Customer Reviews

The Cat Who Came to Breakfast

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After Polly announces she is visiting Oregon for two weeks, Qwill and the Siamese go to Breakfast Island a.k.a. Pear Island, to investigate several murders and other strange occurances. Qwill learns to play dominoes so he teaches Koko who send him messages in code using the tiles.

One day while hiking the nature trail, Qwill rescues a "mermaid" from a snake bite.

Many twists and turns later Qwill gets to the bottom of everything.

I enjoyed this installment of. "The Cat Who..." series. You need to read it too!

Hardcore mystery fans may find it a bit of a stretch, but if your taste runs to expertly written and very light fiction, you can't do better than Lillian Jackson Braun's "The Cat Who..." series. Her detective, reporter James Qwilleran, investigates crimes with the aid of his Siamese cats--and the solutions to the crime inevitably rest more upon intution than actual deduction. While the premise sounds farfetched, Braun's work is actually less fanciful than you might expect, and she presents her eccentric characters and stories with great charm.

Braun's writings frequently address ecological issues, and THE CAT WHO CAME TO BREAKFAST takes on over-development--in this case the rape of Breakfast Island, now renamed Pear Island and outfitted with a large scale resort, tacky tourist attractions, and at least two fudge shops. Qwill disapproves... but even fudge fumes can't mask the scent of a good story, and he sets off with his cats to investigate a series of unfortunate island accidents... and stumbles into murder. THE CAT WHO CAME TO BREAKFAST is a particularly memorable title in the series, for it provides Braun ample excuse to write with the faintly satirical edge that she handles so well. Recommended to old fans and newcomers alike.

I'm sorry if my english is terrible; I'm dutch. I just want to tell all of you how stunned I am by the gift Lilian Jackson Brown has. She can really keep me reading, although I need as much sleep as I can get :-) This time she takes the reader outside Pickax City, to Breakfast Island. It's very refreshing to read a 'The cat...' novel somewhere outside Moose County.. Well, at least not at Brrr, Mooseville or any city like that. It's a fun story. If you liked other books by her, you'll certainly like this one!

Qwill, AKA James Qwilleran, wealthy semi-retired journalist and companion person to two Siamese cats, has just expressed his total disdain for the newest Moose County (400 miles north of everywhere) enterprise - Pear Island AKA Breakfast Island AKA Grand Island AKA Providence Island when he discovers that his long-time lady friend, Polly will be vacationing in Oregon and without him. He reconsiders his options and decides to visit this island but on his own terms. In a short time he becomes entangled in the local politics and begins to suspect that all is not as it seems on the island, no matter what name is being used. Of course there is a death and Qwill's suspicions prove correct. By the end of the book Qwill and the cats have had yet another vacation that did not go according to plan but instead solved some mysteries.

This was a good entery into the series but I did miss some of the Moose County regulars. The one that were present,the ever-growing Derek and the delightful Bamba family make up for the absence of so many others however. The newest addition to the County, Elizabeth Cage is intriguing, another poor-little-rich-girl like Mary Duckworth of earlier books, but with a charm of her own.

This is a must for fans of the series but would also be enjoyable for any fan of the 'cozy' mystery genre.

Sorry to say, this book is deftinitely not one of Braun's best. If you were to skip one, this would be it. The plot is disconnected and never fully resolves. The cats learn a few too many tricks too fast, and Quill doesn't like pears, which I take as a personal insult as they're my favorite fruit. But there's good news too: after this minor episode, Lilian Jackson Braun makes an amazing recovery and her next book, THE CAT WHO BLEW THE WHISTLE, is one of her best.

Of all of the books of the series this one is my favorite. I love the setting, and all the characters that are introduced. The natives to Pear Island (Breakfast Island) are charming and add a lot to the ambiance of the story. The Bambas have always been some of my favorite characters and I enjoyed seeing so much of them in this book. When I want a light hearted read I always grab this one first. I'd suggest it to any one who likes to read mysteries.

I enjoyed this book, and I especially like reading the details of how Qwill dotes on Koko and Yum Yum. Tales of traveling with the cats, and their turkey roaster(!) were so amusing. The mystery didn't grip me, though. In fact, at times, I completely lost track of why Qwill went to visit Breakfast/Pear/Providence Island. Still, the book is low on violence and the pace is leisurely. If you are looking for something witty and pleasant, but not necessarily a page turner, pick this one up.

Mrs. Braun's books have often contained a pro-environmentalist message but this is the greenest book so far. For in this episode the developers have defaced Breakfast Island with a resort, worse yet, they have changed the name of the island to Pear Island and Qwilleran is fit to be tied. He is even more upset than normal since money from his K foundation has helped fund the Pear Island Resort. Even the thought of visiting the remodeled island makes him furious until two events conspire to change his mind.

The first event is an announcement from his lady friend Polly Duncan that she is going to Oregon for two weeks to visit a friend. Knowing that he is going to be alone for two whole weeks puts Qwilleran in just the proper mood for event number two. He gets a call from his old friend Nick Bamba who asks if he can come by for a chat. It turns out that Nick and his wife have opened a B&B on the island and have themselves become the victims of some weird occurrences at the resort. Knowing about Qwilleran's mystery solving ability Nick invites the former reporter and his two cats to spend the time that Polly is gone at the Bamba B&B. Not being able to resist a good mystery, Qwilleran agrees to come to the island and the fun begins.

Qwilleran suspects all along that the accidents aren't really accidents and he sets out to prove his theory. Koko takes up dominoes to try and point Qwilleran in the right direction but it takes forever for Koko's human to figure out what the cat is trying to tell him. Of course, Qwilleran finally figures it all out but he never would have found the answer if Koko hadn't arranged for him to meet and save the life of a local heiress. Along the way Qwilleran and the cats put up with the constant smell of fudge, an annoying neighbor, a hurricane and meat loaf with rabbit in it. Qwilleran also gets invited to high tea with the Queen Mother of island society but is disappointed to find no peacocks at the Queen's estate.

This is another fine mystery by Mrs. Braun. The mystery itself isn't all that deep and really just plays a supporting role to the ongoing saga of Qwilleran, Koko and Yum Yum. This is after all a warm fuzzy mystery and this author proves once again with this book that she is one of the best authors in this genre. The characters are delightful and although there are several new characters introduced in this book it is not set so far away from Pickax City that the regulars are shut out. This series is extremely readable and fun, and this entry is no exception. I do wish however that Qwilleran would avoid the trap of becoming an anti-smoking fanatic like so many other former smokers. This type of judgmental behavior just doesn't suit him at all.

This may not be the best of Lilian Jackson Braun... but it is still a great mystery book. Her books are light reading and not at all gross or scary and this is refreshing. The cats are adorable and I love to see what they are going to do next!!! The cats, Qwill and the books are very entertaining and I absolutely love them. When I am not reading one of these books I am missing Qwill, Koko and Yum Yum. I highly recommend reading all of The Cat Who books... start at the beginning... it is not necessary, but it IS better.

Another audio book listener has pointed out how distasteful the reading by Dick Van Patten was. I agree. However, he read only the abridged edition; for the unabridged edition, George Guidall was once again called upon to give one of his patented performances of our Hero, Qwill. He fits the part like those treasured Old Shoes with which no expensive new model can compete.
For regular readers of the long-running series, one need only say that this is neither the best nor the worst of the lot. With George doing the talking you will enjoy it. For others, it can be characterized as ultra-light entertainment, interesting only to those who can accommodate to a middle-aged man who lives alone with two cats with whom he carries on conversations and plays games. He also is pretty well convinced that one of the cats has some sort of sixth sense which allows him to divine events before they occur and understand what has occurred with only that sixth sense to help him. As in the other books, there is a mystery here, although not a great deal of effort goes into solving it, though solved it is. As usual it is the characters and situations which are the reason for listening to it, when it is read with as much characterization as Guidall brings to the text. I can commend it to someone not looking for the depth of P.D. James or the surprise ending of Agatha Christie.