The Cat Who Went into the Closet (1993)

Another enjoyable mystery. Qwill was a bit of a curmudgeon with kids. ( )

I liked it but not as well as I did the first one I had read, it was the 6th one I believe. This was the 15th book in the series and since I have only read the 6th book before this one because it was lent to me by a friend, I do not have all of them in the series to read. didn't read any of the others between the 6th book and the 15th it was a bit confusing for me. It's one of those series you have to reading order to really understand what is going on, but it's not so much so that you still can read them out of order and still be able to keep up with what's going on, but it helps to read them in order.

Qwill moves into the Gage mansion for the winter and thanks to Koko he unexpectedly finds himself questioning the death of the previous, Mrs. Gage and a local potato farmer that went missing and is later found shot. So he goes searching for the truth and what he finds is just down right conspiracy and fraud. Qwill has a hunch that Mrs. Gage's death is no accident so he enlist the help of her friend and neighbor and her grandson, Clayton to help find the evidence that Qwill needs to put away the Mrs. Gage's murder. The murders turn out to be the owners of the retirement home the she was living at. ( )

Qwill's moved into the old Gage mansion--and the cats are on a treasure hunt! The house's fifty closets are crammed with several generations of junk, and while Qwill investigates two recent deaths--those of the mansion's former occupant and a local potato farmer--Koko investigates the contents of the closets. Qwill and the cats are unearthing some suprising skeletons--and bringing long-buried secrets to light...

Qwill is spending winter in Gage mansion, which is full of closets, full of stuff. Koko pulls clues from the closets. Euphonia dies, “suicide”, and Qwill’s curiosity is aroused. Gil disappears, and Nancy gets help from Qwill. More suspicion when they discover the Gage estate is nearly bankrupt. With Celia, Clayton, and the cat’s help, Qwill solves the mystery. While Euphonia’s husband was in prison for 2 years (investment fraud), she had an affair and a child. Lena Foot (AKA Lethe Gage) was the child. She paid the Foot family; later hired Lena until she died of cancer; then Foot family told Gil the story and he blackmailed Euphonia., and so Nancy is Junior’s cousin. Euphonia got conned out of her wealth by Betty and Claude, the managers of the FL retirement community. They killed Gil to “help” Euphonia. Qwill (with Hixie) gives dramatization of “The Big Burning of 1869” throughout. Mildred and Arch get married on Christmas Eve. Qwill, via K Foundation, buys up Goodwinter Blvd to found a Jr. College. Junior has a daughter. Qwill dislikes all encounters with children at dramatizations and as Santa Claus. ( )

A suicide, a murder, a funeral, and a wedding - and a stage production, a snowstorm, a dogsled team, and a Christmas parade.

This is a typical Cat Who book, with lots of everyday things happening while Qwill (and Koko) investigate something that just doesn't seem right. Fun story, fun characters, overall a quick, enjoyable read. ( )