The Cat Who Talked Turkey

Rating:
Summary: What mystery??
Review: When was the last time Qwill was personally involved in the book's main crime, as in he knew the victim, discovered the body, etc? It seems that in the last few books, we've just heard about a crime (murder, theft, etc.) second hand in a by-the-way fashion.

Rating:
Summary: Sorry, Lilly, Better Luck, Next Time
Review: Okay, here's what happens, y'all. Someone dies on Qwill's property (again). He doesn't seem to care. In fact, all Qwill cares about is what's for dinner. It's been this way for a long, time, folks. Then Koko licks his butt, and Qwill does a stupid show. Anybody else notice how lately someone dies, they aren't a Moose county native, and no one cares much? I LOVED the old Cat Who. Why can't they come back?

Rating:
Summary: GREATEST SERRIES EVER!!!!
Review: Don't waste your money! What a sad dissappointment this book was. The entire time I was reading it (and I even skipped some parts), I thought that it was more like a primative draft for a story. I just can't believe that Lilian Jackson Braun wrote this book. It does not reflect her style in any manner. Polly even makes comments that she would never make. I won't be purchasing any more "Cat who..." books. It's such a shame as Mr. Q, KoKo and YumYum were the best. The ghost writer should be fired... only after he or she has read all of the disappointing reviews.

Rating:
Summary: Only for Collectors
Review: I'm an LJB collector, so I bought this one. A previous review said she thought it was written by a very bad ghost writer, and that is not a harsh criticism!

If you're a fan, but not a collector, here's the poop from Moose County:
1. Brrr has a huge 200th anniversary celebration.
2. Qwill does another one-man show, another radio broadcast of a disaster, this time a big snowstorm of 1913. Research provided by Thornton Haggis.
3. Polly is training her library replacement and is studying the psychology of running the new bookstore.
4. Ground broke for the new bookstore. An empty pirate's chest was found. The new store will be called The Pirate's Chest.
5. Bushy, the photographer gets married.
6. The back of the book contains 2 recipes, one for Reuben sandwiches, and one for Molasses cookies.
7. Yum Yum's favorite toy is a silver thimble.
8. Never mind the murders. They're unimportant.

Some Goofy Stuff:
1. There is a murder on Qwill's property, and he is not in the least curious.
2. There is a brief conversation with Susan Exbridge about Iris Cobb, but no explanation of who she was (a main character that was murdered very early in the Cat Who series).
3. There are various discussions about marmalades, both a marmalade competition in Brrr, and a new marmalade cat for the new book store, to be named Dundee (after the English marmalade). No connection to a plot or a sub-plot.
4. Former investigator Simmons comes from California to be a surprise guest at the wedding. His investigative skills are not used his presence in the book is not even a red herring. Just odd.
5. There is a forced plane landing with the bookstore architect on it. He finds the experience "interesting." Also not a red herring, just odd.
6. There are plenty goofy examples.

I hope this saves some people the price of this book. But I love the population of Moose County and wouldn't mind if this series gave up the murder investigations altogether and just captured the townspeople in the fabric of their lives.

Rating:
Summary: A Day in the Life of Qwill
Review: Like lobsters, once I fall in love with an author, it's for life. It is very very hard to turn me off...and yet, the more recent The Cat Who...books have managed to dampen my enthusiasm. I used to grab the hardcovers the first week, now I buy the paperbacks and soon, as the other reviewers have mentioned, I'll resort to the library. Braun has been writing for decades and she has earned a little slack, but I don't think she's been writing these for a while, and if possible, she should fire the ghostwriter.

The Cat who Talked Turkey is a collection of anecdotes of the life of Qwill. He spends most of the book zooming around Moose County, putting on a play, taking everyone out to dinner, and contemplating Koko's genius. I read Braun mostly for her gentle humor and characterizations, and liked some of the new additions, including Edyth and Maxine. However, as in many of her later novels, the murder "mystery" is SO indifferent and uninteresting, I can't figure out why they're included. I'm happy just visiting old friends for a couple of hours.

In terms of characters, we get a lot more of that gentle bear, Gary Pratt and some good news for some old friends, including Bushy and Janice Barth. Polly, well - I'm not quite advocating bumping her off, but can someone please make her a little less whiny?

In terms of the narrative, the first several pages reads like a synopsis of a story. It's jarring and I feared the worst. It wasn't quite that bad, the pace picked up with the action and we get a little more depth of details that better set the scenes, but overall the narrative felt as light as a snowflake. And not in a good way.

All in all, if you enjoy catching up with old friends and checking out the incredible number of events 400 miles north of everywhere, you'll enjoy this. If you're looking for good writing, an exciting Qwill and a penetrating mystery, re-read the Cat Who Wasn't There.

Rating:
Summary: What a turkey!
Review: What a disappointment! Love the Cat series, but this book seemed to be written by someone else. No plot, no mystery, no substance. The storm program was a pure bore! I just wanted this book to end! Don't purchase this... don't even check it out from the library. What a waste of time.

Rating:
Summary: Intensely disappointing
Review: I have begun to wonder why this series is even listed in the mystery section any more. Once upon a time the Qwill used to actually do sleuthing - now all he does is trip along through town occassionally giving some thought to whatever the crime of the issue is, but not really making any effort to figure out the solution. Of course as any long-time reader will know, this series long ago became more a character soap opera than a whodunnit, but at least the books were being well written. This one reads like a first draft that no one ever bothered to polish. Descriptions are short and dull, plot points are rehashes of old ones, dialogue is the same old same old. Even the performance of the cats, one of the gimmicks that makes this series as popular as it is, has worn thin.

I can only conclude that Lillian Jackson Braun is either tired of writing, or tired of writing this series but only continues due to a contract or the lure of easy money. I can only say that I, for one, will no longer read it, no matter why the quality has dropped so far.

Rating:
Summary: Talking Turkey is a turkey
Review: I have wanted to write for a long time that Ms. Jackson-Braun, or whoever is now ghostwriting for her, or her editor, should realize that Polly Duncan would make a far more interesting murder victim than Qwilleran paramour. That comment could apply to almost all the mysteries set in Moose County, not just this latest. Polly is tedious, boring, annoying, predictable, rigid and humorless; her jealousy isn't interesting, it just cramps Qwill's style. I am sick to death of her diet hangups, her endless tuna fish sandwich lunches and every other part of her. The earlier Cat Who.. books, in which he gets involved with an assortment of interesting younger women connected to the various mysteries, were more fun than the latter ones where his love life is dominated by that staid, hyperconventional librarian. (Since I am writing about a fictional character, not a real life human being, I don't feel evil in stating that I was sorely disappointed that Polly's heart attack of a few books ago didn't kill her.) A mystery surrounding her fervantly-yearned-for murder could combine Qwill, wracked by grief, confronting his old alcohol demons, perhaps unearthing a secret double life Polly leads, perhaps a new love interest working with or against him as he struggles to find out who bumped off his lady love. It would make a far more interesting mystery than The Cat Who Talked Turkey turned out to be. But I digress....

As a mystery, the Cat Who Talked Turkey is a very frustrating experience. I am still not clear WHY the stiff found on Qwill's property, or the other stiff in Northern Michigan were killed, although it was pretty obvious from the onset who-dun-it. A clear motive would have helped. I will probably continue to buy this series because I am fond of the whole Moose County scene,but I wish ... if Ms. Jackson-Braun is still really writing these, the publisher would hire a good ghostwriter and put her out to pasture. If the publisher is now using a ghostwriter to keep this lucrative series alive, surely it could find a better one! I mean, seriously, with all the hungry and TALENTED writers out there, surely the publisher could find just ONE willing to prostitute her talents to take over this rather lovable series.

Rating:
Summary: Turkey Turkey
Review: After reading the other reviews I was happy to know I wasn't the only that thought this could not have been written by Lilian Braun. I thought I was going crazy!!!!!!!!!!! The wording and places do not seem to be the same as she always uses.
The plot was not exciting and she could have developed the new bookstore and other events more and not spent so much time on his historical dramas that I find quite boring.
I own all of her books and have read every
one several times. I like some of them better than others but this one is defintely the least favorite.
I am certainly glad I bought a used copy and didn't spend a lot of money on it.