The Cat Who Went Underground

What an absolute delight to spend reading time with favorite characters Jim Qwilleran with Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum. Jim thinks a little retreat to his log cabin in Moose County will soothe his restlessness as he's missing his friend and head librarian at Pickax, Polly Duncan. Polly has traveled to England for the summer as part of an exchange program so his favorite dinner companion and conversationalist (other than friend Arch Riker) is not available. Being at the log cabin for the summer will also allow for dinners with Riker.

Leaving Pickax in a restless state with a refrigerator on the fritz (no ice cubes!) Jim thinks the cabin will provide the soothing time he'd like to enjoy this summer. Little does he know that more than show more just appliances can need repair in an old log cabin. I found the repair process with Glinko's hysterical at times and at other times could commiserate with Jim's experiences calling for repair assistance. It definitely adds to the smiles of this tale.

I rarely enjoy the review blurbs on the front covers of a novel but this time the Chicago Sun-Times description is purrfect ~

"The mix of crime and cats {is] catnip to readers who like both."

I heartily agree. show less

(3.5 / 5)

This wasn’t my favorite book in the series, but it still has the charm that I’m used to from the series. Though Koko did, indeed, go underground, and that did play a big part in the story’s mystery, that cats weren’t terribly involved overall. That wasn’t really what led to the lower score, though, as the mystery itself wasn’t quite as interesting as it has been in other books. It didn’t help that Qwill speculated something that might have seemed wild at the time early in the book, and that turned out to be the truth. It might have been better for it to have been more of a surprise later.

Still, I actually enjoyed the fact that, though Qwill normally prefers a simple life and doesn’t have much use for money for show more himself, he definitely relied on it, and quickly, every time something went wrong with the cabin. I also liked the starting up of the human interest column I knew he would be writing for much of the series and the various ways Qwill is still getting used to this northern, wilder environment. Though this one didn’t stand out to me as much as others have, I enjoy the overall story and characters and look forward to continuing the series. show less

Like most of the Cat Who books that I've read so far, the vast majority of the book is vague premonitions of a crime to come (or conspicuous hints of a crime that has already occurred) with all of the action, adventure, and intrigue occurring in one of the final few chapters with the resolution immediately to follow. This is a mystery just the way I like it. I love all the build-up and casual world-building in this series, that has little focus on what genre it is actually part of.

Qwill decides to take the cats out to the Klingenschoen cabin on the lake for the summer. Unfortunately, the place is falling apart around him. Various tradespeople tromp through the house and a couple turn up missing. Who's murdering local carpenters?
This is the first one of these books that I guessed the murderer far, far ahead of time. I also wasn't a fan of the author's tendency to kill young family men who are either just about to get married or just about to have a baby. I need to stop investing any emotion in any character in these books who isn't Qwill or the cats.

I�Ûªve read many reviews of ‰ÛÏThe Cat Who‰Û_‰Û books where people complain about the character James Qwilleran, but I‰Ûªve never found him unlikeable, just human. Maybe Qwill and I have been spending too much together lately, but in this 9th outing, he got on my nerves a bit.

As the novel opens, Qwill has decided to load Koko and YumYum into their traveling picnic hamper and leave Pickaxe to spend some time at the Klingenschoen cabin by the lake in Moose County. Once there, despite the beauty of his surroundings he proceeded to piss and moan and generally be useless about all the little things that needed to be done to ‰ÛÏrough it‰Û in the luxurious cabin. Maybe all that money show more is going to his head. Maybe he‰Ûªs grouchy and horny because Polly was away in England for the summer. Whatever, he was just annoying. Sorry but I unapologetically prefer a man who knows how to check the damn pilot light, can hammer a nail, and isn‰Ûªt freaked out by a few spiders.

As a rule I don‰Ûªt mind the leisurely pace of these novels, but this one seemed to have even less forward momentum than usual. The mystery took quite a while to solidify, and the solution was both far-fetched and sad.

All in all, not my favorite but I‰Ûªm sure Qwill and the cats will be back in my good graces with the next installment.

Originally published: 1989

Body Count: 6 5 carpenters (bludgeoned by a serial killer who is the alter ego of a female plumber); the larcenous Captain Phlogg from the antique store (alcoholism)

Preceded by: The Cat Who Sniffed Glue

Next Up: The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts show less

Another good book in The Cat Who series. Koko helps Qwill solve yet another pesky set of several murders all while Qwill is trying to relax at his summer cottage. Not quite the relaxing summer he was expecting ... contractors keep disappearing or ending up dead, UFOs appear, home repairs keep cropping up which means more calls to the local fix-it network, neighbors galore, and Qwill and friends get stranded on a deserted island during an epic storm. All's well that ends well and Qwill heads back home to relax from all his relaxation!

good old Quill!

Jim Qwilleran packs up his old kit bag and his two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum, for a sun-and-fun summer at his log cabin in Moose County. Their vacation starts out ominously with the disappearance of a handyman hired to patch up Qwilleran's cabin. But the felines really start throwing catfits when they come across a dead body or two...A serial killer may be right under Koko's nose, and now this ingenious Siamese must dig deeper to clear poor Qwilleran of suspicion--and dig up the motive for a catastrophic crime.