Customer Reviews

Cat Who Went Underground (G K Hall Large Print Book Series)

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Number 9 in "The Cat Who ... " series. Qwill and the cats return to the cabin for the summer. Residents warn him that local carpenters tend to disappear without finishing their jobs. When Qwill loses two carpenters, he doesn't accept that they are just irresponsible people who took off. He wants to know what really happened. This book is a little more disturbing than most in this series, but shouldn't cause any nightmares among us sensitive types. The characters are perhaps a little less developed or a little less realistic than in some of the books. But still, it's a good book and keeps you wanting more.

Just another of the on going saga of CoCo and Yum Yum. Great stories very well written. George Guidall has an outstanding voice I can't imagine this series of books without him.

. . . decide to spend the summer up by the lake. (Readers of "The Cat Who Played Brahams" will remember Qwill's cottage.) With Polly out of town, Qwill feels that "getting away from it all" would, in fact, be a good idea.

Alas, nothing ever goes as planned for Mr. Q! All he wants is to have a carpenter add an addition to his cabin . . . and, strangely enough, the carpenters in town seem to be disappearing one by one.

In this addition to "The Cat Who . . ." series, we are introduced to John Bushland, the photographer from nearby Lockmaster -- a character who will reappear in later books. We learn that Qwill has (once again) terribly bad luck with regard to boating. And Koko and Yum Yum are ever their charming selves. Indeed, it is Koko who is able to clue Qwill into who has it in for carpenters!

While some of "The Cat Who . . ." books have fairly thin plots, the mystery here is good and well-crafted, with a psychological twist not necessarily found in other books in the series.

For my money, this is certainly one of the better additions to this series.

In this 1989 entry of the long running Cat Who series Qwill decides to pack up the cats and move to the cabin in Mooseville for the summer. Apparently he forgot what took place up there the last time he tried to spend the summer there (The Cat Who Played Brahms). His visit begins with a nonfunctioning heater that leads him to the Glinko Network, the local monopoly on handymen. From then on Qwill's vacation is filled with mysterious visitors, disappearing carpenters and a reminder that he isn't a lucky sailor. The recurring theme of UFO activity in the area comes into play and Qwill is also forced to take a second look at the world of the occult via horoscopes, psychic readings and eerie happenings. As always Qwill and Koko manage to solve the mystery, which this time involved clearing Qwill as chief suspect.

The mystery this time was a bit darker than earlier entries in the series with the murder being discovered to be as much victim as villian.

Many of the familiar cast was present from earlier stories with welcome updates on their lives. Two favorites, Qwill's latest lady friend, Polly Duncan and his former housekeeper, Iris Cobb were missing from this adventure.

This is another 'must read' for fans of the series that would also be enjoyed by those who are just fans of the cozy mystery genre.

Qwill decides to spend the summer at the lake since Polly is in England. After moving into the "K" estate cabin, he decides it is too small. He plans an addition but much to his dismay, many carpenters are unavailable because they are dead. Yes, carpenters are dropping like flies by accidents and natural causes. Qwill finds a really good one and then he disappears!

The plot thickens. Mildred, Qwill's friend and Moose County Home Economics teacher, calls on a psychic friend to help. Koko and Yum Yum help with the investigation. More excitement and death happens before Koko figures it all out.

I loved this book! You will too!

In "The Cat Who Went Underground," reporter Jim Qwilleran has inherited the Klingenschoen fortune which includes many propertys, including a cabin along a beach. When he arrives to stay for a few weeks, he finds the cabin to be on the small side and decides to add on a few rooms. He finds a wonderful carpenter named Clem Cottle to do the work. But soon after the work on the cabin is started, Clem fails to show up one morning for work. Then the next morning he failed to report again. Upon calling his house, Qwill is told Clem is out of town. But when Qwill spots his truck parked on the side of an old, secluded road, he becomes suspicious. Was Clem reallly just out of town? Or was he kidnapped? Or lost? Or, maybe even killed? To find out the ending to this wonderful book, you'll have to read it and find out for yourself. Enjoy the book!!

While part of a series, this book stands fairly well on its own. You don't need any prior knowledge of Quilleran or his Siamese cats to enjoy it.

The serial murders provide the backdrop for his summer at Mooseville, but the majority of the story is really Quilleran and his interactions with the various eccentrics populating the lakeside community and of course with Yum Yum and Koko. Some of those are very endearing, particularly in the nursing home, others are merely humorous (Big Lou and his new tools which he doesn't know how to use).

While there are certainly some dark moments - it is a murder mystery - it was still pretty quick and overall light reading. The plot is subservient to the characters, and I guess that is okay for this fare. But several potentially interesting sub-plots are left unresolved, which was less than satisfying to me. The "visitors", the Russell girl - would have liked more information on those story lines.

Entertaining and fine for a break from more serious works.

In the 9th book in The Cat Who...series, James Qwilleran aka "Qwill", is feeling despondent over the recent absence of Polly Duncan, and decides he needs a change. He moves his two beautiful Siamese cats (KoKo and Yum Yum) into his lakefront cottage in Mooseville for the summer, and quickly learns that country living is not for him. He has to call for plumbing repairs almost daily, and with the small size of the cottage, he quickly decides to build an addition to create more room for himself and the cats. Finding a reputable builder during the summer season is a daunting task, however, as all of the builders are booked for months in advance. Qwill finds himself a builder with a stellar reputation and feels smug for his ingenuity. This all comes to a screeching halt when the man goes missing, and Qwill must find himself an "underground" builder to finish the job. This latest carpenter is sluggish and lazy, and Qwill finds himself having to supervise all of the work being slowly performed. When the carpenter is discovered dead on Qwill's property, he becomes a suspect. He quickly learns that summer at the lake is not what he intended and works overtime to discover who has a grudge against carpenters 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. This was a great addition to the series, and I loved all of the mishaps that Qwill encountered at the cottage, on his boating trip with Roger and Bushy, and during the building of his addition. Everything that could go wrong did, and it was amusing to see how Qwill kept his perspective and sense of humor through it all.

This is a great series by my favorite author!

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

In the 9th book in The Cat Who...series, James Qwilleran aka "Qwill", is feeling despondent over the recent absence of Polly Duncan, and decides he needs a change. He moves his two beautiful Siamese cats (KoKo and Yum Yum) into his lakefront cottage in Mooseville for the summer, and quickly learns that country living is not for him. He has to call for plumbing repairs almost daily, and with the small size of the cottage, he quickly decides to build an addition to create more room for himself and the cats. Finding a reputable builder during the summer season is a daunting task, however, as all of the builders are booked for months in advance. Qwill finds himself a builder with a stellar reputation and feels smug for his ingenuity. This all comes to a screeching halt when the man goes missing, and Qwill must find himself an "underground" builder to finish the job. This latest carpenter is sluggish and lazy, and Qwill finds himself having to supervise all of the work being slowly performed. When the carpenter is discovered dead on Qwill's property, he becomes a suspect. He quickly learns that summer at the lake is not what he intended and works overtime to discover who has a grudge against carpenters 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. This was a great addition to the series, and I loved all of the mishaps that Qwill encountered at the cottage, on his boating trip with Roger and Bushy, and during the building of his addition. Everything that could go wrong did, and it was amusing to see how Qwill kept his perspective and sense of humor through it all.

This is a great series by my favorite author!

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

We wanted to try a more recent (1989) entry in Braun's "Cat Who..." series, this one written some 23 years and 7 or 8 novels since the inaugural "Cat Who Could Read Backwards" published in 1966. We thought this one might be a bit more modern, but that was not to be the case as our leading man Jim Qwilleran, and his main cat Koko, solve another light mystery set in rural Mooseville, a northern backwoods. Apparently Qwill has inherited a large fortune since the first outing, making his decision to spend summer vacation in a dumpy cottage in a dumpy little town rather questionable. Don't expect much of a mystery, as unrelated humor, extraneous characters and irrelevant happenings, dominate the tale. The plot itself is little more than a short story about carpenters disappearing (a connection nobody but our hero can discern), culminating in a dead body discovered by Koko in the sandy crawl space under Qwill's cabin. All too conveniently, the books contrived ending depends upon a literal list of victims graciously provided by the perpetrator and discovered by you know who.

There are some funny passages in the book -- the transportation of the fat lady, the machinations of the repair firm Glinkos, the strange speech habits and big teeth of "underground builder" Iggy -- provide some mirth. And there are interesting characters and events galore -- the nursing home woman that hears cat scratching, the reclusive neighbor woman Russell who hardly talks, the storm that maroons our hero, the UFO sightings, etc -- unfortunately, none of which have a whit to do with our plot. And believe us when we say that the cats eat better than any human we know -- Qwill even takes them home lobster meat on one occasion!

Our 3-star rating is really 4 for good writing, 1 for story line. Is the book light and pleasant -- yes. Are the characters engaging and funny -- mostly. Are Qwilleran and Koko and Yum Yum (the latter two, the cats) likable and clever -- mostly. If that's good enough -- go for it; but mystery buffs per se better stay away.