The Cat Who Moved a Mountain [Hardcover]

Lilian Jackson Braun (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 13, 1992

Qwill's on top of the world when he rents a house on Big Potato Mountain. The owner, J.J. Hawkinfield, brought real estate development to the once-peaceful Potatoes. But Hawkinfield paid a steep price for his enterprise: He was pushed off a cliff by an angry mountain dweller. Qwilleran, however, suspects the man is innocent--and Koko's antics have him convinced something's wrong. He may be making a mountain out of a molehill...but he's determined to find the truth. Even if it means jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire!

--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With the help of his unique cats, former reporter Jim Qwilleran solves the murder of a developer in this witty tale bolstered by sharply etched characters.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

Jim Qwilleran and cats take their turn with greedy land developers in the fictitious Potato Mountains.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Headline Book Publishing; First Edition edition (August 13, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747206031
• ISBN-13: 978-0747206033
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,613,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lilian Jackson Braun is the author of twenty-nine bestselling Cat Who . . . novels and three short story collections.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lots of Good Gravy In The Potato Mountains!, April 30, 2002

By 

Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cat Who Moved a Mountain (Mass Market Paperback)

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.

THE CAT WHO MOVED A MOUNTAIN finds Qwill longing for a vacation from his beloved Moose County--and at the urging of friends he elects to spend a season in the Potato Mountains. But as usual, Qwill cannot leave well enough alone: once settled in his moutain-top retreat, he finds himself drawn into a battle between developers determined to turn the Potatos into upscale retreats for the wealthy and locals equally determined to hold them at bay... and the ever-astute Koko is behaving strangely. Could an old--and some believe still unsolved--murder be the cause?

Braun frequently references ecological concerns in her work, and like THE CAT THAT CAME TO BREAKFAST, this particular title gives her plenty of opportunity to slyly satirize greed and lousy land-management. THE CAT WHO MOVED A MOUNTAIN is a particularly charming entry in "The Cat Who..." series, and both old fans and newcomers should enjoy it tremendously.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Mountain Adventures of a City Slicker, July 2, 2005

By 

Dennis Phillips "The Book Friar" (Bulls Gap, Tennessee USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cat Who Moved a Mountain (Mass Market Paperback)

In an earlier book in this series Jim Qwilleran inherited a pot full of money but there was a stipulation. He had to live in Moose County for five years or he forfeited his windfall. As this book begins, Qwilleran has just completed his five years and is contemplating his future. He has come to love Moose County and it's quirky residents but he was born and raised a city boy and sometimes he longs for more action. The former reporter decides that he needs some time in a quiet atmosphere to think through his options and one of his friends suggests that he spend some time in the Potato Mountains.

In order to find a summer retreat that will accept pets, Qwilleran has to rent a huge former mountain inn that sets on the peak of Big Potato Mountain. It turns out that the last owner of the home was murdered and as normal, Koko immediately begins to exhibit strange behavior. Yum Yum on the other hand starts to tear out bits of her own fur, a behavior that has Qwilleran very upset until the veterinarian tells him that this is not unusual in a spayed female. It is a trait that I have witnessed in my own spayed female cat and this little sidebar makes it very clear that Mrs. Braun most assuredly knows her cats.

Qwilleran for his part has all kinds of trouble in the unfamiliar mountain setting. He has learned some things about rural life during his sojourn in Moose County but the mountains provide an entirely different set of challenges. He gets lost on the mountain roads, almost falls over a waterfall, gets lost while hiking in the woods and gets trapped on the mountain after a dam break. What's a poor city slicker to do?

Despite all of his trials, Qwilleran still manages to get involved in local politics. More specifically he gets involved in a fight between the Spuds (people who live in town and support development) and the Taters (mountain people who oppose development) and he finds that a serious injustice has been done to one of the Tater families. With the help of Koko, Qwilleran wades through the evidence (and a mudslide) and discovers the truth, which once again puts his life in danger and requires a cat to save the day.

The mystery itself, as is often the case in this series, plays a decidedly secondary role in a plot that is laced with humor and oddball characters, including an old mountain man who builds Qwilleran a gazebo that has no door. This book is also a warm fuzzy mystery with a conscience as Mrs. Braun goes to great lengths to point out what happens when humans try to bend mother nature to their own ends. As usual, the writing style is engaging, fun and entertaining. This author's characters are always unpredictable and unforgettable and the cats are fascinating. Mrs. Braun even throws a few witches into this book, just to keep things interesting. This is one of the best books in the series so far and it was a real pleasure to read.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Qwill's Mountain Adventure, July 31, 2008

By 

J. E. Stephens "Jeanne" (Florida) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cat Who Moved a Mountain (Mass Market Paperback)

If you love cats and the mountains, you will love this episode in, "The Cat Who..." books.

Qwill has lived in Pickax County the required five years to make his inheritance official. He doesn't know what to do next. Does he want to move? Does he want to take a job or start a business? He knows he has a lot of thinking to do so he decides to take a journey. He decides he wants to spend the summer on top of a mountain. So he and the cats rent a mountain house for three months.

While on the mountain he learns of a murder exactly one year before. He and Koko solve the murder and make new friends along the way.

I loved this book! You will too!