Rating: 
Summary: Up to usual standards!
Review: The standards being excellent! This is a warm, witty, and charming example of mystery writing. Quill is no hard boil 40's type and neither are is three favorite companions, even if this one leaves them all a bit singed around the edges. This book is a fun and funny romp for the weekend armchair sleuth. As usual her characters are real, and human / feline as the case may be. The setting is becoming more developed as each book progresses though a novice to the cat who series can jump right in and not get lost. Well written, engaging plot entertaining characters, are combined well to create a comfortable place for any reader to climb in and enjoy a visit with old friends.
Rating: 
Summary: 5 SAUCERS OF CREAM FOR THIS READING!
Review: They say cats have nine lives. Some have more than one score if we count the feline centered mystery series penned by the ingenious Lilian Jackson Braun. Her latest and 23rd cat caper again proves that there's no such thing as a purr-fect crime when Koko, the Siamese sleuth is around.With "The Cat Who Smelled A Rat" we return to Pickax City in Moose Country during a season of drought. Residents are hoping for a really big blizzard to cover the dry land. When several mysterious fires occur, volunteers from the Citizens' Fire Watch get to work, and Koko proves that she's no mere puss in fireman's boots as she and newsman James Qwilleran are hot on the trail of the rat behind all the ruckus. Obie Award-winner George Guidall gives a sharp, vibrant delivery of this entertaining tale. To date, he has recorded more than 400 audio books; his expertise is obvious in this rendering. Five saucers of cream to both Braun and Guidall!
Rating: 
Summary: The autumn of our discontent!
Review: This book jars the reader in a number of ways. Ms. Braun kills off another old friend in Edd Smith, paints Qwill and Polly's relationship with more friction, unearths some of Qwill's past in some detail and reveals another side of the Qwilleran personalilty. Our protaganist of 23 Cat Who adventures is exposed as a lonely, insecure man. We must have been getting complacent as readers is the only motivation I can detect for this latest addition of the Pickax City denizens.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Book in the famous mystery series
Review: This is one of the best books in the series. But it shouldn't be the first one you read. It doesn't give a lot of background information for the first time reader to understand what is going on in the novel. All in all it was one of her best yet. Even with the help of the two cats I had no idea what was going on until the very end. If you are a fan of the series you should definitely buy this book. But if you have never read a "Cat Who" book before this isn't for you. Buy an earlier novel in the series; then buy this one.
Rating:
Summary: Not her best
Review: This isn't one of Lillian Jackson Braun's best works, but it is still entertaining. Like so many other fans, I can't wait until a new mystery of hers makes it way to the bookshelves. The book seemed disjointed. The plot didn't flow as smoothly as some of her other books. I was disappointed at the interaction between Polly and Jim. Since she has a penchant for doing away with characters, I wonder if they will become history in a future book. But Koko and Yum Yum steal the show. There was more of Yum Yum in this book which was nice. This was good reading, however, for her many fans and I really enjoyed this book.
Rating:
Summary: Smells pretty good to me!
Review: This was good enough to read during one prolonged session in the bathtub. Oops! That says more about me than it does about the book. I have been enchanted with all the "Cat Who..." books that I've read, as they are reliably wholesome and fun. I don't know why I passed Lilian Jackson Braun's books by for so long, but I am trying to make up for lost time by savoring another one each week. Braun's clever protagonist, James Qwilleran, embodies the fantasy of inheriting billions, yet staying grounded enough to continue a newspaper career and enjoy small town life. Although Qwill doesn't travel far, his escapades read like a gastronomic travelogue. "The Cat Who Smelled a Rat" isn't a great classical work, but I have to give it the highest rating because it meets my 5-star criteria of "I wish I'd written that".
Rating:
Summary: Delightful!
Review: To sum up the whole entire book in one word would be difficult. So I shall use 5 words. Speel-binding, magnificent, wonderful, witty, and last but certainly not least...dependable. This last word may strike you as surprising, but after reading all 25 of her books (this includes the short stories) I have become dependent upon the creative and artistic style in which she writes. Her earlier book, The Cat Who Robbed a Bank, robbed me of that dependancy. Gladly Ms. Braun leads all her readers into a misticall world of two cats and an irressistible journalist in this book. This should be definately a readers coice, but only after he has read the other 22 novels!
Rating:
Summary: I like these books
Review: You only have to read one "Cat Who" book to know if they are for you. If you like one, you'll like most all of them. I just happen to enjoy reading these type of books from time to time. Light entertainment. A light mystery (and I like mystery's) and definately a welcome break from the historic novels I usually read. For example, I had recently finished reading Exodus by Leon Uris. Exodus is a heavy duty story - and while their is another similar book waiting on my bedstand to read... I just couldn't bring myself to fall into another heavy book right away. So I read The Cat Who smelled a Rat. It's just what a readaholic like me, needs now and then. And Lillian's books are always easy to read - rarely stuffy or wordy.
Rating:
Summary: The Best in the Series for awhile
Review: You'd think after 23 books, that Ms. Braun's stories and characters would get stale and boring. Not so. This book is the best in the series that I've read for awhile. I can't get over how Ms. Braun can bring all her characters (both human and feline) to life the way she does. She makes them so plausible that all their idiosyncracies and weird antics, don't seem strange at all. In this book Koko shows his usual astuteness, and he leaves clues all over the book as a result of his numerous "cat fits". If you can follow these clues, you might guess the murderer. That part's not that difficult, but the story is remarkably told, and a joy to read. Reading a Lilian Jackson Braun book is like greeting old friends. I strongly recommend this series.
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