Book Review- The Cat Who Books by Lillian Jackson Braun

Image: Amazon

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Have you ever read "The Cat Who Books?"  These sweetly wonderful little mysteries were written by Lillian Jackson Braun.  She wrote the first 3 in the 1960's - at the same time she was a career woman, working for a Midwestern Newspaper.  Publishers were not thrilled with her books at the time, because they did not feature enough sex and violence for the prevailing cultural climate.

In the 1980's, she decided to revisit The Cat Who books, and see if maybe there was a demand.. and thus began a sweetly wonderful set of mystery books.

The first three books were set in an urban area in an undisclosed Mid-Western City.  The hero of the story, Jim Qwilleran, was a down on his luck newspaper reporter who was trying to find a new lease on life.  His luck begins to change with his association with the intelligent Koko, and later with the adoption of sweet little YumYum - both Siamese Cats who were adopted under tragic circumstances.

Image: Amazon

In the second iteration of the books, Qwill has inherited the Klingenshoen Fortune.  The fortune came to him with one stipulation, that he live in Moose County - located 500 miles north of everywhere.
The adventures that follow him in Moose County are whimsical - as only small town life can be - and filled with mysteries as he unravels the various tragedies and travesties that seem to follow him into his new life.

Familiar faces make repeat appearances in the books, and become welcome characters that you enjoy watching grow and change over the course of the books.  Lori Bamba- cat whisperer extraordinaire, and her husband Nick figure throughout all the books.  Arch Riker follows Qwill from the urban hell down below and becomes a prominent player in Qwill's life in the North Country.  With each of the cast of characters making repeated appearances in the books, you find yourself coming home to a wonderful place in time each time you open a book.

I always find that a part of me yearns to find Moose County and move there myself.  Of course, I live in my own variation of Moose County - a rural community in Maryland - and we do have our own unique cast of characters that inhabit our daily lives and routines.  I think we all have that cast of characters, but I think they stand out more in small towns than they do in large urban areas.

Braun passed away in 2011 at the age of 97.  (Think about that - 97!)
She wrote 29 Cat Who books.  She worked for the Detroit Free Press for much of her life - and her love of newspapering shows through in her portrayal of Qwill's character.