The Cat Who Saw Red

After starting “The Cat Who” books in 1968 Lilian Jackson Braun took an eighteen year break from publishing. She resumed in 1968 with, “The Cat Who Saw Red.”   These novels follow Mr. Qwilleran and his Siamese Koko and Yum Yum. You will find an alarming mystery inside this cozy book.

Qwill, as he’s often called, is a charming amateur sleuth with a large mustache that twitches when he’s on to something. As a reporter for the Daily Fluxion, he’s currently on a new assignment to write a gourmet beat.  Ironically this happens just as he’s told by his doctor to lose 30 pounds.

His first story leads him to Maus Haus, a lawyer known for his culinary skill and eccentric boarding house. Qwill decides to take up residence in newly vacant #6 after finding that his old flame Joy is residing there. Along with his new move, he discovers an unsolved “suicide” from years past. While investigating the old, new questions start to arise. What happened to Joy’s cat? Where is Joy? What happened to Koko and Yum Yum?

The young houseboy, William, brings about questions of his own. Then he too disappears. Not only are people missing, Max Sorrel’s restaurant, the Golden Lamb Chop, is being sabotaged. Sorel, another boarder at Maus Haus, is concerned this could all be related.

These books have become so popular that, Robert Kaplow wrote, “The Cat Who Killed Lilian Jackson Braun,” in 2003. I recommend this cozy little mystery set in a nondescript city by Chicago. I feel a connection with the place Braun writes of, since I was born in that area. I also live in the same county the author did, as she resided in Tryon, NC. My plans are to enjoy the rest of the series.