whodunit

Book Review: The Cat Who Said Cheese

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The Cat Who Said Cheese
Book #18
by Lilian Jackson Braun

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Cozy mystery

As Pickax gears up for the Great Food Explo, a murder rocks the town 400 miles north of everywhere, where they believe crime only happens Down Below, even though they’ve had their fair share of murders…especially since former crime reporter Jim Qwilleran came to live there. Fortunately, he also plays a large role in solving those murders.

The more engaging books in this series tend to be the ones with a more eventful backdrop to the mystery, and I found the Explo to be one of the more enjoyable backdrops. The opening of some new restaurants in a county and with a main character that really like their food, as well as the other food-related events surrounding that, were all enough to keep me interested throughout. The focus on cheese was particularly compelling for me, as I love cheese, especially uncommon cheese varieties that I don’t get often. Sometimes it seems that Qwilleran less solves the mysteries and more stumbles into the answer, but then you realize that it’s the subtle work Qwilleran has been doing throughout the story that brings the answer to him in a way that seems out of his hands. I do think I prefer that to the more modern cozy mysteries I’ve read where the amateur sleuth blunders their way through a much more obvious investigation.

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Book Review: The Cat Who Blew the Whistle

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The Cat Who Blew the Whistle
Book #17
by Lilian Jackson Braun

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Cozy mystery

A nostalgic train ride turns into a case of fraud as the train’s owner disappears with millions of dollars deposited in his credit union. Using clues dug up by his Siamese cats, former crime reporter Jim Qwilleran will have to weed out the important facts from the distractions.

This book brought back what I like about the series, set back in Moose County and involving a lot of the old favorite side characters, as well as a few new ones. Like in at least one previous book, a play being prepared at the nearby theater becomes somewhat intertwined with the book’s plot. It’s enough to make me wish I’d read more Shakespeare in school (but not enough to make me want to read it now). There’s some excitement here and there, and while it’s not the most interesting story overall, I really didn’t find myself bored while reading it. The pseudo-supernatural elements that usually involve Koko’s abilities to unearth clues, predict tragedy, or even know the exact moment of a death, are turned up a notch in this book, maybe causing higher suspension of disbelieve than some would prefer. In the end, though, it’s a solid entry to the series.

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Book Review: The Cat Who Came to Breakfast

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The Cat Who Came to Breakfast
Book #16
by Lilian Jackson Braun

My rating: 2.5 / 5
Genre: Cozy mystery

Former crime reporter Jim Qwilleran reluctantly decides to spend some time on local Breakfast/Pear/Grand/Providence Island (and I may have forgotten another name), which has recently started being developed away from its natural state. But some suspicious accidents set Qwilleran’s moustache to tingling, so he and the cats investigate.

This was my least favorite book in the series so far. That has a lot to do with the fact that it feels almost like a repeat of The Cat Who Moved a Mountain, with the primitive locals vs. the tourists, developers, and wealthy people, except on an island. On top of that, Qwilleran often starts out in a story with reluctance and grumbling, but he usually ends up finding something to appreciate, if not enjoy. Not so in this book, where he is basically unhappy the entire time on the island.

One thing I did enjoy about the book was that island strongly reminded me of Mackinac Island in Michigan, with the no-cars rule, the bicycles to compensate, and the smell of fudge everywhere. I don’t know if that was on purpose, or if Braun had some other touristy island in mind (or none at all, though I’d doubt that), but I have very fond memories of vacations spent there, so it provided a little nostalgia. Unfortunately, the mystery wasn’t particularly intriguing or surprising. I finished the book just under a month ago, and I no longer remember for sure who the “bad guy” was. Not really what you want from a mystery book. Hopefully this doesn’t signal Braun starting to run out of ideas, but I’ll continue on with the hopes of a better book to follow it up.

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Book Review: The Cat Who Went into the Closet

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The Cat Who Went into the Closet
Book #15
by Lilian Jackson Braun

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Cozy mystery

Former crime reporter Jim Qwilleran plans to spend the winter in the northern climate of Pickaxe City in an old mansion, rather than in his converted apple barn, where snow drifts make it difficult to come and go. He must battle the elements as he stages a one-man show throughout the area, while the mansion’s former owner’s purported suicide and a seemingly unrelated disappearance provide a mysterious diversion.

Braun had a thing for starting her books with some kind of shocking scene. While some of them don’t work so well (like trying to make us think that Qwilleran—the main character of the series, mind you—was killed in a car accident), this one really got me. And it sets the tone for the rest of the book, which contained quite a bit of action compared to the rest of the series. Those action scenes are a good balance against the scenes in the old, dark mansion, where Koko’s antics-of-the-moment provide Qwilleran with a plethora of clues. All of the elements in this story, from the main mystery to the side plots, came together to be one of the better installments in the series for me.

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Book Review: The Cat Who Wasn’t There

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The Cat Who Wasn’t There
Book #14
by Lilian Jackson Braun

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Cozy mystery

When a group trip to Scotland ends in tragedy, former crime reporter Jim Qwilleran begins to suspect that the death may not have been natural. Can he piece together the clues, including those from his perceptive Siamese, to solve the mystery?

Koko’s back to licking photographs, but while he does his best to communicate the clues to his food-provider (or is just coincidence?), Qwilleran is busy dodging an old girlfriend who wants to be a new wife. Qwilleran has definitely changed over the course of this series, in ways that even he is still discovering. It keeps the series from getting stale, as do the location changes now and then. While I have grumbled in the past about books that take us away from Pickax, this book still spends plenty of time there, while the death happens far away.

I’m not a Shakespeare aficionado in any way and have never read Macbeth, but it makes a great backdrop to the story. The author does a pretty good job of giving a reader without knowledge of the play, which the local theater club is staging, enough information to appreciate the connections made. I don’t know if a reader more knowledgeable about Macbeth would enjoy it more or less than I did. Though I had suspicions about who was involved in the crime, I didn’t put together the hows and whys before I was told. But to be fair, Braun wrote these books before “cozy mystery” became a formula. In the end, I enjoyed the book a little more than I did the previous.

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Book Review: The Cat Who Moved a Mountain

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The Cat Who Moved a Mountain
Book #13
by Lilian Jackson Braun

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Cozy mystery

When his 5-year requirement to live in the small, northern town of Pickax ends, former crime reporter Jim Qwilleran has a big decision in front of him. To help him make it, he decides to get away to a mountain retreat. But his plans for a quiet getaway are quickly spoiled when he gets caught up in local prejudices and politics and a murder investigation that might have convicted the wrong man.

I guess it makes sense to move the action away from the same small town/northern county now and then, so it doesn’t become a place full of murders, but sadly, the change of locale often means I won’t like the book as much. Still, this one wasn’t too bad. I liked the way Qwilleran sees both sides of an ongoing battle, meeting and talking talking to people with both points of view. The mystery was decent, though not quite as interesting as others in this series have been. Koko’s antics that inspired the title aren’t exactly new, though I did appreciate the play on words.

I recently read a mystery novel with a main character who had been a gangster in the past but was forced to change due to circumstances beyond his control. In that book, the MC’s new life involved things he never would have done or cared about in the past, but it felt really forced to me. That made me notice all the more the way Qwilleran’s changes in lifestyle and personality throughout the series have been a lot smoother and more subtle. He’s certainly still himself, but also quite different from the man that used to live in the big city and write about urban crime. Overall, this was a good addition to the series.

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Book Review: The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal

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The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal
Book #12
by Lilian Jackson Braun

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Cozy mystery

When an unpleasant man is murdered in former crime reporter Jim Qwilleran’s own backyard, he is determined to let the police handle it. But between Koko’s antics and his own inquisitive nature, it isn’t long before he’s unable to stop the theories from forming.

Ahh, the apple barn at last! The thing I remember most from when I read some of this series around 20ish years ago is the converted apple barn with ramps and balconies that Qwilleran, Koko, and Yum Yum live in. I didn’t quite realize how long it took them to get there, but it isn’t surprising that it was this far in, given the progression of Qwilleran’s life up to this point. It’s only a shame that their housewarming is punctuated by murder, not to mention the further tragedy that is more of a spoiler to mention here. The mystery in this book is another good one, though I was struck by similarities in the main players of the drama to those in a previous book, The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts. I loved Koko’s “friendship” with the cardinal and found myself reacting with high sentiments at the developments related to it.

One thing I didn’t care for in this book is the hit that the relationship between Qwilleran and Polly takes. The way they seem to regard each other makes me feel sad and wonder how long they can possibly last. They both seem ready to toss each other over at the first chance. Maybe this is supposed to be due to the fact that neither of them wants a marriage, but they still get quickly jealous over the other paying a little extra attention to someone of the opposite gender. I used to think of their relationship as sweet and comfortable, but I’m definitely starting to see it differently now. We’ll see how that progresses, though, since I’m only a little more than 1/3 of the way through the series, which I do recommend for fans of cozy mysteries.

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Book Review: The Cat Who Lived High

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The Cat Who Lived High
Book #11
by Lilian Jackson Braun

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Cozy mystery

When a past acquaintance of former crime reporter Jim Qwilleran asks him to help save a historic building from being demolished, he moves into a penthouse apartment in the building. He quickly discovers that the former occupant was murdered, and that the story being told about the death may not be accurate.

This book was good, but not one of the better installments of the series. Part of that, I think, is because after we’ve had the chance to get used to Pickax City, Moose County, and all of the odd characters in Qwilleran’s new home 400 miles north of everywhere, we’re yanked back to the big city (as is Qwilleran). There are some familiar faces there, but the series really got better when Qwilleran moved north, so why go back? I think the other reason it didn’t stand out is that the cats aren’t all that involved. Yum Yum pretty much sleeps the whole time, and Koko’s input mostly involves finding locations where certain things happened. Yes, it plays into his uncanny abilities, but part of the charm of this series is the odd habits he tends to pick up for the length of one mystery and then discard. That didn’t really happen this time.

The mystery was not particularly interesting, either, and while there were some aspects to it that I didn’t figure out myself, it was overall nothing spectacular. Still, it’s not a bad story, and I would still recommend it to fans of cozy mysteries.

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Book Review: The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts

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The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts
Book #10
by Lilian Jackson Braun

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Cozy mystery

When former crime reporter Jim Qwilleran’s friend and former landlady calls him in a panic, he rushes to her house but is too late to prevent her death. She’d told him stories of hearing ghosts in the walls and appeared to have been frightened to death. Qwilleran is compelled to believe there’s a human element involved and moves into Mrs. Cobb’s empty dwelling to see if he can uncover the truth.

This is one of the few books from this series that I remember pretty well from 20+ years ago when I read some of this series. Unsurprisingly, I enjoyed it a lot on this reading, which is probably the reason I remember it so well. The death of a recurring character kicks the story off with a bang, and the old Goodwinter farmhouse, where Mrs. Cobb was living, is the perfect setting for a ghost-themed mystery. The side characters and side plots are interesting, and everything came together well at the end.

Though Qwilleran is a fairly set in his ways and has little patience for certain personalities, I liked how his compassionate side comes out in this book. And not just the easier kind of compassion toward someone that he likes or is intrigued by, but also compassion toward someone he dislikes or at least doesn’t regard in a great light originally. This is a great addition to a series that I really enjoy and highly recommend to fans of cozy mysteries.

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Book Review: The Cat Who Went Underground

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The Cat Who Went Underground
Book #9
by Lilian Jackson Braun

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Cozy mystery

When former crime reporter Jim Qwilleran decides to spend the summer at the cabin on the lake he inherited, he quickly discovers that “roughing it” isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The cabin’s near-continual repair needs nearly distract Qwilleran from the mystery he’s stumbled into the middle of.

This wasn’t my favorite book in the series, but it still has the charm that I’m used to from the series. Though Koko did, indeed, go underground, and that did play a big part in the story’s mystery, that cats weren’t terribly involved overall. That wasn’t really what led to the lower score, though, as the mystery itself wasn’t quite as interesting as it has been in other books. It didn’t help that Qwill speculated something that might have seemed wild at the time early in the book, and that turned out to be the truth. It might have been better for it to have been more of a surprise later.

Still, I actually enjoyed the fact that, though Qwill normally prefers a simple life and doesn’t have much use for money for himself, he definitely relied on it, and quickly, every time something went wrong with the cabin. I also liked the starting up of the human interest column I knew he would be writing for much of the series and the various ways Qwill is still getting used to this northern, wilder environment. Though this one didn’t stand out to me as much as others have, I enjoy the overall story and characters and look forward to continuing the series.

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