The Cat Who Could Read Backwards

Rating:
Summary: The first book. . .
Review: . . .in a charming series of mysteries intended especially for cat lovers.

In this volume, we are introduced to James Qwilleran, formerly a top reporter, but struggling to make his way back, following a divorce and a battle with alcoholism. In his first new assignmet, Qwilleran is assigned to cover the "Art" beat for the "Daily Fluxion" newspaper -- a subject about which he knows absolutely nothing.

We are also introduced to the remarkable Kao Ko Kung -- a remarkable Siamese cat belonging to a local art critic. After a rather bizarre murder, the old reporter in Qwilleran comes to the fore and, with the help of Kao Ko Kung (aka Koko) solves the mystery.

Gastronomes will love this series of books as much as cat lovers, due to the luscious descriptions of food and drink described.

This book is one of the best of the series, and is well worth the time.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT READ!
Review: Being a cat-lover, the word `cat' in the title caught my attention. But, henceforth, when reading a mystery, I'm reading the last chapter first! The end of this tale caught me off guard. Where did that dude come from?

Decades ago I read mysteries by Queen and Gardner and enjoyed them but decided no more fiction, just facts from now on. I didn't want to just have fun when I could to be learning new things. Well this particular book taught me plenty about a subject I would have never thought to study. Art. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Rating:
Summary: a little boring but the description of KoKo was perfect.
Review: I am a mystery mania trying to read as many mystery novels as possible. The first book of this series was not so appealing to me. A little boring..the impression after finishing it, it's like a house with sand missing more details and tightness.
But I admit the description of KoKo was so perfect that I hope to keep this kind of cat.
I don't want to be haste in determining this series with just one book, and had better find out more about the fantastic partnership between Qwilleran and KoKo.

Rating:
Summary: Stands the test of time! Great fun especially for cat lovers
Review: I stumbled upon the "Cat Who" series of books when I picked up a very yellowed copy of "The Cat Who Could Read Backwards" from a book-sharing box at work. I found the book (and all it's subsequent mysteries) delightful, devouring one each every evening after work. They're easy reads and safe for adolescents as they're not filled with gore, sex or profanity.

As a cat-lover and multiple-cat-owner, I found Mr. Q's and Koko's adventures especially entertaining. I don't know how many whiskers my cats have (they never sit long enough to let me count them) but I'll accept that Koko is a remarkable cat!

After reading this first book in the series I was hooked! I read every subsequent "Cat Who" mystery in order and am eagerly awaiting the release of the newest one next month. Though one can certainly read these books out of order, I think it's easier to remember who the characters are as they reappear in subsequent books in the series. I enjoyed following along, episode by episode, to see how things unfold.

Turns out this first book was originally published in the sixties. I found a lot of the references to now-extinct items and practices charming. I remember clackity typewriters and people smoking at their desks at work back then. This book reflects the times, as Mr. Q unabashidly loves to look at pretty ladies and admires the dimples in their knees (how very un-PC)!

I've noticed that the photo of Ms. Braun on the back cover of recently published editions in the series is the same as that on my 1960's copy. Either Ms. Braun is nearly 100 now and actively writing, or someone has picked up the reins as ghost-writer. If so, it's been done seamlessly and the new stories have the same style as the old except there are now cell phones and computers while Mr. Q and Koko haven't aged a bit in 35 years!


Rating:
Summary: The Cat Who Could Read Backwards
Review: If you are a cat lover and enjoy light reading books, especially mysteries, I highly recommend that you start the "Cat Who"... series. This is the first book in the series, so begin with this one. I was not able to put it down until I was finished! I just had to find out "who done it". Thanks to the Siamese cat Kao K'o-Kung, Qwilleran, the art editor of the Daily Fluxion, is able to solve the murder of the VERY CRITICAL art critic George Bonifield Mountclemens who also happens to be his landlord.....

Rating:
Summary: Let's start at the beginning, shall we?
Review: The "Cat Who. . ." series starts with this wonderful book. Unlike other mystery series, I actually re-read these books, because the story is as enjoyable as the mystery. In this book, a lonely journalist on the far side of a devastating midlife crisis moves to a new town to start over. While there, he helps solve a murder case and joins forces for the first time with Koko, a cat who is a little more than just cat. I would advise mystery lovers, especially those who love this series, to purchase this book in hardcover, because it's not only worth reading, it's worth re-reading.

Rating:
Summary: Not quite there still
Review: The author has the ability, in all her cat mysteries, to meld an interesting set of characters with a realistic if rather non-specific atmosphere. And I don't have a problem with the whimsical aspect of a cat "who" can read (or whatever), although I am somewhat taken aback by the pronoun in the titles, "who" as opposed to "that."

Where this and the other cat books fall a bit short is in the plotting, more specifically in the outcome or denouement. Somehow I feel empty handed as I turn the final page. Without giving away the plot, this was especially true here, in the first of the feline puzzlements. If the cat mysteries just had a better explanation of events and motives, they would be worthy of five stars.

Nonetheless, for pure reading enjoyment the cat books are way, way above most current mysteries that are about as much fun to read as watching a toenail fungus cure commercial on TV.

Rating:
Summary: Not quite there still
Review: The author has the ability, in all her cat mysteries, to meld an interesting set of characters with a realistic if rather non-specific atmosphere. And I don't have a problem with the whimsical aspect of a cat "who" can read (or whatever), although I am somewhat taken aback by the pronoun in the titles, "who" as opposed to "that."

Where this and the other cat books fall a bit short is in the plotting, more specifically in the outcome or denouement. Somehow I feel empty handed as I turn the final page. Without giving away the plot, this was especially true here, in the first of the feline puzzlements. If the cat mysteries just had a better explanation of events and motives, they would be worthy of five stars.

Nonetheless, for pure reading enjoyment the cat books are way, way above most current mysteries that are about as much fun to read as watching a toenail fungus cure commercial on TV.

Rating:
Summary: The Cat Who Captured My Heart
Review: These are light and frivolous murder mysteries. This is the first (so 1966) of the series but the publisher often refuses to identify it thus (their first listed "...Who Saw Red" is actually the 4th). The stories don't "amount to anything," but once started I can't put one down. The characters are what's so much fun. Qwilleran, a failed crime journalist and shamus manqué, is a pleasant, empathetic, inquisitive, suave, enviable sort of guy. Braun writes to a very pleasant formula that I find still enjoyable, even after realizing that each story features a different career field on which Qwill is newly assigned to report (without involving us in boring exegesis of that subject), a murdered careerist, a tool of that trade that is the murder weapon, and amusingly quirky, yet sunny, suspects one of whom will attract Qwill romantically. Then "his" Siamese cat Koko will eventually do something cat-like that will point to a vital clue (alluded to in the book's title) once Qwill, a mere human, recognizes the boon. The plot mostly consists of an entertaining string of interviews of the suspects, neighbors all, wherein one finds occasional clues, interrupted by elegant feedings of Qwill's cats (or else!). Braun provides clues to her mysteries, but you don't have to pay attention if you don't want to. These are just amazingly appealing stories, the touch of a masterful author.

Rating:
Summary: In the beginning......
Review: This is the first book in the popular Cat Who series. The book introduces readers to James Qwilleran, a once well-regarded journalist who is trying to rebuild his career and to Koko, the Siamese 'cat who'. Qwill is in no position to be picky about assignments, he considers himself fortunate to have a job at this point, but being assigned to cover the art world seems a bit of a stretch to this former crime reporter. That is until the bodies begin to pile up. Many characters are introduced that will remain for part or all of the series, most notably Art Riker Qwill's friend from childhood.

For those who are familiar with the series this is a very logical and enjoyable place to get up to speed on Qwill and Koko but beware this is more mystery and less cozy than later installments in the series. Also be advised that the setting is the big city and not the Moose County of the later books.

There has been some speculation that this series has been written by more than one author. Since this book was first published in 1966 and the series is still going strong that is entirely possible. But just like a fine restaurant we might be happier if we don't inquire too deeply into the process that brings the finished product.