Stephen Gilberg (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
deckardcanine) wrote2025-05-22 02:23 pm
deckardcanine) wrote2025-05-22 02:23 pm
Book Review: The Cat Who Blew the Whistle
My mom used to read Lilian Jackson Braun's The Cat Who... series a lot. She asked to (re?)read this 1995 book when I finished it. It reached #8 on the New York Times Best Seller list, yet it is not among the majority of TCW entries with a Wikipedia page. The only reason I started here is that it happened to be given away.
The protagonist of the mystery series is not a professional detective but a middle-aged journalist, Jim "Qwill" Qwilleran, in a fictitious U.S. town. He picks up crucial hints from his cats, Yum Yum and especially Koko, to the point that Qwill believes in ESP. (Why a female author would want the male cat to be far more useful is beyond me.) That's the only quasi-fantasy premise herein.
In TCWBtW, the restoration of a historic train passes for big news in the county -- but not as big as the disappearance of the man behind it, along with the investors' money. What is first assumed to be a scam on his part looks less straightforward when not-so-random violence ensues. Qwill enlists the help of his ex and an old female friend to dig up information. Koko appears to know all the answers, but Qwill can't make sense of his behavior without outside clues.
Alas, I have next to zero interest in trains. But then, so does Qwill. He just has the writing chops to fake enthusiasm. At least there's a subplot involving a local production of A Midsummer Night's Dream that replaces fairies with aliens. Yes, it ties (heh) in with the railroad saga eventually.
What bothers me more is the pacing. There is no sign of conflict until page 60. It takes a lot longer for the conflict to strike Qwill as mysterious, despite Koko already confusing him. Longer still for the scent of murder.
Even then, I hardly cared about the people involved, and neither cat gets as much focus as I'd expected. I found myself reading on only in the hope that the ending would blow me away. Well, I didn't predict the solution, but neither did it strongly surprise me. Except maybe for one barely important detail that a modern publisher probably wouldn't dare include.
I do feel like I should read more mysteries. I just won't bother with more TCW unless I have assurance that a story is more up my alley.
Up next is Paul Auster's 4 3 2 1. Getting a thick tome off the shelf ahead of my birthday.
The protagonist of the mystery series is not a professional detective but a middle-aged journalist, Jim "Qwill" Qwilleran, in a fictitious U.S. town. He picks up crucial hints from his cats, Yum Yum and especially Koko, to the point that Qwill believes in ESP. (Why a female author would want the male cat to be far more useful is beyond me.) That's the only quasi-fantasy premise herein.
In TCWBtW, the restoration of a historic train passes for big news in the county -- but not as big as the disappearance of the man behind it, along with the investors' money. What is first assumed to be a scam on his part looks less straightforward when not-so-random violence ensues. Qwill enlists the help of his ex and an old female friend to dig up information. Koko appears to know all the answers, but Qwill can't make sense of his behavior without outside clues.
Alas, I have next to zero interest in trains. But then, so does Qwill. He just has the writing chops to fake enthusiasm. At least there's a subplot involving a local production of A Midsummer Night's Dream that replaces fairies with aliens. Yes, it ties (heh) in with the railroad saga eventually.
What bothers me more is the pacing. There is no sign of conflict until page 60. It takes a lot longer for the conflict to strike Qwill as mysterious, despite Koko already confusing him. Longer still for the scent of murder.
Even then, I hardly cared about the people involved, and neither cat gets as much focus as I'd expected. I found myself reading on only in the hope that the ending would blow me away. Well, I didn't predict the solution, but neither did it strongly surprise me. Except maybe for one barely important detail that a modern publisher probably wouldn't dare include.
I do feel like I should read more mysteries. I just won't bother with more TCW unless I have assurance that a story is more up my alley.
Up next is Paul Auster's 4 3 2 1. Getting a thick tome off the shelf ahead of my birthday.