The Cat Who Brought Down the House

December 16, 2002
Lovers of bestseller Braun's irresistible Siamese cats, regal Koko and delicate Yum Yum, and their pet human, Jim Qwilleran, will need no further recommendation than the title for this 25th book in the series. (Remember The Cat Who Went Up the Creek?) The locale is the same, the town of Pickax in Moose County, 400 miles north of everywhere, with its peculiar, lovable citizens. Into this bucolic setting comes Thelma Thackeray, a native of Moose County, who, having achieved fame and fortune in Hollywood, is returning at age 82 to die. But first she intends to have some fun. Everyone is curious about the glamorous retiree, who also has purchased the long-vacant opera house downtown. Local historians recall that Thelma's twin brother, Thurston, had operated an animal hospital in neighboring Lockmaster until his tragic death from an accidental fall a year earlier. Now his son, Richard, has come to live with Thelma. When she decides to turn the opera house into a film club, Dick is offered the position of manager—with startling results. The first public event in the renovated opera house is the Kit Kat Revue, a fund-raiser, whose finale is a procession of prominent citizens with their pets, all cats. Qwill and Koko are at the end of the line, and that's when Koko brings down the house. In her inimitable gentle style, Braun documents the daily activities of the inhabitants of Pickax. Kidnappings, robberies and murders may abound, but nothing is really upsetting or unpleasant. Braun devotees will cheer. (Jan.)FYI:Braun is also the author of
Short and Tall Tales: Moose County Legends Collected by James Mackintosh Qwilleran (Forecasts, Sept. 16).

May 5, 2003
Guidall, the veteran audio reader who's read countless Cat Who
books, returns for another foray into the goings-on in the tiny town of Pickax, "400 miles from anywhere." Guidall's versatile voice creates a whole town of characters: a glamorous, pretentious interior designer; a fluttery librarian; gravelly columnist James Quilleran (the protagonist); and a new character, elderly Thelma Thackeray, a former Moose County resident returning after six decades in Hollywood. As usual, the mild mystery (who kidnapped Thelma's prize parrots; and was the death of Thelma's brother, an elderly veterinarian, from natural causes or by murder?) takes a backseat to the pleasure of simply spending time in the company of dry, witty Quilleran, his clever cats Yum-Yum and Koko and his eccentric friends and neighbors. Fans of the series will happily settle down with headphones for this 25th entry. Simultaneous release with the Putnam hardcover (Forecasts, Dec. 16, 2002).