The Cat Who Brought Down the House

I got this book thinking it was a mystery. The only mystery was how the author has gotten 25 books published! It seems like a Yuppie's dream come true - a detailed account of everything the protagonist eats in snooty restaurants.

Except for a few minimal attempts at hinting that something is amiss, there is no plot that I can find (another mystery!). The crimes are basically described and solved by someone else in the last forty pages of the book.

Don't waste your money!

I really like the Cat Who Mysteries and started reading them as a kid - I'm now going back and re-reading the series and catching up with the later stories that I missed. I understand that Ms. Braun was in her twilight years when she wrote this book, but it seemed like it was haphazardly written and the murder was wedged in awkwardly. It is always nice to re-visit the characters, but the dialog and descriptions don't seem as natural as they do in the earlier books. Most of the characters should know each other very well based on how long they have lived in Pickaxe/Moose County, but it seems like characters are asking questions or saying things that they normally wouldn't. It is always nice to visit with Qwill and the kitties, but I was a little disappointed in this book and I would recommend getting it on sale if you are like me and want to read the whole series from start to finish. If you are new to the series I would recommend jumping in with one of the earlier stories like The Cat Who Played Brahms.

After 25 years of reading "The Cat Who" books, I'm ready to put Qwill out to pasture. While this book has a much better plot than the other latest 3 or 4, the writer or ghostwriter, seems to have just gotten tired and leaves out the details or entire convesations that made the early books such treasures. For instance, Koko does his death cry only once out of 3 deaths; his death cry signals the first murder but then apparently Koko sleeps through the last, most important two deaths. This book has sparks of the old Lilian and sets up some interesting things that could happen in the next book, but in response to her asking whether or not to make it 26 mysteries, "No". I'll miss Qwill but I want to remember him as he was and not the shadow he and Koko are becoming.

I really enjoyed THE CAT WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE HOUSE, and I consider it one of her best, especially one of the best of her recent ones. Most of the book is a pleasant visit with the inhabitants of Moose County. The mystery is really only a side note, but it's still fun. The early books in this series were SO good, and later the plots seemed to be phoned in, but she's back in form here.

Lilian Jackson Braun (June 20, 1913 – June 4, 2011[1]) was an American writer, well known for her light-hearted series of "The Cat Who..." mystery novels. The "Cat Who" books center around the life of former newspaper reporter, James Qwilleran, and his two Siamese cats, KoKo and Yum-Yum, in the fictitious small town of Pickax located in Moose County "400 miles north of everywhere." Although never formally stated in her books, the towns, counties and lifestyles described in the series are generally accepted to be modeled after Bad Axe, Michigan, where Braun resided with her husband until the mid-1980s.

Jim Qwilleran (Qwill to his friends) is a wealthy bachelor who writes a newspaper column for the local paper. He and his two cats, are stars of a long running series of very mild 'cozy' mysteries. This one, #25, beginnings with the announced pending return to Moose county (located 400 miles north of everywhere) of Thelma Thackeray who had spent the last 55 years in California. Qwill's initial reaction is a suspicion that this is an April Fool's prank but after a little invesitgation discovers it is not.
Thelma brings an interesting group with her when she arrives, a companion/assistant, a nephew, a group of parrots...a few mysteries. Was her twin brother's accidental death really so accidental? How can her very expensive Film Club do so well so quickly? How did someone manage to kidnap a group of very vocal parrots so quietly? Qwill and his cats manage to find all the answers despite the complications of some thefts, two murders and a local fund raiser.
For those who are fans of this series there are many bits of Moose County life, Polly, Qwill's lady friend, is beginning a new career, we learn more about Burgess Campbell and hear more from other old friends. If you are new to the series it would be better to begin with either THE CAT WHO READ BACKWARDS or THE CAT WHO PLAYED BRAHMS.

He started reading immediately while I finished making Christmas dinner.

Great book. The mystery is entertaining and the characters are engaging, not to mention the cat. I bought five or six of the books in the series and they were all delightful. If you enjoy mysteries and entertaining characters, then give these books a try. I think you will enjoy them.

This book had no plot. It read like an extended gossip column. I could not find any redeeming literary value. It was slopped together and even the attempts at humor were inane. This book is not worth the paper it is written on. Save your money and do not purchase.

There is simply no way that this installment was penned by the same author that wrote the rest of the series. Pointing out inconsistencies may sound trivial and nerdy but it is important for those of us who are fans of the real Qwil, Koko and Yum Yum. The tone is so off base, the actions so out of character and the background references so factually inconsistent with the rest of the series that fans will be unable to read it all the way through without visceral annoyance! It's as if this ghostwriter had very scant information on the series and didn't even bother to read any prior titles - perhaps someone have him a really crappy memo. (I believe the ghost writer is male because there is a contradictory attempt to very superficially acknowledge broadened professional and social roles for women while simultaneously attributing an oddly lascivious, though flat, sense of humor to Qwil (something about photographs of the female cat being "tail shots" - wtf?)

After reading about 70% of the story, griping all the way ("Where the heck are the cats in this story?", "Polly would never say that", "Qwil never talks about cleaning cat poop and he would never leave the cats alone on the gazebo","Qwil does not make a quick sandwich","Why would the K-fund own condos?","How could Qwil disavow knowledge of interior design? He covered that very topic for the Fluxion(The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern)!", and many, many more of the same), I finally chucked the thing across the room! It was infuriating! Fans will be insulted. This character is not Qwil and, worst of all, this writer has obviously NEVER OWNED A CAT!