The Cat Who Smelled a Rat

January 1, 2001
The 23rd entry in Braun's Cat Who... series (The Cat Who Robbed a Bank; The Cat Who Saw Stars; etc.) testifies to the amazing popularity of mysteries featuring cats. Once again philanthropist-journalist Jim Qwilleran, columnist for the Something, the local newspaper of Pickax City in Moose County, turns for crime-solving help to his insightful and sensitive Siamese sleuths, Koko and Yum Yum. It's late October and the residents of Pickax are praying for the Big One, the annual blizzard that ushers in the long winter. This year it is much needed since the extreme drought conditions have made the area a virtual tinderbox. After several fires break out, volunteers form the Citizens' Fire Watch to protect the historic shafthouses, all that remain of the county's once prosperous mines. Anxiety increases as more fires occur and a volunteer is shot dead at one of the shafthouses. When the president of the local curling club dies from a fall, Qwilleran, with a twitch of his moustache and an ear-splitting shriek from Koko, joins his feline assistants to find the rat responsible before snow flies. Regular fans will enjoy being back with old friends and will be intrigued by the eccentric new additions to Pickax. The complexities of small-town life and the feline antics portrayed with Braun's apt wit and humor combine with a puzzling mystery to make for a most welcome addition to the series. (Feb. 5) Forecast: With a solid bestseller track record for this series, this entry is sure to claw its way up the lists. British rights have been sold to Headline.

Narrator George Guidall brings the small town of Pickax to life as he characterizes residents' anxieties about a coming snowstorm with excellent vocal changes in gender. When he switches to a staccato-paced newscaster relating the story of homicide and suspected arson at the Big B mine site, Guidall sets the stage for Koko, Siamese cat extraordinaire and erstwhile detective, to become involved in the crime. Koko's owner, James Quilleran, journalist and detective, sets out to "trap the rat," with Koko running alongside. Performed with delightful cat-like music breaks, this Cat Who. . . mystery is twenty-third in the series. G.D.W. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine