Review - Lilian Jackson BRAUN – “The Cat who Talked Turkey”

Year Published: - 2004
Where the book was from:- Pensby Library
ISBN: - 0 7531 7011 6
Pages: - 172pp (large Print)
Genre: - Weird, cosy crime
Location:- Moose County, USA
How I came across it: - Serendipity
Rating: - *****
One sentence summary:- The town of Pickax prepares to celebrate the groundbreaking ceremony for a new bookstore but Jim Qwilleran knows all is not well when his cat Koko gives a yowl that suggests an untimely death has taken place.


General comments:- I’m not sure who is more weird – the ‘hero’ Jim Qwilleran – or his cats that have e.s.p. Even though between them they made for a story which I had to finish I’ll not be reading another. I think you have to have a certain sense of humour to get the best out of Braun’s 30 cat novels and I haven’t quite got it.

AUTHOR Notes:- From Fantastic Fiction:-
The history of Lilian Jackson Braun (b 1913) 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 the 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.

Even though Braun claims that her cats have never done anything extraordinary, her fictional cats, Koko and Yum Yum, solve crimes and delight fans in book after book. Braun says the reason for her success is that "people are simply tired of all the blood. I write what is called the classic mystery." She says that while "not all mystery fans may like cats, all cat-fanciers seem to like mysteries. That makes for a large audience, since 26% of all American households own 53.9 million cats between them."

Braun was the "Good Living" editor of The Detroit Free Press for 29 years. She is retired from journalism and is currently writing mysteries full-time. She lives with two Siamese cats and her husband, Earl Bettinger, in North Carolina.