The Cat Who Brought Down the House

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Summary: Return to 400 miles north of everywhere
Review: Lilian Braun takes us back to the delightful small town where James Quilleran lives with his two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum, in a converted barn. The latest news in Pickax is that Thelma Thackeray is returning, after 60 years of a successful career in the restaurant business and a less-than-successful stint in the movies. As always, there are important social events, such as the reception honoring Thelma, and the Kit-Kat Revue, a money-raising occasion for the encouragement of the adoption of kittens. Thelma begins an interesting new business in town, and the citizens are enchanted by her, but less so with her nephew, whom she calls Dickie Bird. All of the favorite characters are back in this book, as Quill and his friend Polly do a lot of socializing and a little sleuthing into some mysterious murders. This is a pleasant read for Braun fans.

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Summary: The Cat Who... #25 is a winner.
Review: Lilian Jackson Braun writes on the dust jacket that this is her twenty-fifth "The Cat Who..." book. I've read them all and think this is one of the best. Let's hope that there are many more to come since Braun, like Quill, Koko, Yum-Yum and all of our other favories just get better with age.

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Summary: The Cat Who Always Carries a Tape Recorder
Review: LJB's love of the pocket tape recorder just cracks me up. Quill has long been whipping his recorder out right and left (to capture stories for Long and Short Tales of course). Now the leading lady in the latest Cat Who novel is getting in on the recording action, because as an important personage, her longtime advisor insists upon it. Say what? When was the last time you saw a limo pull in the Radio Shack parking lot, and a uniformed valet hop out and order up a pocket tape recorder for The Boss? It does make things especially convenient though, when murders are caught on tape, then left helpfully behind.

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Summary: The Braun Who Makes Me Laugh
Review: Only two authors make me chuckle all the way through a story, Mark Twain and Lilian Jackson Braun

Ms. Braun's latest "the Cat Who" mystery, "The Cat Who Brought Down the House," is a welcome addition to her continuing story of the Qwilleran saga.

Note: This mystery is considerably lighter and more predictable than other books in the series, but for those of us who enjoy Mr. Q and the inhabitants of Moose County, what we really want is just another trip to that place "400 miles north of everywhere," regardless of the story that takes us there, anyway. I would like to live in Pickax (during the summer, that is).

For newcomers, this story is more entertaining than sinister. If you're looking to buy entertainment, this book is it. For us tried-and-true fans, the "mystery" has become secondary to the characters. I'll forgive the transparent story line this time just because I've missed these people and was anxious to read about them once again.

I thank G P Putnam's Sons for publishing this non-horrific murder mystery. Doesn't it seem as though publishers these days act as though they think a story has to be more gruesome that the next to sell? Well, Ms. Braun proves them all wrong. She spins a humorous tale tinged in mystery-enough to satisfy those who want to see Koko do his tricks.

This book is suitable for the Christian market and teens wanting to grow up from Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.

For Pickax fans, two thumbs up.

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Summary: Can't Wait for #26, They Just get Better with Each Outing
Review: Qwill thinks the Lockmaster Ledger is trying to pull the Moose County Something's leg....but the lead story about the diva turns out to be true and this leads Qwill, Koko, and Co into another thrilling adventure. Turns out, someone isn't who they say they are--and someone else is bound and determined that the cheater won't prosper. Bushy joins in to protect the diva and Koko is proved right, again and Pickax is going to get a real bookstore! A real Best-In-Show Cat book! Brabo, Koko & Qwill!

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Summary: No mystery to this mystery
Review: Same lovable characters. But poor story line. No twist in the plot, no long list of possible bad guys. You know from the beginning "who done it". The only mystery to this book is what happened to the author? Bring back the success of the original cat who stories.

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Summary: The Cat Who Brought Down the House
Review: Thank you, Ms. Braun, for yet another delightful story involving the antics of Koko and Yum Yum. As a cat owner of four furry friends, I was thrilled to read the latest in the series of the "The Cat Who..." books. The stories Ms. Braun weaves with the Siamese cats and Mr. Qwilleran are a true delight. It was spun with slow, and yet delightful anticipation, all the while having the cats know something was about to happen. It is never the crime within the story that is important yet the cats are ever ready to tell of impending calls, names and dislikes of those names, in unique ways. Thank you for this wonderful story. It will add to my collection of 24 previous books. I'll never eat another potato chip without chuckling just a little bit, or hear one of my grandmother's stories from my mom and wonder just how true it all remains to the actual history from our own family. What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. In other words, in two shakes of a lamb's tail this book will be finished and a good time will be had by all.

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Summary: Not a very good book
Review: THE CAT WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE HOUSE by Lilian Jackson Braun

I would like to preface this review by saying that anyone who has not read these books before should avoid reading THE CAT WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE HOUSE as their first book in the series. Published in 2003, this is the very last book in the series, and it's a big disappointment.

This was my introduction to Lilian Jackson Braun's famous cat series, known for being very cozy mysteries with more emphasis on the "cozy" than "mysteries". Jim Qwilleran is a very wealthy citizen of the small town of Pickax, "located 400 miles north of everywhere", and is owned by two Siamese cats Yum Yum and Koko.

The big news in this story is that a famous citizen of Pickax, Thelma Thackeray, who left town decades ago to make her living amongst the movie stars of Southern California, has returned to live out her remaining years. She has a nephew that still lives in Pickax, but he's not exactly her favorite person. Nevertheless, she had loved her dear departed brother and had come home to set things right.

While the town goes into a dither over the return of their famous Thelma, Qwilleran notices that Koko, his male Siamese, is acting strangely. He seems to be trying to tell his owner something, but Qwilleran can't quite make out what it is. It takes a while, but soon Qwilleran puts the clues together. There is trouble in town, and it's connected to Thelma and her nephew.

My overall feeling towards this book is very negative, although I ended with the book knowing I will try a few of the other books in the series. The book seemed to be written on a 1st grade level, and I was highly embarrassed to think this was supposed to be geared towards an adult reader. I felt cheated, and also thought that the author was simply churning out anything to please her publisher. There are also rumors of this book being ghostwritten, which would hardly surprise me. Based on the many negative reviews of this book, I am glad to know that I am not alone with my assessment. Frankly, this series has run its course. But that shouldn't deter anyone from reading the earlier books in the series. I am certainly going to be reading them, as I already own a few! Unfortunately, THE CAT WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE HOUSE will go down as one of my bottom 10 for 2003.

Rating:
Summary: Latest in the series a quick and good read.
Review: The Cat Who Brought Down the House is the 25th in the series of "detective" novels written by Lilian Jackson Braun that feature James Qwilleran and his two Siamese Cats, Koko the male feline who aids Qwill in solving the cases and Yum Yum, the female cat.
The action takes place in Moose County, 400 mile of everywhere. This time Thelma Thackeray returns after nearly a six decade long career in Hollywood. The octogenarian does not plan on sitting still as she acquires the old opera house and proceeds in opening a film club to screen old movies. The circumstances are marred by the kidnapping of her Amazon parrots and the suspicious death of her twin brother.
As with the previous Cat Who books all this gets Qwill thinking and Koko doing his "thing" that gets the case solved. This latest entry is a quick read. Braun also re-tells two stories from her latest (2001) short story collection, Short and Tall Tales. If you are a Lilian Jackson Braun fan this book [is]recommended.

Rating:
Summary: I Wish
Review: The last two Cat Who books have not lived up to my expections. The reason for this is that I liked the way the cats took part in the story. Now the part Ko Ko takes is an afterthought. This new story is a bit better than the last, Quil at least doesn't stand in the middle of the story and order people around!
I have all of the Cat Who Books and then some. This will likely be my last.