The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern

This series is my go-to for dumb reading. But this early entry was unusually interesting, and without some of the tics that accumulate in the later part of the series. Qwilleran is assigned to a home decor supplement, but the weekly assignments seem to lead to burglary and death. This is back when Q was still working, still living in a city, and just in the process of acquiring his cats. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

Book on CD performed by George Guidall

Book two in the “Cat Who” cozy mystery series, starring journalist James Qwilleran and his Siamese Koko. Much to his chagrin, Qwill has been assigned to write pieces for a new interior design magazine insert for the Fluxion. There’s a tight deadline so he asks a couple of leading interior designers for a lead and goes to the home of a wealthy jade collector and his invalid wife. The home itself is interesting, but the jade collection is spectacular. Unfortunately, right after the story is published there is a burglary at the featured abode, and the wife dies of an apparent heart attack. Qwilleran doesn’t believe the article – or a stranger – was to blame and he begins to look into show more things.

I like this series, set in an unnamed northern-midwest city (possibly in Michigan, which is where the author lived). I like the way Qwill ferrets out information, and how he’s beginning to notice that his cat is quite astute. Love the dictionary game they play! The plot is full of twists and turns, as well as a colorful assortment of characters, good and bad. Photographer Odd Bunsen is an able sidekick.

I also like that Braun doesn’t anthropomorphize Koko. He’s a cat and behaves like a cat, though he has an uncanny ability to provide clues – like coughing up a bit of fabric, or insisting that Qwill retrieve his toy mouse from under a piece of furniture, where the journalist happens to also find a single gold earring.

I also like that the time frame is before internet or cell phones and old-fashioned detecting is required to solve the case. Qwill’s journalism background provides a great framework.

George Guidall does a reasonably good job of performing the audio. There’s something about his delivery though … perhaps he sounds jaded or bored? … that initially put me off, but once I let myself focus on the plot I didn’t notice this so much. show less

I enjoyed this book, but I did have a hard time taking parts of it seriously. Yes, being a cat mystery, I've suspended disbelief when it comes to the super-smart cat helping with the murder investigation. But I can't easily get past the out-dated gender stereotypes, and the mustache getting credit for the main character's intuition is getting annoying instead of charming.

On the other hand, I do enjoy the wide range of colorful characters portrayed in the novel (and the series), and the cats are wonderful. (Especially since we have now met Yum-Yum. The cats are the reason I first picked dup this series long ago - I'm a G&S fan, so having cats named Koko and Yum-Yum was irresistible.)

But, I did know who did it before it was revealed. (I show more just realized, though, one of the mystery aspects was only kinda explained. Hmm.) At least, I knew who did part of it. The other part wasn't really related, but I was expecting it to be in order to tie things up neatly. (Instead things were tied up neatly on one front and quickly - therefore without much explanation - on the other front.) (Yikes, discussing the resolution of a murder mystery without spoilers is difficult!)

Anyway, it's a solid story, though a bit dated, and it has awesome cats. It's a solid three stars, but I don't think I can give it more than that in the modern era. show less

A fun mystery with Mr. Jim Qwilleran or just Qwill to his friends moving away from coverage of the art world and delving into the world of interior design. Absolutely hysterical as Qwill learns that one "never call draperies drapes." Then there's the star of Qwill's world, the ever-handsome, ever-wonderous brilliant Siamese Koko and how Koko orchestrates the arrival of a special new resident to share their living quarters.

I have read some of these mysteries "out of order" but to enjoy learning the backdrop/history of Qwill and characters adds a special delight to the reading pleasure of this series!

In this second pleasant outing in the Cat Who series, reporter Jim Qwilleran enters the world of interior design to solve a mystery involving foppish designers, jade, suspicious coincidences, and mysterious deaths. Meanwhile, his magnificent Siamese cat Koko develops a taste for a certain fabric, and acquires a girlfriend as well. Originally published in 1967, this quick read is dated, but still entertaining.

Former crime reporter Jim Qwilleran is ready to get off the art beat, though he doesn't expect to move on to interior design. But the work isn't boring, when the first subject of the newspaper's new interior design magazine is burglarized, and there's even a death involved. And it won't be the last death in the interior design world.

The first full adventure of Koko and Qwill has a lot of charm, as Qwill takes to cat ownership with aplomb. Koko's antics lead Qwill to question whether the cat is somehow psychic or it's all just a big coincidence. The interactions between man and cat are always my favorite thing about the books in this series. And now we have Yum Yum to add to the fun in future books.

The mystery itself was better done than show more the first book, in my opinion. I was more interested in it and felt I had a chance of solving it. I didn't, not really, but there was at least one crime I had pretty much figured out correctly.

In my review for the first book, I mentioned the male chauvinism, which is still present in this book, but not as heartily. Unless you count Odd Bunsen, a married father of six, who makes somewhat suggestive comments about other women all throughout this book. But hey, at least he only talks about looking, and nothing more...a distinction I'm sure his wife would appreciate.

Overall, it was a fun read, and I would recommend this book for fans of the classic whodunit & cozy mystery genres. show less

I needed something to read that was a classic cozy mystery, so what better than The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern, published in 1967? There is a simplicity to the novel's era that defies words. The books tended to be more episodic; you could read the second book in a series without having to remember everything that happened in the first book. The part that wasn't simple was the solution to the mystery. While the author played fair, I didn't put all the clues together before Qwill.

This mystery involved jade, one of my favorite stones. Our intrepid reporter is assigned to cover the world of interior decorating in the local area. Of course, murder happens, and it is up to Qwill to solve it. I was fascinated by the storyline while being amused show more at the various names of colors used for decorating.

If you enjoy mysteries, this is a fun one. show less