From Kirkus Reviews
Maine's Breakfast Island, that is--that's where megamillionaire Jim Qwilleran, bereft of his special friend Polly Duncan, takes his sleuthing Siamese Koko and Yum Yum to write a few columns for the Moose County Something on the deplorable new tourist facilities on the island, and to look into a series of ``accidents'' (15 guests poisoned by bad chicken, one drowned, one the victim of a bad fall, one blown up in his cruiser, etc.) that have befallen mostly faceless visitors. Like Agatha Christie resolutely keeping up British standards in the face of a shrinking Empire, Braun maintains the forms of the American cozy--an unsolved century-old disappearance of three lighthouse keepers; high tea with the island's queen mother, Rowena Appelhardt, and her 1920's-wayward brood; innumerable civilized conversations about the gentler pleasures of yesteryear--despite the insistent pressure of unpleasant 20th-century realities like land development, homicide, and plain rudeness. Less feline than usual, though psychic Koko's uncanny facility with dominos fingers (sorry, tails) two separate killers in this meandering page from the past. -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
Praise for Lilian Jackson Braun and the Cat Who series
“A master of mystery.”—People
“Upbeat prose and amiable characters.”—Publishers Weekly
“The mix of crime and cats [is] catnip to readers who like both.”—Chicago Sun-Times
“Braun keeps both paws on the side of charming.”—Los Angeles Times
About the Author
The history of Lilian Jackson Braun is perhaps as exciting and mysterious as her novels. Between 1966 and 1968, she published three novels to critical acclaim: The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern, and The Cat Who Turned On and Off. In 1966, the New York Times labeled Braun, “the new detective of the year.” Then, for reasons unknown, the rising mystery author disappeared from the publishing scene. It wasn’t until 1986 that Berkley Publishing Group reintroduced Braun to the public with the publication of an original paperback, The Cat Who Saw Red. Within two years, Berkley released four new novels in paperback and reprinted the three mysteries from the sixties. Since then, G.P. Putnam’s Sons has published seventeen additional novels in the Cat Who series. Braun passed away in 2011.
Van Patten's narration is perfectly paced to reflect the backwoods antics of newspaperman Qwilleran and his detective felines, Koko and Yum-Yum. Patten distinguishes well among the many characters, especially the yowls and meows of the precocious Siamese. His characterization of the elegantly simple Qwilleran is superb. The abridgment handles the quirky storyline well but misses some of the folksy humor of Moose County. The overall effect is enjoyable and clever. A.L.M. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
