Customer Reviews

The Cat Who Said Cheese

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I truly love all of The Cat Who series and I have them all. I have noticed that about halfway through the series they started to change. Polly is a walking dictionary (nobody really talks like that) and I think a very irritating person. I sure hope that Mr. Q. never decides to marry her. Also he has taken to wearing "jumpsuits" I shudder at the thought. The Mr. Q. that we all know and loved during the first half of the series seems to be doing things now that he would have scorned previously. In "The Cat Who Said Cheese" Iris Cobb's missing recipe book is one of the main subjects. I seem to remember that Verona admitted to have taken it in "The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts". All of this makes me wonder whether or not Ms. Jackson-Braun is really still writing her own books. In spite of all of this I really do love the series.

From beginning to end this book, as the title suggests, revolves around cheese. There is a new cheese and wine shop in Pickax, there is a cheese tasting at Qwilleran's home and the erstwhile journalist buys a nice old book about cheese that emits such a strong smell of Limburger that he has to bury it in the back yard. As if the cheese weren't enough liver & onions, mushrooms, honey and soup also play a part in this story and this is definitely not a book that you will want to read if you are on a diet.

There are several mysteries floating around in this book, none of which ever rise to the top and take on the role of being the major plot line. First, there is a mystery woman all dressed in black, then there is an explosion at the New Pickax Hotel which is followed by the murder of one of the town's merchants and then a fisherman is found stung to death by friendly bees. Despite all of this murder and mayhem however the most important mystery seems to involve Iris Cobb's missing cookbook. For those new to the series Iris Cobb was at various times Qwilleran's landlady, housekeeper and curator of the museum that he lived in until it burned to the ground. Iris was known far and wide for her excellent cooking and the handwritten cookbook where she kept her secret recipes. Shortly after Iris' death the cookbook went missing and now Qwilleran is hot on the trail. As normal, Koko and Yum Yum play major roles in this story and without their help Qwilleran would never have solved all of the mysteries. The interwoven mysteries in this book are built up sort of like a jigsaw puzzle and nothing makes sense until it all starts to fall into place.

This is not a book that I would recommend for someone who has not read any of the other books in the series because despite the several mysteries this book is mostly an update on the lives of the residents of Moose County. The mysteries themselves never really drew me into the story like some of the previous books in the series but the chronicles of Moose County always keep my attention. In short, this is not one of the stronger mysteries in this series but the antics of the cats and of the people of Moose County more than make up for the shallow mysteries. For that matter, the trials of Qwilleran as he attempts to cook a turkey are well worth the price of the book.

I have read all the books of "The Cat who" series and this is the one that gives me the greatest enjoyment of all. Not only did I increase my knowledge of cheese (cheddar used to be the limit of my understanding of cheese variety, now feta and gruyere and brie are added to my dictionary), I also satisfied my curiosity over the identity of the thief who stole Iris Cobb's cookbook, a mystery brought forward from a previous book, in addition to the new mystery that relates a strange, frightened woman, an abusive husband, and a gullible young man with white hair.
All in all it's a delightful read.

The cats in this book are hysterical. I've been reading hardcore mystery novels from artists like John Grisham. This is a refreshing approach and since I'm a cat lover this book is great. I've ordered two more of her novels today from Amazon.Com. Great plot! I went to the book store in search of a mystery novel about cats that my Uncle in WV had told me about. I found two different artists, Ms. Braun and Rita Mae Brown mystery books with cats. Both are great reads and completely different.

All of Lillian Jackson Braun's books are great for both my daughther and I to read and that's pretty special! We are both plowing our way throught the whole series and are enjoying discussing them together. Thanks to whoever recommended them to us! We're hooked!

If you read this when you are hungry, you might head straight to the refrigerator, market, or nearest deli.

This book was wonderful...a mysterious woman comes to Pickax. Qwill hears rumors everywhere about her. Koko wants to go for a drive to the cabin on the lake. Guess who is sitting by the cabin reading a cookbook? Yes! the mysterious woman. She agrees to cook stuffed wild grape leaves for Qwill. He heads to the market to shop for ingredients and hears an explosion! Upon returning to the cabin, Qwill finds the woman missing the middle of preparing the wild grape leaves.

Much excitement, danger, an mystery is to follow. Of course, Koko knows everything. It is too bad Qwill doesn't speak fluent cat. He would get to the bottom of the mysteries sooner.

I loved this installment of, "the Cat Who" series. You will love it too!

Jim Qwilleran, heir to the vast Klingenschoen fortune, is caught up in the Great Food Explo like the rest of Moose County (located 400 miles north of everywhere). The Explo is an attempt to raise the standard of dining in the county but is soon over shadowed by the arrival of a mysterious woman, an explosion, and two deaths. Qwill and the cats soon resolve not only those issues but also locate a long missing book.

For fans of this series there are many not to be missed bits of Moose County life: updates on the lives of both the Bamba family and Derek Cuttlebrink; Polly's recuperation; the arrival of Onoosh and other little tidbits that will either bring a memory of a previous adventure or hint of things to come.

For those who are not fans of this series this is not one of the stories that can be appreciated for its own merits, even those who are fans of other cozies probably would find this one only mildly interesting.

Lilian Jackson Braun's books always keep my attention. Despite the fact that I am a cat lover and enjoy reading about Koko and Yum Yum, I also enjoy the quality of the book. I enjoy her book's lack of profanity, as well as the way she can turn a simple event in Moose county into the talk of the town. Also her ability to turn Koko and Yum Yum into new and interesting investigators in every book without sounding old. I would reccomend her books to anyone who likes good, clean, mysteries

this is an awesome book. i bought it in st.louis and read the entire thing in an hour and a half on the way back on the train. really great book. many twists and turns that make you re-think who was the murderer or muredress.

This book was wonderful. I loved all those new and odd characters like Gustav Limburger. Koko's cat-fit at the cheese tasting party was a riot. The restaurants on Stables Row had creative names and the celebrity auction was funny, too.-Angel Granata,12