The Barnes & Noble Review
In this installment of Lilian Jackson Braun's Cat Who... saga (The Cat Who Read Backwards, The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern, et al.), series protagonist Jim "Qwill" Qwilleran -- renowned philanthropist and columnist for The Moose County Something -- finds himself at an improbable existential crossroads. With girlfriend Polly Duncan away on an extended trip to Paris, and more and more visitors to Pickax City pestering him for tours of his renowned home (an apple barn that was renovated by a pioneering architect), change is in the wind for Qwill and his two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum -- whether they're ready for it or not.
As The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers (the 29th novel in the saga) begins, Qwill has his hands full with numerous community-oriented activities: A new senior center is being planned in an abandoned feed and seed warehouse; a historic, two-county art hat exhibition is being put together; and, in what spare time he has, Qwill is trying to write an absurdist play. But with Polly on the other side of the world, life in Pickax City is decidedly less idyllic -- especially when someone burns down the old warehouse and a museum worker mysteriously dies from a bee sting. But, as usual, cool Koko somehow senses when evil is afoot and does his best to let Qwill know about it…
Longtime fans of LJB will devour her newest cozy like cats rolling in fresh catnip, even with numerous integral plot threads underexplored or left completely unresolved. But with so much pivotal transition going on, devotees of this series will likely look past the lack of a satisfying conclusion and begin impatiently awaiting the 30th book in the saga for resolution… Paul Goat Allen
If you read a lot of mysteries and thrillers, you may have noticed that a string of recent bestsellers have animals in their titles: The Cuckoo’s Calling, by Robert Galbraith; Bad Monkey, by Carl Hiaasen; The Bat, by Jo Nesbo; The Beast, by Faye Kellerman; and A Serpent’s Tooth, by Craig Johnson, just to name […]