Customer Reviews

The Cat Who Blew the Whistle

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was my first journey into the world of Lilian Jackson Braun, and I have to say that I enjoyed it very much. It was unlike any other book that I have ever read. It was refreshing to read a story without the bad language, violence, and graphic depictions of male-female relations that seems to be required for today's novels. I do not object to, nor am I offended by these elements, but it's still nice to be able to enjoy a book without them present. Being a cat lover and cat owner did enhance my enjoyment of this book as well. I was a bit disappointed by the ending, but overall it was an excellent light read. I plan to read many more of the books featuring the feline detective Koko, his little friend Yum Yum, and his sidekick Jim Qwilleran.

In the 17th book in the Cat Who Mystery series, James Qwilleran aka "Qwill", is thrilled to be able to enjoy the latest economic development to hit Moose County (400 miles north of everywhere). It seems that a prominent local businessman, Floyd Trevelyan, has purchased and restored an old steam locomotive, and has plans to use it as a new attraction in town. Floyd has made money in both the building and banking industries, and when Floyd goes missing with the bank's funds right before a large audit, everyone assumes he has fled to avoid prosecution for fraud. Floyd has been seen around town with his beautiful secretary, leaving his ailing wife at home alone, and absconding with the money could give him a way to start a new life. But Qwill's suspicious mind does not immediately believe that this case is as simple as it sounds, and he is determined to poke around in the lives of the Trevelyan family. Hiring a friend from Down Below, Celia Robinson, to work with the sickly Mrs. Trevelyan, Qwill and his feisty felines put the pieces of this family puzzle back into place and solves yet another mystery in Moose County.

This is my favorite cozy mystery series! I had read all of the books in the past, and wanted to read them again for a second time. This time around, I have chosen to listen to them on CD, as I love the voice of George Guidall. Many fans enjoy the homey, familiar feel of the town and the characters themselves. I just love the character of Celia, and was glad to see a kindly elderly "replacement" for the dear Mrs. Cobb. I was shocked with the health issues of Qwill's love-interest, Polly Duncan, and touched to see his reactions to her health scare.

If you are looking for a hardcore thriller, this would not be the series for you. However, if you are a fan of small town cozies, give this series a try. You might just find that you have become an avid "Cat Who" fan before the book is even finished.

This is a great series by my favorite author!

The first book in the series is called "The Cat who Could Read Backwards". Enjoy!

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.

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.

This is the best "Cat Who" book I have read, and I've read them all! It was written during the golden years of "The Cat Who" series. It takes quite a skilled writer to kill off a beloved character while still keeping up the momentum of the story. I thought the mystery was well-developed, and the fun and quirky characters definitely come alive in this particular story. The switch from Down Below to Moose County feels justified after reading this book.

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!"?

This was the first one I ever read of the Cat Who series and it was excellent. It kept me engrossed for hours. I couldn't wait to see what happened to Qwill, Koko and Yum Yum. I could relate with Qwilleran because I lived with two Siamese cats and I knew their behavoir.

It has a lot of excitement, involving a missing train. I learned quite a bit about trains reading this book. Lillian Jackson Braun certainly did her home work researching trains.

I highly recommend The Cat Who Blew The Whistle to any cat and train lover.

I'm so glad I picked up The Cat Who Blew the Whistle hardcover edition for one dollar from a book clearance shelf! It turned out to be an entertaining, challenging mystery that has left me wanting to read the rest of Lilian Braun's notable cat series! At first glance, I thought the story might be more simplistic than I like, but what a surprise! Plenty of thought-provoking suspense kept me reading! Lilian Braun has an almost whimsical writing style that yet offers excellent character/place development and just plain GREAT storytelling! Quilleran and his two Siamese cats are wonderful fun! I'm looking forward to reading more of Ms. Braun's cat books! I sincerely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys mysteries, cats and trains!

In the 17th book in the Cat Who Mystery series, James Qwilleran aka "Qwill", is thrilled to be able to enjoy the latest economic development to hit Moose County (400 miles north of everywhere). It seems that a prominent local businessman, Floyd Trevelyan, has purchased and restored an old steam locomotive, and has plans to use it as a new attraction in town. Floyd has made money in both the building and banking industries, and when Floyd goes missing with the bank's funds right before a large audit, everyone assumes he has fled to avoid prosecution for fraud. Floyd has been seen around town with his beautiful secretary, leaving his ailing wife at home alone, and absconding with the money could give him a way to start a new life. But Qwill's suspicious mind does not immediately believe that this case is as simple as it sounds, and he is determined to poke around in the lives of the Trevelyan family. Hiring a friend from Down Below, Celia Robinson, to work with the sickly Mrs. Trevelyan, Qwill and his feisty felines put the pieces of this family puzzle back into place and solves yet another mystery in Moose County.

This is my favorite cozy mystery series! I had read all of the books in the past, and wanted to read them again for a second time. This time around, I have chosen to listen to them on CD, as I love the voice of George Guidall. Many fans enjoy the homey, familiar feel of the town and the characters themselves. I just love the character of Celia, and was glad to see a kindly elderly "replacement" for the dear Mrs. Cobb. I was shocked with the health issues of Qwill's love-interest, Polly Duncan, and touched to see his reactions to her health scare.

If you are looking for a hardcore thriller, this would not be the series for you. However, if you are a fan of small town cozies, give this series a try. You might just find that you have become an avid "Cat Who" fan before the book is even finished.

This is a great series by my favorite author!

The first book in the series is called "The Cat who Could Read Backwards". Enjoy!

The 17th entry in this series finds Jim Qwilleran and his two cats happily ensconced in their apple barn home in Pickax City. What with Qwilleran's tendency to change domiciles like most people change socks this in itself sets this book apart from the others. To make things even homier, Qwilleran's love interest; Polly Duncan is building a house just up the driveway from the apple barn having decided that her apartment on the campus of the new community college just wasn't going to work out.

The main plot of this book involves Floyd Trevelyan, the owner of a credit union and a train nut. Trevelyan has just refurbished an old train and on the day of Old No. 9's maiden run state auditors descend on the credit union and Trevelyan disappears. Of course everybody naturally assumes that Trevelyan has run off with his depositor's money but Qwilleran just can't imagine that someone who loves trains as much as Trevelyan does would willingly leave behind his new toy. To add to Qwilleran's concern, Koko does his little death dance on top of a newspaper photo of Trevelyan and Koko's dances have never been wrong.

The secondary plot that runs through this book is the building of Polly's new house, which is tied to the first plot by the fact that her carpenter is Floyd Trevelyan's son. As for Polly, she worries so much about every little detail of the construction that Qwilleran is gravely concerned about her health, especially after her cat Bootsie gets sick. All the while Koko is acting more and more oddly as he tries to give Qwilleran clues as to what has happened and who caused it to happen. One of the added features of this book is that you aren't really sure just what crime or crimes have been committed until the very end. If you pay very close attention to Koko however you will get most of the clues that you need.

This book is more mystery oriented than many of the other books in this series and the mystery is worthy of any mystery book ever written. I doubt that even the great Sherlock Holmes himself could have solved this one without a little help from a certain feline detective. The final piece of the puzzle is so out of left field that it might have caused Dr. Watson to hyperventilate, but Koko knew the answer all along and spent most of the book trying to enlighten Qwilleran. Adding even further laurels to this book is the return of Celia Robinson, a terminally happy grandmother from Down Below who was a major player in one of the earlier books in this series and who plays a major role in this book.

I would definitely say that this is one of my favorite books in this series and this time the author not only delights us with her characters but serves up a top notch mystery. I just wish she had explained how Koko did that trick with the lights.