The Cat Who Wasn't There (Cat Who... (Audio))

Rating:
Summary: Pay no mind to reviewer MISTRESS OF FURRY....
Review: Jim Qwilleran, millionaire bachelor and resident of Moose county (400 miles north of everywhere) has dashed back home to protect his lady friend, Polly the liberian, from a stalker. Qwill is convinced that she is being targeted to be used as a way to blackmail him. When he finds that a tour of the Scottish Highlands (insipired by the local production of MacBeth) is being organized and that Polly is planning to go he decides to go along. Tragedy strikes the tour, a member dies of natural causes or were they so natural? Qwill and Polly return home where he, aided as always by his Siamese cats, Koko and YumYum uncover the true motives and culprits to, of course, save the day.

The mystery is, as always is the case in this series, secondary to the 'cozy' element of Moose County background but in this book is a bit more complex. We are treated to visits by many of the Moose County crowd including a return by Dr. Melinda Goodwinter, Qwill's first lady friend in Moose County (The Cat Who Played Brahms).

Rating:
Summary: Another charming and enchanting tale.
Review: Lilian Jackson Braun has the talent of bringing a wholly and undoubtedly fictional scenario (I mean there can be no place on earth like Pickax!) to life with warmth, yet some sharpness. The characters and their doings, throughout this series, are more important than the crime and its final solution by Qwill and/or the cats. A lovely, heart-warming read always.

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites
Review: One of the great things about THE CAT WHO . . . series is that you can read them in order, or choose not to. Each book stands on its own, and is a wonderful visit to the town "400 miles north of everywhere." This is the third Braun mystery that I've read, and I especially liked this one because of its Scottish theme.

As the story starts, Jim Qwilleran is rushing home in response to an incident involving his girlfriend, Polly. She is fine, but he soon has to deal with the return of a very persistent old flame, Dr. Melinda. Things get really interesting when all three are participants in an ambitious group tour of Scotland made up of Moose County residents. They tour castles and lochs, learn legends, and eat hearty Scottish breakfasts. The fun is cut short with the death of one of the small group. The tourists return home, and Qwill soon suspects foul-play. With hints from his remarkable cat, Koko, he begins to follow a trail of clues.

Qwill has to face new challenges in this book. For the first time, he realizes that after a life essentially lived alone, he has come to care deeply for others. In addition to the deepening relationship of Qwill and Polly, there is also the warm affection of scenes with Qwill and his two cats, Koko and Yum Yum. Scottish history, folklore, and customs also inform this smart mystery. It even includes a wonderful production of "the Scottish play," Macbeth, in which many central characters play a role.

Rating:
Summary: Cats, Scotland, and Mystery, Too!
Review: One of the great things about THE CAT WHO . . . series is that you can read them in order, or choose not to. Each book stands on its own, and is a wonderful visit to the town "400 miles north of everywhere." This is the third Braun mystery that I've read, and I especially liked this one because of its Scottish theme.

As the story starts, Jim Qwilleran is rushing home in response to an incident involving his girlfriend, Polly. She is fine, but he soon has to deal with the return of a very persistent old flame, Dr. Melinda. Things get really interesting when all three are participants in an ambitious group tour of Scotland made up of Moose County residents. They tour castles and lochs, learn legends, and eat hearty Scottish breakfasts. The fun is cut short with the death of one of the small group. The tourists return home, and Qwill soon suspects foul-play. With hints from his remarkable cat, Koko, he begins to follow a trail of clues.

Qwill has to face new challenges in this book. For the first time, he realizes that after a life essentially lived alone, he has come to care deeply for others. In addition to the deepening relationship of Qwill and Polly, there is also the warm affection of scenes with Qwill and his two cats, Koko and Yum Yum. Scottish history, folklore, and customs also inform this smart mystery. It even includes a wonderful production of "the Scottish play," Macbeth, in which many central characters play a role.

Rating:
Summary: Pay no mind to reviewer MISTRESS OF FURRY....
Review: she obviously has not read the "Cat Who..." series...I have read 18 of the series and have thoroughly enjoyed everyone single one of them. Koko & Yum Yum are an intricate part of each story and while the series is not completely about cats, they do play a major role in the life of the story! Anyone who is a cat lover can relate and appreciate their antics in this wonderful series! I would HIGHLY recommend to Mistress of Furry to start from the beginning because, as you can see from the other reviews, she stands alone in her opinion!

Rating:
Summary: A superb combination of cats and mystery!!!!!
Review: This was the first "Cat Who" mystery that I read, and it has gotten me hooked on the whole series! This tantalizing whodunit has something for lovers of cats, mysteries, and (in this one book) Scotland. This is mystery at it's best. Viva Braun! Viva Koko! Viva Qwilleran! Viva Frobnitz!

Rating:
Summary: The title is (sadly) very accurate
Review: When I picked this novel up from my local library, I was VERY disappointed to see that underneath the cute pawprints on the cover and the "Cat Who" part of the title, and the reviews calling this series 'great for cat lovers!' that this book (and the whole series, in general) isn't about cats at all. It's about a Bill Gates-level rich man and his lovers and their big Scottish adventure. Big whoop-de-do. And half the time I forgot there were even supposed to BE cats in this book, since they rarely appeared. The cats are simply there as background pets, and sure, Koko knocks a few books off a shelf here and there to coveniently help solve a mystery but doesn't do much else. A book about cats would be about just that - cats and NOT humans. And the fact that this book pretends to be about these small furry mammals, when it isn't, is just disgusting in my eyes. Only Braun's short story collection, "The Cat Who Had 14 Tales", actually contains some material that is truely about cats and not humans. Cat lovers, don't waste your time with this series, especially since there are so many mystery series (such as Shirley Rosseau's beautifully written Joe Grey Mysteries) out there that ARE about cats.