The Cat Who Smelled a Rat

I've just reread The Cat Who Smelled a Rat. In it, Jim Qwilleran is still in fine mettle. This mystery, No. 23 in the "Cat Who" series, is the last one most fans will enjoy. In this book, Qwill still remembers small details from previous novels. He's still interested in the mysteries around him, and he does some active snooping around. He's still a bit of the Lothario despite himself. And he still has faith in Koko's awesome powers.

Starting with the next book, the mystery gets solved almost by accident. Qwill becomes a parody of himself, and the novels start to get worse and worse. Eventually, the books begin to get facts wrong and characters begin to act, well, out of character or just inexplicably drop out of sight. (The latter must show more be hard to do in a small town 400 miles north of anywhere.) Whether Lilian Jackson Braun, now approaching 90, has lost her touch, or whether they're being ghost-written, I leave to you to judge. But the books become just dreadful.

I recommend that readers go out on a high note and stop after No. 23. It's been a good run. show less

(4.5 / 5)

After the last couple of books seeming to have less and less of Qwilleran doing any real investigating, he shows us here what he's capable of, digging into matters, asking questions, and getting to the truth of the various calamities. Though this book brings yet another weather extremity, it doesn't affect the residents of Moose County as much as some of the previous ones did and adds suspense to the story in a way I enjoyed. And it's always more interesting when one of the locals is heavily involved in the mystery, especially as the culprit! I felt like this one was a long time coming, though I won't say any more to avoid spoilers.

What baffles me, though, is that there is a series of haikus included in the book, and not only show more do none of them follow the 5 syllables-7 syllables-5 syllables pattern, they don't even have 17 syllables in any format! I guess Braun is better at prose than she is at poetry, though it's certainly majorly out of character for Qwilleran to not make note of this or for Polly and the other judges to choose winners that aren't correct at all. Still, that's a minor quibble in the grand scheme of things. I can't believe I'm down to 6 books left in the series! I hope to find some more gems in those final books! show less

I love this series!

I can hardly believe I've finished the 23rd novel in this series. Some might say that reporters have a nose to sniff out a story but James (friends call him Qwill) Qwilleran has twitches of his salt-and-pepper mustache with help from KoKo's (short for Kao K'o Kung and one of his 2 Siamese cats) exceptional intuition. It's the time of year prior to the "Big One" otherwise known as the first huge snowstorm of the season in Pickax in Moose County and this year everyone is anxious for the storm to commence to end a serious drought that is plaguing the area with the severe dryness causing fires. As the story proceeds I was reminded of three (3) pleasures of why I am so entertained by each book.

• Qwill is planning a book show more to be entitled, "Short and Tall Tales" with each tale having a legendary quality and a Moose County connection. As the stories are obtained the tales are shared over the course of several novels and each one is an amusing treasure.
• Qwill often visits different citizens of Pickax as part of his preparations in learning about new things that become interesting topics of "Qwill’s Pen." The twice- weekly column in the local newspaper, "Moose County Something" never fails to fascinate readers sometimes even engaging them in a contest. One of his visits to an artist in this book informed of the process of batik artistry. As Qwill learns about the topic I always learn something new even if I have some familiarity with the subject.
• As Qwill is out-and-about in the neighborhood running errands, frequenting local establishments for lunch, an afternoon treat, or dinner either alone or dining with friends, he will learn of someone that needs help with their business. Often he makes quiet recommendations for the next hire which the reader realizes picks up a thread from a previous novel in the series.

As always, I look forward to reading the next adventures of Qwill, KoKo, and Yum-Yum. show less

BOTTOM LINE: an OK entry in this long series, filled with lots of folksy bits and a tiny glimmer of a sharp plot lurking in the background. Unfortunately, there's too much "folksy" and 'way too lilttle plot for my taste.

Wildfire season, arson settings, land speculation, undercover investigations, new inhabitants, and the death of an old friend, makes Qwilleran long for “The Big One” (the first snowstorm of the season) as it would mean a week of peace and quiet. And Polly’s jealousy of every woman in sight wears on Qwill’s (and our) nerves too.

Has “the usual” compliment of too many folk tales told to Qwill by old folks, lots of cute “doings” by the townsfolk, and seems to slip further and further into fluff. Yet there show more are glimmers of a really fine plot in this very slim book, especially concerning the demise of a close friend of Qwill; unfortunately this part of the story goes nowhere, with a frothy windup that ignores a good deal of the buildup, and goes for the “feel good” ending.

I’m getting tired of Qwill using his money to “make things nice” for all the good folks in Pickaxe, time after time after time. The format of these stories hasn’t changed in ten years, with the different bits seeming just plugged in, a very “templated” sort of novel. Too bad, Braun wrote three wonderful books in the 1960s and several very good ones in the early 80s, but the series has degenerated into a “nice visit with the home folks” thang only. I like keeping up with Qwill and the folks, but...

have reread this series a couple of times, this time in audio; George Guidall has narrated every book in this series, and does an excellent job with all of them, even the less entertainingly plotted ones, including this. show less

BOTTOM LINE: an OK entry in this long series, filled with lots of folksy bits and a tiny glimmer of a sharp plot lurking in the background. Unfortunately, there's too much "folksy" and 'way too lilttle plot for my taste.

Wildfire season, arson settings, land speculation, undercover investigations, new inhabitants, and the death of an old friend, makes Qwilleran long for “The Big One” (the first snowstorm of the season) as it would mean a week of peace and quiet. And Polly’s jealousy of every woman in sight wears on Qwill’s (and our) nerves too.

Has “the usual” compliment of too many folk tales told to Qwill by old folks, lots of cute “doings” by the townsfolk, and seems to slip further and further into fluff. Yet there show more are glimmers of a really fine plot in this very slim book, especially concerning the demise of a close friend of Qwill; unfortunately this part of the story goes nowhere, with a frothy windup that ignores a good deal of the buildup, and goes for the “feel good” ending.

I’m getting tired of Qwill using his money to “make things nice” for all the good folks in Pickaxe, time after time after time. The format of these stories hasn’t changed in ten years, with the different bits seeming just plugged in, a very “templated” sort of novel. Too bad, Braun wrote three wonderful books in the 1960s and several very good ones in the early 80s, but the series has degenerated into a “nice visit with the home folks” thang only. I like keeping up with Qwill and the folks, but...

have reread this series a couple of times, this time in audio; George Guidall has narrated every book in this series, and does an excellent job with all of them, even the less entertainingly plotted ones, including this. show less

A new neighbor moves in. Fires are starting near the old shafthouses. A murder. And everyone is waiting for the Big One to blow in. All the usual stuff.

On the one hand, this book includes the only time I can remember Braun actually calling Qwill Polly's boyfriend. On the other hand, he teases her in some rather unpleasant ways, even more than usual. A light mystery as usual, but not among the best of the series.

It was a interesting book. Unlike the last three books I had read in the series I really had no guess on who killed those three men and was setting all those brush fires. So I shall give the author props on keeping the reader guessing until the very end. She wraps everything that has happened in the book all together in the very last chapter, if you ask me in most books like that would seem like it was too quick and easy making it feel rushed to be done with and making the reader wish it was stretched out just a little bit more to make the ending better but Braun does a very nice job at making quickly ending the book in this fashion and make it seem not so bad. It ends clean and easy like all books should do.