The Cat Who Brought Down the House

Another fantastic Cat Who book! This edition finds Qwill and the kitties 400 miles north of everywhere and interested in the newest Pickax community member ... or actually, one of its oldest returning community members. Thelma Thackeray returns to Pickax from Hollywood where she ran several successful eateries after trying her hand at the big screen in her early years. She has returned to live on Pleasant Street to try to help out her nephew now that her brother, his father, has passed away. She decides to open a theater showing old films in the defunct old opera house. The nephew is less than a stellar individual and smiles far too much and Qwill and others are concerned about Thelma, especially after the kidnapping of her beloved show more parrots. Of course all the regulars are featured, Polly, Arch, Mildred, Bushy, and many others in Pickax and of course the beautiful siamese, Koko and Yum Yum are featured throughout. How will things turn out in this edition of The Cat Who...? I suggest you take the time to read and find out for yourself! 📚 show less

I don't think anyone reads the recent Lilian Jackson Braun "Cat Who" books for the gripping mystery or suspense. Long time fans of the earlier books might read them simply to check in with characters so well written that they feel like friends and neighbours. That's why I recently acquired this book and spent a lovely day outside reading it. It felt a bit like a holiday, reading up on what everyone in Moose County is doing and hearing about the latest exploits of Koko and Yum-Yum. I've never been a big fan of Quill's significant other, Polly, but even so, it was a nice trip "400 miles north of everywhere".

(playaway audio edition) insipid story about a bachelor living (by choice???) with two cats named Koko and Yum-yums(!!!???!?!?!!?!!WTF). I had to throw this away (figuratively speaking, it was a library copy) out of pure distaste when he started writing poems to save the kittens in the shelter from euthanasia. Anyone that's ever had anything to do with shelters will tell you the problem is NOT a lack of people who care about kittens, it's that there are just TOO MANY KITTENS to begin with. Would not recommend this to anyone with a brain, but if you happen to adore cats with dumb names and just want some noise to listen to, go right ahead.

This is a 4 star book if you're looking for something very light, predictable, and comforting. I went through a phase years ago, where I read most of this series. At some point, I decided to move on. Fast forward, I needed a small, light book for a trip, and this was on the book donation shelf. I grabbed it, and thoroughly enjoyed it. No blood, no gore, no cursing, good guys are good, bad guys are bad...Sometimes you need a book just like this. It's comfortable, just like warm fuzzy slippers.

Koko is once again on the case!

Thelma Thackeray is returning to her hometown, Pickax, after living in glamourous Hollywood for 55 years. One of a set of twins, offspring of Milo Thackeray the potato king. She is coming back to live the end of her life where she grew up. She has bought one of the select old homes on Pleasant Street and has plans for the old Opera House building. Life seems good.

Thelma is a little more splashy than the locals, wearing unusual hats, the owner of 5 African Grey parrots and wearing fine but colourful clothes. But she is delighted to be back.

Her twin brother, Thurston, had become the local veterinarian but had since sold his practice and retired. The thing is he had died in a hiking 'accident' a year or so show more ago. He left a son, Dick, who was going to help his Auntie Thelma with her project.

While Qwill is learning the history and getting to know Thelma and the people with her, he keeps getting the feeling that there is something else going on. Koko seems to know it too and keeps trying to give Qwill clues.

Like others in this series, I enjoy the fast read and the characters. Koko and Yum Yum are always great to read about, and learning more about some of the citizens of Pickax is interesting. show less

I used to love Cat Who books. They were never very good mysteries, but I liked the characters. Sadly, they became worse over time and this book is a pointless shambles. The publishers should be ashamed to put this out. If you want to try a Cat Who, pick one of the first ten she wrote.

While the whodunit in this book was pretty obvious from the beginning, I still enjoyed listening to it in the car.