A Little Background: I came across my first Cat Who mystery at the library. I read a few of these books and enjoyed them but was not exactly obsessed until I found The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, the very first of the Cat Who mysteries published in 1966. I was hooked. Since then I have searched out every Cat Who title at each book sale I came across. There is nothing better than catching up with old friends which is what it feels like when you read these books by Lilian Jackson Braun.
Book Description: The Cat Who Could Read Backwards
The very first in a series of appealing mysteries featuring James Qwilleran. The story opens with hardnosed investigative reporter Qwilleran interviewing for a job at the Daily Fluxion. He is about to be hired as a reporter digging up assignments focusing on art but not as a critic, the paper already has a controversial one. The editor points out that We’ll want you to get around on the beat, meet a lot of artists, shake a few hands, make friends for the paper. Qwilleran can see his future turning into this headline: Journalist Sinks to Role of Glad-hander. It’ll be a nice clean beat, he’s assured and you’ll meet some decent people for a change. You’ve probably had your fill of mobsters and con men. As it turns out, his childhood friend Arch Riker is the features editor and after a good long talk over corned beef sandwiches, Qwilleran accepts the position. Thus begins our ascent into the Cat Who mysteries. In this story we will meet a lot of interesting and irascible characters, we find out how a very imperious Siamese named Kao K’o-Kung comes to share in Qwill’s life, oh, and along the way we solve a murder or two. This “fluff” assignment turns out to be anything but as Qwill will come to realize.
Book Description: The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers
Have you ever tried to count your cat’s whiskers? I have and it can be a treacherous feat as most cats don’t like to be held for more than 5 seconds, at least that’s how my feline feels about it. It’s akin to clipping his nails or having a bath. Dangerous territory so I like to leave it up to the professionals, groomers that is.In this 29th outing of the Cat Who series, things are changing in Pickax and not all for the better. Nothing stays the same forever and life after all is about ebb and flow. But one constant and glorious advantage to small town living is being able to know your neighbor. The memorable characters that populate Pickax, 400 miles north of everywhere, are what draw you to the series. But there is change on the horizon.
A new senior center is up and coming, a playful production of Cats is in the works, Polly Duncan is off to Paris with no sign of returning soon, and then there is the mysterious death from a bee sting that leaves the town startled. Koko had predicted the disaster. Is it because he has sixty whiskers, a few more than the ordinary feline? Even more importantly, can it be that Qwill has a new love interest?
This story is a little disjointed when compared to Braun’s previous outings but then we have yet to see the publication of the follow up The Cat Who Smelled Smoke. Perhaps a wrap up would have been provided, alas, we will never know as the publisher Putnam put the kibosh on the book’s publication. It has left us all sadly hanging by a whisker.
About the Author:
Lilian Jackson Braun is not without a little mystery herself. Born in 1913, Braun published three Cat Who novels to significant acclaim between 1966 and 1968 and then mysteriously disappeared. The author was reintroduced to the public in 1986 with a string of best sellers to keep amateur sleuths sated. The series is lighthearted and Braun attributes her success to the fact that “people are simply tired of all the blood.” What turned out to be her last book The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers was published in 2007. Braun’s next work The Cat Who Smelled Smoke was ultimately cancelled by the publisher Putnam. No word as to why.Braun was the "Good Living" editor of The Detroit Free Press for 29 years. She lives with two Siamese cats and her husband, Earl Bettinger, in North Carolina. Each of her books is dedicated to "Earl Bettinger the husband who..."
Just for Fun: If I could give a face to James Qwilleran it would be Tom Selleck. Here is a side by side comparison of Braun’s Cat Who protagonist and the actor Tom Selleck.
James "Qwill" Qwilleran
Height: 6’1”
Weight: average to slightly overweigh
Age: 40s-mid 50’s
Outstanding Feature: luxuriant moustache
Occupation: journalist and amateur sleuth
Tom Selleck
Height: 6'4"
Weight: Looks just right to me!
Age: 65 (65 is the new 55)
Outstanding Feature: Luxuriant moustache
Occupation: actor, played detective on TV
I rest my case!
