The Cat Who Smelled a Rat

The Cat Who... #23

by Lilian Jackson Braun

Philanthropist James Quilleran and his crime-solving cats investigate the murders of a volunteer fire-watcher and a local curling champ as a mysterious crime wave engulfs the town of Pickax.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Cats, Animals, Cozy, Mystery Thriller

293 pages, Hardcover

First published January 29, 2001

About the author

Lilian Jackson Braun was an American writer. She is well-known for her light-hearted series of The Cat Who... mystery novels. The Cat Who books center around the life of former newspaper reporter James Qwilleran, and his two Siamese cats, KoKo and Yum Yum in the fictitious small town of Pickax located in Moose County, "400 miles north of everywhere." Although never formally stated in the books, the towns, counties and lifestyles described in the series are generally accepted to be a modeled after Bad Axe, Michigan (located in the "Michigan Thumb") where she resided with her husband for many years until the mid 1980's. Many also believe that the culture and history of the Upper peninsula of Michigan are represented in the series as well, which is quite possible as it is indeed a fictitious location.

Lilian Jackson Braun began her writing career as a teenager, contributing sports poetry for the Detroit News. She later began working as an advertising copywriter for many of Detroit's department stores. After that stint, she worked at the Detroit Free Press as the "Good Living" editor for 30 years. She retired from the Free Press in 1978.

Between 1966 and 1968, she published three novels to critical acclaim: The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern and The Cat Who Turned On and Off. In 1966, The New York Times labeled Braun, "the new detective of the year." The rising mystery author disappeared from the publishing scene for 18 years. The blame came from the fact that mystery novels were starting to focus on sex, violence, and foul language, and Braun's light-hearted books were not welcome in this new territory. It wasn't until 1986 that the Berkley Publishing Group reintroduced Braun to the public with the publication of an original paperback, The Cat Who Saw Red. Within two years, Berkeley released four new novels in paperback and reprinted the three mysteries from the sixties. Braun's series became an instant best seller once again. In January 2007 the twenty-ninth novel in the series, The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers, was released in hardcover by the Penguin Group.

Not much was really known about Braun, as she prefered to keep her private life that way. For years, publishers have given inaccurate accounts of her year of birth, which has remained unknown until she openly acknowledged her age in an interview for the Detroit News in January 2005.

Reviews

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 of 5 stars to Lilian Jackson Braun's novel, The Cat Who Smelled a Rat, the 23rd entry in the "Cat Who" mystery series. Koko and Yum Yum are at it again in this cute cozy about arson, explosions and murder.

When this was published in 2001, the writer was almost 90 years old. She'd written a marvelous set of books all about a cozy little town up in the mountains of Moose County, 400 miles north of everywhere... basically on the Canadian border near the Great Likes, but on the US side. And she continued to write another 7 books in the last decade of her life before she passed away just before her 97th birthday. She was a bit of a recluse in the last 15 years, probably a bit sick from time to time. Many suspect a team of writers finished the books for her in the later years, but that's only what I've read on the interwebs. I get all my news from there.



This book is your normal cozy... some good parts, some bad parts... the charm is in the characters and the town, less about the mystery with her books. You really get to know everyone, the history and all the core families, so it's more like reading about a good friend. You can forgive a less than stellar story when you're happy to be around people you like.

That said, the mystery has some fun with the "rats" and the "cats" this time. Always good antics.... but the best is the main character, Qwill. I wish I could meet him in real life. But if you must know, it really is the cats that solve the crime. Every time.



About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.

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[Joy Gerbode · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun mystery ..

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read two or three of The Cat Who books, and for the life of me, I don't know what keeps me reading to the end. The characters are flat, the plots busy and erratic, the mood lazy and relaxed. In the surreal, sentimental world of Pickax, Moose County, nobody even seems to mind much about murder--nobody, that is, except the protagonist's obnoxious Siamese, "the cat who" yowls when someone in town meets on untimely end.

And yet, with over thirty books to her credit, Lillian Jackson Braun clearly has an audience. The Cat Who books fill a niche. And while I for one am not likely to read the whole series, I can see the appeal. Like other "cozies," Ms. Braun's books may be just the thing when real life offers suspense enough and you're simply not in the mood for blood, sex, and grim reality.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up
Fun series, KoKo and YumYum rock!

[Alex Luhtjarv · Rating 2 out of 5]

My grandfather read all of these books religiously in the last years of his life and I picked this book up for nostalgia and as a palate cleanser after some more serious reads. I anticipated this to be a short read, as it came in just over 200 pages, but it felt denser than that given the sheer amount of characters introduced over the course of the story. I spent a good deal of this book not knowing what was going on. I wonder if this would be alleviated if I had been a regular reader of the series, and the cast of characters would just become part of the background, but I had trouble keeping up. There also was a resolution - very tidy, but it was conveniently rushed and exposed only late. Overall, it achieved the goal of being light and airy and getting me ready to move onto another school year.

[itchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

the haiku selection are quaint, but the folk songs just rock

this temporarily concludes my cat who adventures since i don't have the next book yet
i guess the bon mot is a bientot

[Tommy Verhaegen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Moose County gaat gebukt onder de droogte. Het risico op grote branden wordt steeds groter. Daarom kijkt iedereen uit naar de komst van de "Big One". De eerste 3 dagen sneeuw die alles wel onder een laag van 3 meter kan bedelven en daarmee de gevaren van de droogte te niet doet.
Terwijl iedereen zo voorzichtig mogelijk doet en polite, brandweer en vrijwilligers alles in het oog houden gaat er een brandstichter aan het werk. Er valt al snel een dode. Moord.
Jim Qwilleran vermoedt vuil spel, en zijn Siamese kat Koko bevestigt dit. Een nieuwe inwoonster die zich specialiseert in handlezen maar ook kan zien wie plastische chirurgie heeft ondergaan helpt een handje. Enerzijds trekt de de horoscoop van Qwill. Die blijkt verrassend accuraat te zijn. Anderzijds merkt ze iemand op wiens hele gezicht veranderd is. Traditioneel laat Lilian Jackson Braun ook iemand, die sympathiek is naar de lezer en Qwill toe, sterven.
Qwill vindt uit dat er een heel vuil spelletje gespeeld wordt en hij maakt daar een einde aan.
Stijl en inhoud van het boek volledig in lijn met de vorige 22 delen. Wie daar van hield zal ook graag dit boek lezen. Wie het niet ligt zal nooit tot deel 23 geraken.
Stilaan begint het toch wel veel van steeds maar hetzelfde te worden.

[Andree · Rating 3 out of 5]

This installment in the series has really reminded me how I enjoy how this series sets up details of the mysteries a couple books in advance, even if it's just introducing characters or plot details. It's what makes the place feel like a town.

[Sully (sully.reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cozy mystery solved by the witty cats' meows :3 nyaha!
This is my first "The Cat Who" series and it won't definitely be the last! I would really really love to read more of Lilian Jackson Braun's The Cat who novels!
The characters are endearing and the story is very relaxing ♥

I imagined my favorite character --the extraordinary Siamese cat Koko as this (the adorable cat on the photo) :3


Click see review to view the photo

[Denise Spicer · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book of the “Cat Who” series, Jim Quilleran and his two cats are now living in Moose County waiting for winter to set in. Newly wealthy Qwill and gal pal, the librarian Polly, are able to socialize while Qwilll works on his newspaper column and solves crimes – in this case arson and murder. Helped by Koko of course. Cute cat antics.

[Amy Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this series! I’ve read them all and rate them all a 5. If you like quirky mysteries this is one you should cover. Jim Qwilleran is my kind of detective ... add in a couple of clever cats & what you have is involved, funny and interesting.

[Michael Peeples · Rating 1 out of 5]

Should have been called The Cat Who Put Me To Sleep.

Boring. I wish I had spent this time reading something else.

This is my last Cat Who book ever.

[Taylor Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ah, to be Qwill.

I love how relationship-focused these books are, in their telling and in the solving of mysteries. I didn't know it when I checked the book out, but it takes place in autumn as winter approaches so I enjoyed how seasonally aligned this read was.

This installment gets the prize for most changed local bookstore.

[Kandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me begin by saying this is not something I would normally pick up. I recently discovered you can search Overdrive for particular readers. George Guidall reads Stephen King's Dark Tower series beautifully so I thought listening to something a bit different read by him was worth a try. I think I owuld have imagined these characters, especially Qwill and Polly, very differently if I had read this on the page.

I really liked Qwill, his cats and this little town. Enough so that I will probably read more, but I think I will try to get my hands on the first in the series to at least get some background, instead of being plopped into the middle of a well established setting.

[Rena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cozy mystery

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun but not up to par.

I like how Brain plays with words. The characters are interesting. I did not guess the villain until the end.

[Kathy Bertelsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book was cute. Author definitely took her readers to a small town wthvso many characters. I really like the last fourth of the book. Should have been a quick read but life got in the way

[Jjean · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute/funny cozy mystery that covered murder - arson- explosions - 2 smart cats that gave signals if you could understand - characters true to life for small town living - fast, fun read

[Lieke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gezellig boek. Veel bijzaken

[Joanna Maier]

I used to listen to these books on road trips with my family and I saw them in the library the other day! Simple but sweet and brought back fond memories

[Emanuela · Rating 3 out of 5]

E' fine ottobre e la contea di Moose, a 600 chilometri a nord di ogni dove è messa in pericolo da una forte siccità che provoca continui incendi, sono sempre incendi casuali o c'è lo zampino umano? Qwill e i suoi gatti, anche questa volta ci fanno compagnia con una avvincente avventura.
Un giallo ben organizzato ma il ritmo di lettura è molto lento, forse l'autrice inizia a stancarsi, anzi mi sembra quasi che in alcuni passaggi non sia lei a scrivere, o magari sono io ad iniziare a stancarmi😆, giunta a questo punto, porterò comunque a termine la serie.

Due stelle e mezzo

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always delightful at setting the scene, introducing new characters, and complications of life 400 miles from anywhere, Qwilleran and the cats zero in on the causes for fires and murders in Pickax.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always a very interesting mystery. Quill needs to pay more attention to his cats. They always know who did it.

[Ferne (Enthusiastic Reader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 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.

[Abbey · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 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.

[Jacqueline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to read a lot of the Cat Who books, then I got bored and stopped. This one, The Cat Who Smelled a Rat has been sitting on the "to be read" shelf for at least ten years.
But returning to PickAx and meeting up with Qwilleran and company again is kinda' like going home to a small town - a very small town, where everyone knows everyone else - for better or worse. This particular novel is set at the end of the Summer and everyone is worried about wild and forest fires. The fires seem to be occurring near ten historic mind shafts - entrances to old, abandoned mines. Some townspeople suspect fires in the mines are somehow climbing the dry shafts and causing the fires - but since the shafts themselves aren't harmed it seems unlikely. Others in town suspect vandals or even carelessness. Before long there are three murders, all in some way linked to the fires.
This leads to former investigative reporter, James Qwilleran to investigate. Although set in PickAx City, Moose County, 400 miles North of Everywhere, the Cat Who books always feel more like an "English Cozy" mystery - as Qwilleran asks questions and pokes around before finally solving the case and having his friends in the Sheriff's Department catch the killer.
Still, a fun book.
Oh - for those who seem to confuse these with the Mrs. Murphy books (which are from the cat's point of view), the Cat Who books are never from Koko's point of view. The story is from James Qwilleran's pov, but not in first person. Qwilleran just happens to have two Siamese cats - Koko and Yum Yum. Qwill tends to interpret Koko's behavior strangely, though in this one, even Qwill wonders if there's anything unusual about his cat, after all.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though this was written in 2002, I only recently came upon a copy at a used book sale, and realized that it was one of this series that I hadn't read before. Some readers might find this rather simplistic, but there are some interesting facts sprinkled in the plot. Jim Qwilleran is a good main character, but I STILL question his choice of Polly Duncan as the woman in his life. He isn't interested in marrying again--his first attempt did not work out well. Not all the characters are what they seem, and naturally the rat referred to is a human. I have collected these books as I find them, knowing there won't be any others to come.

[Kori · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok - WHAT am I missing? This book was a slogfest. Sadly, this will be my only 'The Cat Who" book. Too bad, because I really wanted to like it - Lillian Jackson Braun seems like such a sweet old lady. Alas, she's no Agatha Christie. Too many times I had to ask myself "WHY am I still reading this?" Maybe it was due to the flat characters - and too many of them - I found I really didn't care about Quilleran, his friend/girlfriend (is she or isn't she?), his cats, OR his mustache.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

These books are so comfy and cozy- a perfect treat for when you're feeling under the weather. This installment had a more compelling mystery than its predecessor, but, man, did I ever have a hard time keeping all the townsfolk straight. I think LJB included just about every character in Moose County. At times the literary and art references felt a bit forced, but I suppose there's nothing wrong with a slight excess of erudition.

[Courtenay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not as captivating as the others in the series, but this one was still entertaining. Koko helps Qwill solve the mysteries in town, as usual, but more than the mysteries, I enjoyed the Moose County stories, the romantic episodes between Polly & Qwill, and the explanation of curling (on ice). The author adds so many personal & realistic touches to Pickax & Moose County that I believe it exists and I want to live there.