Barbara J. Mullaley 2008-11-03

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

I started this book five years ago, and put it down. Never did I pick up another book by Lilian Jackson Braun again. I was bored all the way to the fifth chapter, and that's were I left it.
Two weeks ago I went to the bookstore and picked up "The cat who talked to ghosts". I figured maybe I'd give this author another try. I flew through the book, and found another at a second hand store "The cat who smelled a rat"....another great one.
I then picked up this book again yesterday (11/02/08). I have nearly finished it. I can't believe that I put it down for five years.
The characters are so well rounded. The story fast-paced, and who could forget Qwilleran's first meeting with Koko. His future partner in crime solving.
I recommend this series highly. Take it from someone who gave them a second chance. They are well worth the read.

K. A. Kegley 2008-07-22

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

I realized recently that as much as I love these books, I've read relatively few in the series given how many there actually are (30 to date, if you include the one collection of short stories). Usually laughed off by the masses as kitschy `old-lady' books, those who read them know they're quite the opposite and are actually some of the cleverest bits of reading around. Braun, a former journalist whose advanced age has no doubt contributed to the mistaken notion that these books are about old ladies and their cats, has a wit so sharp and a perception so keen that you almost never see her coming at you until it's too late and it's zoomed right past you. Her fondness for the mysterious and almost mystical Siamese cat is no different than Dean Koontz's love affair with Golden Retrievers, and far less sappy and sentimental. Her human hero, Jim Qwilleran, remains one of the most enigmatic, fascinating literary characters I've ever encountered.

This is the very first book in the series, written in 1966 and not, I believe, initially intended by Braun for serial-dom. The title was simply a wordplay on the central plot in which the owner of an elegant and mouthy Siamese cat is murdered, and I wonder if Braun ever imagined that the quirky title would explode into the near-phenomenon known as "The Cat Who..." books! I especially enjoyed reading this first one and being `introduced' to Qwill from the beginning, because his situation changes so drastically in the later books that I'm more familiar with. Here, we find him in his big city setting (unlike the far-flung country setting of later books), having just accepted a new job as a feature writer on the Daily Fluxion. His first assignment is writing up the local art scene, which Qwill is not entirely happy about given that he's accustomed to the more serious crime and political beats, but his position is precarious at the moment and complaining is not an option. At least things get a bit more interesting when the paper's deeply despised art critic - and also Qwill's temporary landlord - as well as a local art dealer are both murdered.

As is par for the course in all the books, Qwill's past is something of a mystery, glimpsed in bits from time to time via the vague occasional comment alluding to an ex-wife, alcoholism and lost jobs, but never fully explained. Qwill himself is a guarded person, even to the reader, so he's like that guy at work you want to know more about but is too prickly and private to draw out very easily.

I'm really looking forward to reading this series in order. As I understand it, the first three books were written in relatively quick succession, before a long and unexplained hiatus. After this first book, which was popular enough to generate a second and third (published in 1967 and 1968), Braun didn't return to the story until almost twenty years later, in 1986. It was at that point the series really picked up and became - and remains - one of the most popular mystery series' of all time. I can't wait to keep going and watch the development of Qwill and the other recurring characters.

That Chatty Gal 2008-06-17

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Being a cozy mystery lover - and a confirmed animal lover - I thought The Cat Who Could Read Backwards might be perfect for my tastes. Sadly, it was a slow, meandering read. My biggest complaint is about the dialog. The author doesn't write the dialog of her male characters in a way that SOUNDS like a real man speaking. For example, our main character was a long time journalist and war correspondent. He's no doubt been involved in grizzly events - and I doubt there is much that makes him flinch. Knowing this, when he reacts to the cat sniffing a dried blood stain by shrieking, "Koko! Don't be disgusting!" (and he whisks the cat away immediately) he sounded (and acted) more like a very big wimp. Point 2: The author seemed to have so much fun discussing modern art, that she forgot to keep the story going in the right direction at times. Point 3: Some red herrings made me feel as if I was cheated - in the end the "red herring" characters inclusion was never justified, their odd behaviors and activities were never explained. In fact, there were simply too many unimportant characters who didn't propel the story forward. Too many directions of interest. Untidy writing. Not very much fun to read. A major let down in the ending - like the ending was an after-thought -- as if the ending wasn't in mind when she was writing all the previous chapters. Lastly, our main character was too much of an idiot at times - especially when he'd ignore the cats clues only hours after he had been ranting about how brilliant this cat that reads is to his fellow journalists. I wish could get the time I spent reading this back again.

NoWireHangers 2008-06-13

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

When i first discovered the whole "cat mystery" genre, I became curious, so I decided to give this one a try, and listened to the audio version.

For a mystery novel, it's unusual in that the mystery doesn't start until about halfway into the book. The author first establishes the characters and we get to follow the main character, Jim Qwilleran as he starts working at his new job, making some new friends, etc. I suppose these parts were occasionally somewhat funny and the characters were interesting, but I would prefer to have the mystery start much earlier.

The writing was good but I personally didn't find the story very interesting, but I guess this isn't my type of mystery. It seems to be popular among readers of cozy mysteries, so I suppose I can recommended the book to those cozy mysteries fans who haven't already read it. Readers looking for suspense should look elsewhere.

C. Dean 2008-01-27

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Lilian Jackson Braun is a great author, and this mystery was no exception. I highly recommend her books.