ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 24, 1996 TAG: 9603250140
SECTION: BOOKS PAGE: F-4 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: BOOK REVIEW
SOURCE: REVIEWED BY ANNA WENTWORTH
THE CAT WHO SAID CHEESE. By Lilian Jackson Braun. G.P. Putnam's Sons, $22.95.
This 18th entry in the Braun series of "The Cat Who Said Cheese" books is a satisfying read. The eccentric locals of Pickaxe are preparing for a "Food Explo," complete with the opening of new restaurants, a food page in the "Moose County Something," a bike race and a celebrity auction. Local millionaire, character and columnist, Jack Qwilleran, is comfortably ensconced in his apple-barn home with his two Siamese cats, the sweet Yum Yum and the psychic Koko.
Like his fellow townsfolk, Qwilleran is drawn into speculating about a mystery woman who has arrived in town. Just as he finally meets her, a bomb explosion in her room in a local hotel kills a young housekeeper. The mystery woman immediately disappears. Fulfilling his reputation as a sleuth, Qwilleran becomes involved.
Braun's lightweight stories are usually charming, albeit not demanding, reading. Qwilleran generally interviews a colorful group of characters before he ferrets out the truth. Unlike the talking animals in Rita Mae Brown's novels, Qwilleran is never positive whether Koko's eerily knowledgeable behavior is coincidence or cat ESP. The saving grace of the series is that Braun keeps the feline element from becoming entirely too precious.
Anna Wentworth reviews theater for WVTF public radio and movies for WDBJ-Channel 7.
LENGTH: Short : 37 linesby CNB