I do recommend the overall series to fans of mystery, especially with a somewhat old-fashioned mindset, but definitely start at or near the beginning. I can see myself re-reading this series again someday, but I’ll probably stop at about #24, the last one I remember liking much at all. After that, even the love of the community around Qwilleran isn’t enough to sustain me through lackluster mysteries.

Find out more about The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers

See what I’m reading next.

If you’ve read this book, or read it in the future, feel free to let me know what you think!