The Cat Who Saw Red

This book has a delightful twist: the murderer is easy to uncover; it's the proof that's difficult to come by! I'd figured out everything early on, including the modus operandi, but still enjoyed this light read. Koko and Yum Yum are fast becoming favourite characters of mine!
This book is among the early ones in the story and it lacks some of the finesse of other books, but Qwill is becoming a clear star and coming into form. I definitely enjoyed the incursion into the pottery and gourmet worlds!
It's a refreshing read, perfect for relaxing.

18 years passed between the publication of the previous book in the series and this one. Released in 1986, The Cat Who Saw Red still has kind of a 70's vibe to it.

This time, Qwill's beat was ... gourmet food. Although he's gained some weight and is trying to diet, he is given the plumb assignment of sampling the best restaurants in the area, with the newspaper footing the bill. For his first article, Qwill visits Maus Haus, which is a kind of rooming house/commune for people involved with food; and it also contains a working pottery where, to his surprise, he runs into his former flame. As has been his MO, Qwill moves in to Maus Haus, his fourth home in as many books. Unsurprisingly, there is soon a mystery that needs solving: two of show more the Maus Haus residents go missing and Qwill and the cats smell a rat.

Braun didn't seem to have as much fun with the pretensions of the gourmet food world as she did with previous subjects (art, interior design, antiques) although this would seem to be a rich area for mockery; and the theme is somewhat diluted by the whole pottery business.

A few more tidbits about Qwill's life were revealed - he is (still!) 46. He grew up in Chicago and almost married a woman named Joy Wheatley, who broke his heart. We learn that his ex-wife was ambitious and came from a wealthy family. A few characters from previous books make brief appearances including Arch Riker and photographer Odd Bunsen who, we learn, is soon to the become the proud father of his 7th child!

We see some promising character development: Qwill has grown. Instead of chasing the cute young woman in residence, he begins dating the lovely Rosemary who is close to his own age, and he seems to appreciate the contentment he experiences with her. Will she make it to the next book? We'll see!

Originally published: 1986

Body Count: 3 Joy the potter; William the house boy; and an unnamed cat

Preceded by: The Cat Who Turned on and Off

Next Up: The Cat Played Brahms show less

Former crime reporter Jim Qwilleran starts a new diet just before he's made the newspaper's first ever gourmet reporter. In typical Qwill fashion, he immerses himself in the culture by moving into a boarding house where the owner is a gourmet chef and requires all boarders to have some sort of connection to food. Part of the reason for moving there (okay, maybe most of the reason) is that Qwill's old flame lives there, and when she disappears, he starts to question if foul play is involved. Still, she's always been flighty, as Qwill knows well enough. Then a houseboy vanishes, and Qwill kicks his investigation into high gear.

My experience with this book is probably a bit tainted by the fact that I've read it before, many years ago. It's show more actually one I remember most from whichever ones of this series I read when I was younger. So that being said, I really liked the story and the mystery, even though I was pretty sure I knew what was going on the entire time. Because even with that past experience, I couldn't quite decide for sure if my theory was correct or not. In the end, the mystery was interesting and maybe even a bit more sensational than normal for this series.

I always enjoy the antics that the cats get up to, and this book was no exception for me. Qwill even has a bit of a scare involving them, and it's very touching to see his reaction. One particular side character amused me quite a bit too, even down to a comical description of the car that he drives. I only wish there would have been more of him. Overall, this was an entertaining read that I do believe beat out the previous to be my favorite in the series so far. I would recommend this book for fans of the classic whodunit & cozy mystery genres. show less

Journalist and amateur detective James Qwilleran is assigned a plum job reviewing restaurants and despite his new diet he begins making reservations. At his first assignment, an informal invite-only dinner in a commune-like mansion, Qwill runs into an old flame. Joy conveys her desire to leave her husband and Qwill loans her the money to hire a lawyer. Nearly immediately after, she disappears, and loathe to believe she's run off with his check, Qwill insists something sinister has happened and begins to investigate, as always with invaluable assistance from his Siamese, Koko.

These are cute books, but I'm getting a little tired of Qwill's treatment of women. He's got a new love interest in every book, which with a male author I'd show more characterize as wish-fulfillment, but it's almost distasteful coming from a woman writer. Also, the mystery's conclusion is glimpsed a long way off.
However, the fun cast of characters make the book worthwhile as does the brilliance of our friend Koko, the true hero of these tales. show less

This is an amusing book. I appreciated that it aged better than the earlier two books in the series I read. (Mostly the other two books seemed to be more outdated as regards gender roles and stereotypes. This one seemed better.) I was also amused by the fact that the murder in this murder mystery, while it happens pretty early on in the novel, isn't truly announced until the end.

This is a solid installment in a fun series. Not a keeper book for me, but worth the read. For such a short novel, however, it took me a long time to finish it! Still, it was a lot of fun, and while I doubt any of the minor characters in this novel will be returning in future books (much though I would enjoy further character development for some of them) it was show more good to see more of the secondary characters at Qwill's newspaper. show less

Welcome back to the world of Koko, Yum Yum, and Qwill. There was a long hiatus between the third book and this one. This book is one of my favorites. Like Qwill, I love food but need to lose weight. Fortunately, my little dog doesn't put his paws on the scale, unlike Koko "assistance" with Qwill.

The mystery was good and played fair with the reader -- we had the chance to solve the mystery along with Qwill. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Highly recommended for fans of cozy mysteries. While it can be read as a stand-alone, as with most cozy mysteries, more background is gained by reading the earlier books first.

Book on CD read by George Guidall

This is book four in a delightful cozy mystery series starring newspaper reporter Jim Qwilleran and his two Siamese - Koko and Yum Yum. As the novel opens, Qwill has started a new diet, which is complicated when he’s assigned to write a new gourmet column for the paper. He starts by attending a gourmet club meeting at Maus Haus, the home of an attorney, where he meets an old flame.

This is an entertaining series with a very likeable main character who is appropriately nosy, given his journalism background. His relationship with his cats is nicely portrayed without being overly saccharine. Of course, Koko, in particular, does seem to have a knack for helping Quill solve the cases – he can even type! show more

Braun includes a large cast of suspects, acquaintances, and passers by. Maus Haus is a sort of boarding house catering to the arts community, and it seems that everyone is in everyone else’s business. That certainly complicates Qwill’s efforts at finding the truth. Still, for all that, the action is somewhat slow. People go missing, and odd things happen, but no one is concerned but Qwill and the police are never involved.

George Guidall does a satisfactory job of reading the audiobook. I was not a big fan of the quality of his voice, however. I read about a third of it in text as that was faster. show less