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Avg. Rating: 4.5
It grows on you
Under normal circumstances I hate anything that can be described as "cute." That includes people, sculpture, movies, books, etc. "Cute" means stupid, shallow, superficial, and self-consciously pretty. At first glance, this book appeared to be merely cute--having a cat that solves crimes--and something I wasn't going to like at all. But I was pleasantly surprised by the relaxing atmosphere of Moose County, somewhere in the northern part of the U.S. The characters were engaging. The plot is perhaps just a trifle weird. I still have a problem with the gimmick detectives, as opposed to the standard sleuth, i.e., the police detective or private eye vs. a cat, an antique dealer, a school marm, etc. The real detective here is, of course, the newspaper columnist who gets hints from Koko, his cat. I groaned a little at the concept, but the atmosphere and characters made me keep reading. I wouldn't put this at the top of the list of mysteries, but the novel is a pleasant, light diversion, with "cute" being the major flaw.
The Cat Who Blew the Whistle
I am an avid reader of the mystery genre. Lilian Jackson Braun has a way of turning the mystery in her book into a fun, exciting sideline. As a cat lover, I instantly adored her style of putting the two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum, into the spotlight. Qwilleran, one of the main characters, is a wonderful guy (and owner of Koko and Yum Yum) with a great sense of humor. The hubbub in The Cat Who Blew the Whistle is hilarious, yet the mystery is a deadly revolving point. It keeps you on your toes as you find everything ties into each other. I relate well with Qwilleran- my cat is also intelligent, but it has an insatiable urge to chew on everything and anything in sight. The dialogue in this book is interesting-it is "train lingo." This is a complex mystery comedy that I suggest to cat-lovers, train-lovers, mystery-lovers, and comedy-lovers everywhere.
All aboard the Koko express!
There's a new attraction in Moose County, 400 miles north of everywhere: a luxury train, pulled by a beautifully restored steam locomotive. But it only gets to make one run before the Lumbertown Credit Union is locked up by state investigators, and the bank's owner, who also owns the train, disappears. Then there's a dog shot, and a murder at a tavern frequented by railroad people. Can Kao K'o Kung somehow communicate what he knows to his human, Qwill, with just a well-placed "YOW!"?
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