The Cat Who Played Post Office (1987)

Nothing is like it seems and Pickax is not a quiet little town 400 miles north of everywhere. Qwill soon finds out that the town has dirty little secrets and some are quite dangerous to investigate.

The overall plot is interesting if somewhat thin but that's expected in this series but since it's early days in Moose County, the gallery of characters I came to love are just paper thin dolls in this instalment.

We meet or get to know more the infamous Amanda Goodwinter, shop owner and designer; her cousin Melinda Goodwinter, the young doctor Qwill is dating; Junior Goodwinter, the young journalist of the Pickax only newspaper; the Goodwinter lawyer siblings : Penelope and Alexander; Chef Brodie; his daughter Franceska; Mrs Cobbs is welcomed back into the fold and Arch Riker, Qwill ex-editor from Down Below also visits.

Lots of characters that only pass through the story not really feeding it, just mostly doing figuration. Which is not what I remember from later titles in the series but I might be mistaking. The late titles have a reverse problems: no plot and only quirky characters passing through. I'm hoping my memories of the middle books are not just embellished memories. ( )

This was my first foray into Ms. Braun's world of Jim Qwilleran and his two Siamese cats. The fact that they were named for the Lord High Executioner and his ward was a plus. Q has received a large inheritance contingent on his living for five years in beautiful downtown Pickax. He's settling in and meeting the neighbors, getting things taken care of. He notices the apparent disappearance of a lower-class young woman who once worked for his predecessor.

This isn't a standard murder mystery, in that the fact of the murder takes a long time to be recognized. It nags at Q's mind as he settles into his routine in his new mansion, and people to whom he talks about it turn up dead.

The style is light and supports the tone of the book, which is quite breezy. Q is a serious and quick thinker who also takes hints from his cats. Nothing to get excited about, but an enjoyable, easy read. ( )

Ayant hérité d'une fabuleuse fortune, Jim Qwilleran part s'installer avec ses deux chats siamois, Kao K'o Kung dit Koko et Yom Yom, dans une résidence de grand luxe de la petite ville de Pickax.

Toujours curieux, Qwilleran s'intéresse à la disparition d'une jeune soubrette qui vivait là cinq ans plus tôt, et Koko doit exercer son flair pour mettre Qwilleran sur la bonne voie. Accessoirement, Koko apprend à jouer du piano. Ensemble, ils vont découvrir les scandaleux secrets qui couvent au sein des familles les plus respectables de la ville. Mais attention aux conséquences ! ( )

https://sites.google.com/a/toonen.org/www/readers-advisory/06--The Cat Who Played Post Office.doc ( )