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Cat Who Went Up the Creek

Cat Who Went Up the Creek

List Price: $17.95
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Not the best in the series, but still fun for the fans
Review: I don't remember how I got involved in "The Cat Who..." series, but "The Cat Who Went up the Creek" provides more fun for those of us who find Koko, Yum Yum and Qwill part of our family. You won't find autopsy reports in these books, nor well developed murder plots, like a Kinsey Milhone mystery. But, I always learn something new, like doll making, the antique business, the sport of curling, taxidermy, and other arts, and enjoy the company of Qwill and his friends at a variety of cafes and eateries.

I'm a fan, so take my review with that in mind. New readers to the Braun series are usually warned to start with the original three (...read backwards, ...Danish Modern, ...on and off) which breaks the basic commandment, as I understand it, of reviewing: You review the book that you are reviewing. But, with Braun's series there are several fully populated towns and cities, a wealth of side characters and a host of animals to keep track of in each book.

I find I have to read books from this series in one sitting (if possible) and then go back and read the book or two before...but, that is never a chore. These are easy reading mysteries...albeit some real tough vocabulary words tossed in each text...and can be read painlessly on a typical airplane trip.

So, I certainly would recommend this book to fans; newcombers might want to hit the library and start with the original books. Like Brother Cadfael books, the atmosphere of Moose County takes a few chapters to understand the geography and population. "The Cat Who Went up the Creek" assumes much for the reader concerning these issues.

Fans: enjoy this book and, like me, look forward to the next chapter.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Almost no mystery at all in recent weak
Review: Managed expectations will help regular mystery readers enjoy Braun's now 24-book "Cat Who" series more than they might. Don't expect a heavy plot or any chasing of whodunits; and we don't at all miss sex, profanity, or violence for a change. Expect leading man Jim Qwilleran, a now wealthy newspaper journalist, who writes witty and folksy little "local color" columns for the county rag mostly for his own amusement, to entertain his friends to dinner, sniff about for column ideas, and generally play the role of bon vivant. His cats Yum-Yum and Koko are featured throughout, with details of their meals and other antics; and Koko specializes in "assisting" with any ongoing mystery investigations, mostly through timely and clairvoyant yowling.

"Creek" is no exception, but if anything, downplays the mystery plot more than usual, almost to the point of oblivion. We suspect little more than 10 pages out of the 226 were devoted to the crimes (two murders) and their "solution" (we use the word loosely), most of that coming right at the end. In between, Qwill goes to see plays, hosts dinners, reads disappointing postcards from his traveling girlfriend Polly, and uses his inherited money to solve minor problems. While a few humorous events and interesting characters come to light, this novel is really little more than interconnected little tales, with Siamese cat antics and an almost non-existent plot thrown in for diversion. We don't mind a light read once in a while, but there's more meat on the cat plates than you'll find on yours! This is our third "Cat Who", but there's certainly nothing about this weak entree in the series to encourage us to continue with Braun.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Time for another visit to Moose County
Review: This is the 24th installment of the continuing adventures of Qwill and friends. The action again is in Moose County, this time centering for most of the book on the newly opened Nutcracker Inn out on Black Creek. The mysteries and bodies begin pile up until Koko once again points Qwill in the right direction.

As always with this series the mysteries are secondary to the characters. Qwill and his cats are like old friends to fans of the series. His on-going relationships with Polly and other friends in Moose County are what keep people looking for the next book. By now most fans could draw a map of Moose county and describe many of its residents.

This book, like the others in the series, is not meant to be a challenging puzzle to figure out but is instead and pleasant read for a quiet weekend.

There is no profanity, 'adult situations', or graphic violence.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Another cozy read by Lilian Jackson Braun
Review: THE CAT WHO WENT UP THE CREEK by Lilian Jackson Braun

THE CAT WHO WENT UP THE CREEK is the second book in the series by Lilian Jackson Braun. In this book, number twenty-four in the series, journalist/millionaire Jim Qwilleran and his two Siamese cats Koko and YumYum are guests at the Nutcracker Inn located in the neighboring town of Black Creek. While he is there, he learns of a floating body in the creek, and soon he and the cats are on the prowl, trying to solve a mystery in the way no others can.

Before the story ends, Jim discovers the hotel he is staying at is haunted, attends a showing of "The Pirates of Penzance", takes care of his friend Polly's cats while she is away on vacation, and gets to know his neighbors in the cabins that stand along the banks of Black Creek. Amongst all this are clues that will lead him to the murderer.

As this is only my second book, I can't make a judgment on the entire series. But, from comparing this book and the previous one I had just read, it appears to me that her older works are better written, and worth reading if you are one that enjoys cozy mysteries. In other words, don't expect too much action. Expect cute antics by the two cats, and some amazing feats of sleuthing by the Siamese Koko, and a few witticisms by Jim and his friends.

I have to admit that THE CAT WHO series are not my cup of tea, but I would recommend these books to those who can appreciate these types of cozy mysteries. The best advice is to start with the earlier written books, and wait till the very last to read the final books in the series.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Not the best one of the series, by any means
Review: I've read most of the Cat Who...mysteries, but sort of dropped out at about the Cat Who Said Cheese, because I'd gotten tired of the characters and the simple plots. I was looking for something to take for my mother to read in the hospital, and since she enjoys these novels, I got her The Cat Who Went Up the Creek. In glancing through the book I realized that I rather missed the citizens of Moose County. Actually my mother now lives in an area so like Moose County, I almost wonder if Ms Braun doesn't live and write in the same vicinity!

The plot is no more complicated than the others were-actually I like the earliest novels the best, since they have a little more edge to them-but the characters were entertaining. I was a little disappointed that a historic tale introduced into the story didn't come out a little spookier. The laid back ambiance, however, makes up for the lack of drama, and having been "raised" by a Siamese and lived with one ever since, I have a certain love of the felines who rule Jim Qwilleran's life with an iron paw!

A pleasant read for an afternoon when you don't want to do much thinking or have your emotions put on a roller coaster!


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