Rating: 
Summary: Loosely-woven plot
Review: Lilian Jackson Braun takes us back to Pickax to visit James Qwilleran and his friends. She creates a wonderful setting of small-town ambience with the creation of a new bookstore in Pickax and the 200th. birthday celebration of the neighboring town of Brr. Oh, and by the way, there is a murder which Qwill solves in his spare time, with the murderer confessing to his crime during a casual conversation. Author Braun creates warm and wonderful characters, including the two felines Koko and YumYum, and that is indeed where her strength lies. The murders in these books seem almost an intrusion on the gentle life of Pickax and are probably unnecessary. Perhaps the cats could work on less lethal mysteries and the results would be better. Also, it seems that the introduction of a group of turkeys in this book is done in order to give the book a name.
Readers are advised to seek out the earlier books in the series, which are much better-written.
Rating: 
Summary: There But For The Feathers...
Review: I'm not sure what is more embarrassing. Admitting that I like Lilian Brown's the Cat Who... stories or confessing that I actually own all of them. They really are pleasant reading - as long as you never try to read several in a row. But we are long past the moment in time when a new reader is going to come into the series and feel the least bit of a connection. To quote the prophet, 'You had to have been there...'One of the more glaring problems with the latest novels it that they have become parodies of the cozy genre in which the belong. They are sooo cozy that the books are hardly mysteries. Instead, they are little pastiches of the adventures and foibles of their hero Qwilleran and his two dainty cats, the dainty Yum Yum and her psychic companion Ko Ko. So the entire mystery here, which is about bodies cropping up and suspicious relatives, occupies a maximum of 30 of the book's 181 pages. The rest is Qwill eating, feeding the cats, Qwill flirting with his steady Polly, feeding the cats, Qwill acting or writing, feeding the cats, calling wild turkeys, feeding the cats... Well, you get what I mean. Occasionally Ko Ko issues his death yowl and another unfortunate dies. After which, Ko Ko pulls a book off the shelves as a clue. And then even more feeding of the cats. Obviously, you don't read these books because of their compelling, dark crimes or meaningful character development. You read them to munch popcorn with or to lose an hour or two in a world even sillier than the one we live in. Even so, I continue to like them in small doses. I'm not sure if I can really explain why. Now I have to go feed the cats...
Rating:
Summary: Review for The Cat Who Talked Turkey
Review: In Lilian Jackson Braun's The Cat That Talked Turkey the scene is set in Moose
County, when Jim Qwilleran decides to help the town of Brrr get ready for its
200th birthday. Jim Qwilleran, who goes by Qwill, is a journalist, and not just a
journalist but a very rich journalist. He was the surprise inheritant of millions
when an old lady died and left him her fortune. But Qwill did not enjoy being
rich so he donated a fair amount of the money to charity. Qwill lives in a
hexagonal barn that has been turned into a house. His only companions are his
two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum. Qwill's cats are very peculiar, as he
sometimes thinks them to be physic. They have helped him to solve various
mysteries. In this case Qwill is caught up in the excitement of all the
preparations for the party. One of his missions is to get an old lady to donate
her historic mansion to the town so that it can become a museum. Braun gives
the story an interesting twist when the lady turns out to have a mean
granddaughter who was planning on inheriting the mansion for herself. The
granddaughter, Alicia, or Lish, finds out what is going on and secretly plans her
revenge. In this kind of abrupt book, Braun has humans and cats team up to
stop crime, even though they don't really get involved. Qwill and his cats have to find out what she's up to before it is too
late!
Rating: 
Summary: Very Enjoyable!
Review: Maybe negative reviews generate other negative reviews, but this book doesn't deserve the low ratings it's received. I've read all the "Cat Who" novels, enjoyed them all, and found this one to be just as pleasing and interesting as the others. People have called it dull and boring; I didn't find it so, although "dull" and "boring" are relative terms. I don't think people read the "Cat Who" series for page-turning high adventure, but rather for pleasant, charming and relaxing entertainment, of which this offering has plenty.
Rating:
Summary: No Mystery Here
Review: For The Cat Who fans: there was no mystery to speak of in this new addition to the series. If you enjoy dropping in on Mr. Q and his cats, then the story will meet your needs, but if you're in need of a great mystery, sadly, you will have to look elsewhere. This was as cozy as a cozy could be. I've never read a cozier cozy--meaning the good guys win, but there was no struggle to do so. The entire mystery was stated point blank. Mr. Q did not even get concerned when a body was found on his own property. There was good potential here, but it was not developed. I have no idea what role the turkeys played. I gave the book 3 stars soley because it entertained me. Ms. Braun has a great sense of humor. If you are new to The Cat Who series, start with a different book and come back to this one once you fall in love with the characters and town.
Rating:
Summary: Qwill Pleasantly Develops the Local Communities
Review: The Cat Who Talked Turkey is the best of the famous Lilian Jackson Braun books that I have read in many years. The book is at its finest when it is describing James Mackintosh Qwilleran's (Qwill) many civic activities to entertain and enhance the lives of his fellow citizens in Moose County. When the book veers into crime and punishment, the book is at its weakest. As the story opens, there are several important developments. Since the late Eddington Smith's used bookstore burned down shortly after his death, there's been no bookstore in Pickax. The Klingenshoen Foundation (beneficiaries of Qwill's inheritance) decides to build the town a new one, and Polly Duncan (who directed the library for twenty years and is a regular companion for Qwill) will run it. The town of Brrr is about to be 200 years old and decides to hold a birthday party. Qwill is asked to develop a one-man show about the great storm of 1913. Soon after, a well dressed stranger is found shot to death, execution style, on Qwill's lakefront property. In the course of pursuing these events, Qwill finds himself drawn into helping a widow decide how to dispose of her family home and antiques, preparing for a wedding and writing quite a few columns. Cat lovers will adore this book because it has a bigger role in it for Koko than just any other book in the series. Cats work themselves into the story in other ways, including what sort of cat should work at the new bookstore. Koko shows more than his usual psychic abilities . . . and even manages to talk turkey. The murder mystery seems like an afterthought in the story, and receives as little attention as it possibly could. The denouement is quick, surprising and unconvincing. If you can overlook the "mystery" that doesn't really function like one (more like a side bar about a crime), you will think this is a four or five star book. As writers, it's easy to get stuck in a rut. Ms. Braun has such talent for describing Qwilleran's life that it seems like a shame that she feels the need to work crime into the stories. I hope she will reconsider the need to include crime in each of her stories. Is there something that's hard for you to do that you could stop . . . and achieve more? If so, what are you waiting for?
Rating: 
Summary: A Bad Habit
Review: Like the majority of other reviewers, I will give this advice to first time readers. Do not read this book. Go get the first ten and then stop. You will have the pleasure of experiencing the real Cat Who series. If you sit back, enjoy them and then stop you will avoid the rip off feeling of getting suckered once again by a money hungry publisher. Each time I see a new Cat Who book come out I always swear I will not give in and waste my time reading it unless it starts with the phrase "Qwill had to investigate a murder too close to home, the pretentious, self centered woman with the nice voice is alas no longer with us. A bientot Polly." However, like an old friend from high school,whom you used to really like, but has now gotten boring and annoying, I keep getting suckered in. This one has to be the worst yet. After reading the ending twice, I still can't figure out WHY the strangers were murdered! I will go a little bit further than the people who are saying this has to be ghost written. I think someone has developed a sophisticated merge program and the last few books have been thrown together by computer with an editor going in and doing a bad job of connecting the dotted lines.
Rating: 
Summary: Could have...should have...
Review: I love the Cat Who books and have read them all several times. This one was so disapointing. Several reviewers have speculated that this book was written by a ghostwriter and I am afraid that is exactly the thought I had while I was reading. Too many things are "off" from the other books. Quill goes off and immerses himself in other things because there is nothing he can do to help the police? Not the Quill I know and love! He would be poking around talking to everyone and digging up clues. There was so much that could have been built on, the new bookstore, the turkeys that I kept expecting to be some type of clue but weren't and the new museum. Instead we had too much written about a play that was just like the play in the earlier book. I love the characters but they seem to do little more than go out to eat in these more recent books. I'm giving this book 2 stars, one for Koko and one for Yum Yum. I only wish they had been the stars in this book instead of barely mentioned.
Rating:
Summary: Peaceful, zen-like, but not quite a mystery
Review: With the city of Brrr in upper Michigan getting ready to celebrate its 200th birthday party, newspaper columnist and secret millionaire James Qwilleran picks up his typewriter and begins working on a one-man play about the great storm of 1913. His cat Koko warns him of a murder on his property and tries to send him clues by picking a particular book--the hunting of the Snark--but Qwilleran is too busy with the Brrr festivities, interfering with an aging woman's choice of whether to leave her home to her unfriendly granddaughter, and helping friend/girlfriend Polly with her plans to open a bookstore in the town of Pickax. Author Lilian Jackson Braun brings the lifestyle of upper Michigan into focus as ordinary people interact with Qwilleran, tell him about their lives, and enjoy the way his words add a sense of permanence to what they've always done. Qwilleran's own life, centered around his cats, his writing, and Polly (in that order) is a peaceful and zen-like thing, undisturbed by the violence taking place in the world around him--even in rural Moose county. In his world, the storm of 1913 is every bit as current and certainly far more important than a serial killing that is taking place nearby. Koko the cat disagrees, but he can't seem to get Qwilleran to come around this time. I have profoundly mixed feelings about this book. Qwilleran, the primary character, is essentially passive and goalless through the story. He goes about his life. But it is an interesting life--a life that would have been just as interesting to observe and a lot easier to identify with if murder wasn' happening around him. The bottom line in genre fiction is, was the book worth reading. THE CAT WHO TALKED TURKEY is worth reading for Braun's gentle writing. But if you're looking for a page-turning mystery, you'd do better to look elsewhere.
Rating:
Summary: As pleasant as the rest in the Series.
Review: I have read every book in the series at least three times, and as always, this book is a pleasant folksy book that makes you feel as though these are all old friends. While it would have been nice for Koko to have taken a bigger part in the story it was enjoyable nonetheless. Some other reviewers seem to think that all of Ms. Braun's books must be hair raising suspense mysteries. She has made a whole community come to life for a lot of us and I would like to thank her for persevering after so many years. Forty-plus years is a long time. Keep up the great work! I only wish she would bring out more than one a year.
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