The Cat Who Did A Podcast

  Qwill commits to living in Pickaxe for the five years required by Fanny's will and gets committed to the hospital when a truck runs his bike off the road.  His new house is full of priceless antiques and a mystery - a pregnant housemaid disappeared without a trace five years earlier.   Qwill's nosiness nearly gets him killed again, but he survives to continue being fed by Iris Cobb, his new live-in housekeeper and cook. Money has its perks.  Catch up on the podcast here:  https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-23qvy-f245c9 My Thoughts:  Food: We get introduced to several Moose County staples for restaurants, and all by one are different varieties of terrible- the Old Stone Mill (frozen tortellini), Otto’s Tasty Eats (the backcountry Golden Corral), and the Hotel Booze - oldest “flophouse” in the county, home of the Cholesterol special - a double cheeseburger and fresh-made fries.  The book ends at a new restaurant called Stephanie’s (named after a family...

It's finally time to leave the Metropolis of no name (or Checleveroit)and head 400 miles north of everywhere to Moose County! Qwill finds himself unhappy with city life and heads north to write the book he's always dreamed of, but country living reveals more underhanded dealings than he expects.  He and Koko suss out a crime ring, but not in time to save his mother's best girlhood friend Fanny. There are frozen turkeys, mysterious histories and of course, Qwill's nosiness saves the day! Want to catch up with the podcast?  Listen here:    https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-q8eex-f19e6f Here are my thoughts: Where in the World is Pickaxe?  Consensus seems to say it’s modeled after Bad Axe Michigan where Braun lived until the Mid 80s. Also, in the beginning of the book, it’s mentioned that Koko has his portrait in the lobby of the press club with the Pulitzer Prize winners and his own press card, signed by the chief of police- but we never find out how this happens!!!!!...

The Cat Who Saw Red The Cat Who Returns!  After 20 years away, LJB returns to Qwill, Koko and Yum Yum.  Having read this book and the following book - the Cat Who Played Brahms, I have a theory that this book was written directly after the Cat Who Turned on and Off, then put away for 20 years, until a new publisher and a new husband encouraged her to try again with the series.  I do incorrectly state in the podcast that this book is the only award nominee, but as I later learned, that wasn't true.  The Cat Who Played Brahms was also nominated for an Anthony Award, but it also lost.  Short-ish summary:  Qwill starts a diet and is immediately assigned a gourmet dining column for the Fluxion.  Mary Duckworth goes to the Caribbean and sends Qwill to her attorney/gourmet Chef's house for dinner and he moves in to an available apartment there, after reuniting with his former fiancée, who is now the in-house potter, along with her incredibly suspicious husban...

Book Three already!! This is not my favorite of the early books and was admittedly a bit more of a slog to read and summarize compared to the first two books. But forward we shall go. Qwill keeps having to move every book and it is already wearing thin.  I have to wonder if she had remained in the city setting if he’d spend a book without the cats because he couldn’t find a place to live...which would not have ended well.  It would have been interesting to see how many identifiable parts of town she could come up with (fine artists, interior designers, antique dealers...what next?) Once again, Qwill meets a young and attractive woman he lusts after (Mary Duckworth/Duxbury - see, I told you that name would come back!) and a dumpy but kind woman, with a "nymphomaniac mixed in for good measure. Mary Duckworth - Rich, sells actual expensive antiques and likes to wear a blue kimono while working in her shop. She's also described as having long black hair and almost Asian eyes....