The Cat Who Went Bananas

November 22, 2004
Bestseller Braun's formulaic 27th Cat Who... mystery (after 2004's The Cat Who Talked Turkey
) lacks the charm of earlier adventures starring Siamese sleuths Koko and Yum Yum. In Pickax City, "400 miles north of everywhere," Jim Qwilleran, the semiretired gentleman columnist for the Moosehead County Something
, is content to court longtime gal pal Polly Duncan while overseeing his philanthropic Klingenschoen Fund, which is bankrolling the Pirate's Chest, a new bookstore built to replace an old landmark. The arrival of talented thespian Alden Wade, a handsome widower who's to play Jack Worthing in a local production of The Importance of Being Earnest
, threatens to enliven the proceedings and add tension to Qwill and Polly's peculiar, passionless relationship, until Alden's sudden marriage to the local Hibbard House heiress. Preparations for the Wilde play's opening and references to the Hibbard House history that Qwill is writing don't have much to do with the unsolved murder of Alden's first wife via a sniper's bullet. Once noted for its fine style, great characterizations and clever cat crime-solving, this cozy series has become a shadow of its former self. Agent, Lynda Gregory and Merry Pantano at Blanche C. Gregory.

For listeners who enjoy hearing George Guidall read a book, this latest in the "Cat Who" mystery series is a pleasure. He distinguishes the characters with his characteristic panache in this mystery from Moose County, "400 miles north of everywhere." His voice has just the hint of gravel one would expect to find in a backcountry storyteller. But to fans of mystery, this might be a title to avoid. The author sets up the premise effectively; a slick newcomer with a shady past arrives in town just as a new bookstore opens and a valuable rare book disappears. But Braun ends the story abruptly, wrapping things up in a providential coincidence, with no identity of the guilty party or motivation for the crime given. Listen to this book for the narrator, not the story. R.C.G. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine