| Title | : | The Cat Who Played Brahms (Cat Who... #5) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0515090506 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780515090505 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Mass Market Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 192 |
| Publication | : | First published June 1, 1987 |
| Awards | : | Anthony Award Best Paperback Original (1988) |
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Is it just a case of summertime blues or a full-blown career crisis? Newspaper reporter Jim Qwilleran isn't sure, but he's hoping a few days in the country will help him sort out his life.
With cats Koko and Yum Yum for company, Qwilleran heads for a cabin owned by a long-time family friend, "Aunt Fanny." But from the moment he arrives, things turn strange. Eerie footsteps cross the roof at midnight. Local townsfolk become oddly secretive. And then while fishing, Qwilleran hooks onto a murder mystery. Soon Qwilleran enters into a game of cat and mouse with the killer, while Koko develops a sudden and uncanny fondness for classical music...
The Cat Who Played Brahms (Cat Who... #5) Reviews
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Book Review
Another fun release in the "Cat Who" series by
Lilian Jackson Braun with this fifth installment,
The Cat Who Played Brahms. I gave this one a 4 of 5 start as it introduces us to Aunt Fanny, thus beginning the transition for Qwill from the big city to 400 miles north of everywhere. By now, you get the formula... you know who he is, but this one brings out his softer side when he delves deeper into retirement. Looking for relaxation, he stumbles into a mystery at the cabin and among the townspeople. You get to know several people who will be in future books, but you also get a sense of cats in the country! Normal antics. Kooky characters. Good writing (though basic).Just one of those fun things to read over 3 to 4 hours. And in this one, you get the opportunity to learn a little more about classic music. I like hearing it in the background, but not something to just sit and listen to all day long for me... I'm game for the opera and theatre, and I do enjoy classical music, but I know very little. So an education in the book was a nice thing too!
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'The Cat who Played Brahms' by Lilian Jackson Braun features Jim Qwilleran, currently a restaurant reviewer for a Midwestern newspaper, the Daily Fluxion, and his Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum. It is 1987. Qwilleran is an old-fashioned kind of guy, maybe in his late forties/early fifties? He was a war correspondent and a crime reporter until his terrible marriage ended in divorce. He had also been an alcoholic, ruining his career, but he now is a teetotaler. He has a lot of debts.
Do not tremble in fear, sensitive readers! 'The Cat Who' is a cozy mystery series. While murders happen and bodies are regularly discovered by Qwilleran and his amazing kitty Koko, descriptions are brief and often offscreen.
Four books ago (starting with
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards), Qwilleran moved to an anonymous Midwestern city and contacted a friend on the Daily Fluxion hoping to get any kind of job on the newspaper. He got lucky. There was an opening as a feature writer. He mostly wrote about art openings. Of course, there soon was a murder.
The victim owned a cat called Kao K'o-Kung, or Koko, for short. The cat seemed to want to be with Qwilleran after his owner was murdered. Qwilleran took him. Unexpectedly, he discovered the cat seemed to be psychic, communicating clues in obscure ways while still behaving like a typical Siamese - noisy and curious. Once Qwilleran decided to follow the clues Koko showed him in his odd ways, Qwilleran 'solved' the murders. At least, Qwilleran took the credit for solving the murders knowing all the while it was the cat Koko.
The two bachelors became a household of three when in a previous book Qwilleran adopted an abused Siamese, Yum Yum, in solving another murder. The three are now great friends, but Yum Yum is simply an ordinary cat.
Qwilleran decides to take a vacation and go north to a small lakeside town for three months with the cats. He plans to write a book. The small town, Pickax City, is a woodsy place which used to be the home of loggers, miners and fishermen, but now everyone earns money from tourists. He is going to visit a woman who was a friend of his mother's, 'Aunt' Fanny. He has always called her aunt but she is no relation to him in fact. She is eighty-nine years old and very wealthy.
Everything on his car trip goes ok (a few problems, plus, hello, he has the cats with him). His Aunt Fanny is happy to see him when he arrives at her mansion. She offers him a lakeside cabin she owns to stay with the cats and he agrees. He does miss the city a little, and he wonders where his latest relationship will end up. Rosemary is a very nice lady, and he likes her. But in each novel so far, when he has liked a new lady he meets in each book, the relationship has foundered. Koko has disliked them all as well.
He gets to know the locals and notices things are really different here in the north. Some of the people are a little peculiar, but he assumes it is a matter of different social customs. But soon there more going on than simply peculiar northern things happening! A murder!
The Cat Who series is a sweet-tempered and entertaining cozy series with occasional claws showing, much like real cats. I recommend it to cat lovers and mystery readers who enjoy non-graphic mysteries. Koko really is psychic, gentle readers! But he is a real cat at the same time. -
This 5th installment was my favorite so far. With the move to Moose County, the series is injected with humor and whimsy, and the characters and mystery are engaging.
This time, Qwill's beat was ... no beat!
When the building he’s living in (Maus Haus from the previous book) is sold and the residents given notice, Qwill decides it's the perfect time for a vacation. For years, wealthy family friend "Aunt Fanny" Klingenschoen has been offering him the use of her lake house in Moose County, so he loads Koko and YumYum into his newly purchased car and off they go.
Qwill is a city boy and everything about isolated Moose County seems strange, but before long he gets to know and appreciate the beauty of the area and the quirky, friendly locals. Of course, he and the cats are soon embroiled in a mystery – this time involving escaped prisoners, a shady turkey farm, and smuggling.
A few more tidbits about Qwill’s life are parceled out here. We find out that his ex-wife had a nervous breakdown, which led to his drinking problem. Rosemary, his age-appropriate lady love from the previous book comes to visit but the relationship is doomed as Qwill is backsliding into his preference for much younger women. (Although in fairness, it might not be Rosemary’s age so much as the fact that she doesn’t get his jokes.) He meets beautiful young doctor Melinda Goodwinter and clearly wants to pursue her – despite the fact that she seems determined to put him in his place, constantly referring to his advanced age.
The biggest surprise in this novel is the incredible change in Qwill’s circumstances. Upon Aunt Fanny’s death, he learns he is her sole heir and becomes an overnight multi-millionaire. The catch is, he must live in her Pickax mansion for the next five years. If he declines, the entire fortune goes to an outfit dedicated to restoring Atlantic City, where Aunt Fanny had made her fortune. This would be a huge blow to the citizens of Moose County, who for years have been promised funds from Aunt Fanny’s fortune for various community projects.
Qwill is torn. He is not materialistic, and he likes his life as a reporter Down Below. He's not sure he wants to live full time in this strange, remote part of the country. What will Qwill decide? We won’t know until the next book!
Originally published: 1987
Body Count: 4
Preceded by: The Cat Who Saw Red
Next Up: The Cat Who Played Post Office -
In this one, we see the introduction of Moose County and its fascinating inhabitants. This is where the series took a huge turn, from the main character living in the big city and barely scraping by as a journalist to his having a wealthy honorary aunt and everything that entails. As usual, wherever Qwill and his cats go, they deal with a huge mystery, usually including an unusual death. Truthfully I would avoid Jim Qwilleran at all costs because so many people die around him. The book is a cute cozy mystery that was one of the first I had ever read in the genre. It is a great light read that I always find quick and fun, even with everything involving death.
Re-read 2022
I haven't read these books in quite a while. I found most of the set in hardback earlier this year and picked up some of my favorite books in the series for a re-read. -
I don't know if it was just because I was on vacation while reading this or what, but I enjoyed this installment more than any of the others in the series so far. As usual the story is full of quirky characters, some new and some old. The mystery itself is also very tame, but still likable. When the identity of the killer was revealed at the end, I was surprised. For some reason Braun's books always end up surprising me at the end. And the cliffhanger at the end was great! What will Qwill do--take the money or take the assignment? Readers will have to pick up book six in the series to find out!
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Meet Aunt Fannie here! A nice smooth pace and a plot with twists and turns. Qwilleran faces life changing decisions again.
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Qwilleran decides to take a vacation up north in Moose County in a cabin owned by his late mother’s friend who he calls Aunt Fanny. So he buys a car specially to fit the cats’ litter box and away they go. He anticipates sitting on a screened porch with his pipe, working on a novel, getting to know the locals. Of course it doesn’t turn out that way! The locals despise outsiders; the local restaurants are deplorable; the lake constantly washes up dead fish on the shoreline that smell horribly in the summer sunshine. Most alarming, he finds evidence that people are entering his cabin when he’s out — no one has locks on their doors — and he’s worried about the cats.
Of course he and Koko solve the local mysteries, including a murder. Then Aunt Fanny dies suddenly by falling down the stairs and when her latest will is read, she has left everything to Qwill, provided he lives there for 5 years. At the same time, the Daily Fluxion offers him a new job as an investigative reporter (and he gets the rival newspaper to make him a better offer. What to do? -
Book five in the delightful cozy mystery series starring James Qwilleran (just Qwill to his friends), and his Siamese Koko. Qwill has been notified that he’ll be evicted when his building is sold, so he decides to take a sabbatical and take up a family friend’s offer of a remote cabin on a lake “up north.” He figures he’ll have peace and quiet and will be able to begin work on the book he wants to write. Mooseville is certainly NOT the big city, but something mysterious is going on; several of Qwill’s cherished possessions go missing and then a neighboring cabin owner is murdered.
I really enjoy this series. I like Qwill and I like Koko, and NO, the cat doesn’t talk but his meanderings and occasional reaction to a visitor frequently point Qwill in the direction of a significant clue. I also like the women in Qwill’s life. He’s always a gentleman but he operates alone and he likes it that way.
This episode ends with a bit of a surprise twist and a cliffhanger. But having already read the next installment (my mistake … I read out of order) I was happy to get the background. -
I always follow publication order but this series hinges on chronology and rewards sequential effort. Jim changes homes in each of these first five books. I have heard “The Cat Who Played Brahms” introduces a permanent residence. Events establish their lifestyle hereafter. Jim visits his Mother’s dear friend, Fanny; who regards him as a nephew. He is keen on a vacation and accepts her seldom used cottage at a nearby beach town.
I loved watching him discover the thoroughfares and personality of a peculiarly unique setting. Best of all, Jim goes nowhere without Yum Yum and Koko. I loved his graceful, calm girlfriend Rosemary; a charismatic, intelligent lady from his apartment block. The threads of external mysteries were interesting, stemmed from the unique traits of this particular environment. However other factors made this my least favourite. Three stars recognize Lilian as creative and original even at weakest. The focus wavered, like steps thrown together. This wasn’t an emotional culmination in a central mystery. I don’t wonder this was a volume Lilian used for settling business: a girlfriend and new status.
Stuffing too much business into one book made it disjointed; mystery of solely sideline interest. A crook’s persistence in using an occupied cottage was silly. Jim claiming to admire ‘younger women’ was outrageous, when Rosemary was his age! The part that rankled most was the main murder. The person revealed as guilty would never do such a thing. Even the cats felt pointlessly inserted, rather than belonging in any of the adventures. The Brahms music too fitted weakly; as if a whole story strove to match a thematic title; not a title inspired by content. It’s too bad the contents were hastily strung together. This book is key to the remainder of the series and fans ought to read it. -
I'm trying to go all the way back to the beginning of the series! This felt almost like the first, but it's actually #5. It's interesting reading about the Michigan of years ago - by now, all of these little towns would be full of strip malls, the Dimsdale diner would be gonezo, people couldn't just "not print" stories about murders (someone would write a blog and then it would be on national TV), etc. I like that in these earlier books Qwill seems a bit younger and there's a bit more of an edge to the stories, but they're still cozy and full of food and descriptions of interior decorating and cats sitting on moose heads. Reading these books is always such a treat.
*update: how funny, I finished this almost exactly 3 years later to the day. I love this series. the earlier books are definitely darker, but there is still plenty of humor and enough cozy elements to balance out how terribly sad some of this story is. I had forgotten how much fun Aunt Fanny is. I wish we got more time to know her. -
3 Stars
Koko, Yum-Yum and the guy who is allowed to take care of them, take some time from the big city and go to the big country. Huge mistake; but definitely puts our amateur sleuths to the test. This was a continuation of the fun we have with Qwilleran and his cats (owners). -
It took five books, but we finally meet "Aunt" Fanny. Jim Qwilleran takes a vacation to spend some time getting away from the bustle of the city, only to find that crime also occurs in the rural back country. There really isn't much more I can say about this mystery without giving the plot away. Suffice it to say, this book lives up to Braun's reputation for great whodunit writing. If you have read the previous books, give this book a go. On a related note, the index at the beginning of each book lists the books in chronological order. It's best to read this series in order if you plan on following all the characters.
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Maybe this should be 3.5 stars, but I don't mind rounding it up for the cats! A delightful series with a good feel about it. Fun to read, and interesting to try to solve the mysteries.
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Qwilleran is summoned by his Aunt Fanny (actually his godmother, a friend of his mother's) to come up north - way up north to take a break at her cabin. Of course, murder seems to follow him and his two sleuthing cats wherever they go. This entry into the series takes a bit of a left turn. What next?
A Gripe: These Jove publishing reprints are filled with typos, and I mean filled! So distracting.
Why I'm reading this: A little like popcorn or potato chips - can't stop eating/reading these books! My fifth in pretty quick succession. -
I didn't enjoy this book as much as I have previous ones. It seemed rushed and lazy.
Qwilleran was extremely unlikeable with his wannabe womanizing and his treating Tom like a servant.
The mystery itself was very bland and uninteresting. We didn't have enough time to even get to know the town's characters before the murder occurred. Koko's exploring and IMMEDIATELY bringing the clues felt very lazy on the author's part and also lacked the playful suspense that I have loved so much about this series. There was no buildup or working anything out for yourself, it was more just waiting for the book to end.
Also, poor Yumyum barely got a mention throughout the book. I wanted to remind the arrogant protagonist that he had TWO cats, not just one!
I disliked the ending leaving off the way it did. This is not the type of series I read all at once, I like to intersperse other books between it, so now there's a cliffhanger! -
Prvá veta:
Pro Qwillerana to byl jeden z nejhrůznějších pohledů, jaké za celou svou dlouholetou novinářskou kariéru viděl, a to se jako válečný zpravodaj před mnoha lety dostal do nepřátelské palby.
Posledná veta:
Mělo to teď znamenat ano, nebo ne?
Goodreads Challenge 2019: 30. kniha -
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I like the main character in this series and his hometown characteristics. It's fun to tag along and experience his quirky lifestyle. I don't care for cats, but his don't demand too much attention.
Happily tapping along through these adventures. -
I love Quill and his cats! This is where the inheritance started. He has a lot to learn about the town of Pickax!
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This series is stupid and easy and doesn't require a ton of thought.
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This is the fifth book in what I refer to as "cat mystery books" and this is the second installment since Braun's long hiatus after the third book. When I first found this series at the library I didn't realize there was a clear and distinct order and I had read book six first. So, I rather knew quite a bit about what was going to happen during this book due to spoilers. However, hopefully that perspective won't mar my review too much.
I think after four novels of Qwilleran running into trouble in the same location, perhaps Braun found a need to change locations. So, in this book Qwilleran takes the summer off to write a novel. He has an wealthy old family friend who will lend him a cabin for writing purposes and naturally Koko and Yum Yum will be joining him on his adventure! So, he drives up north to a small rural lake town named Pickaxe. It was originally a flourishing mining town and seems to no longer be in that industry.
Generally speaking the story was pretty good, but it felt a lot like the first book. Murder mysteries ensue, of course, but antics of the cats are not as prominent as they have been in the past few stories. I think part of the problem with sending Qwilleran to an entirely new location is that Braun had to spend quite a bit of her time world building. Introducing new characters and relevant people. Creating blinds so we wouldn't guess who the real killer was by the end, which I didn't. As with the first book, the end happens rather suddenly. There are a few people we might suspect, but the whole mystery sort of wraps up in a single page. It felt like she was running out of pages and had wanted to write a longer story... so, the cats presence in this book felt more like an afterthought. Sure, Koko finds us relevant clues here and there, but that's about all there is. The actual killer isn't a very prominent character, so it is rather surprising when Qwilleran eventually puts it all together.
I will say though, I quite enjoyed the new setting and all the new characters that were introduced. I just wish she had gone for a higher page count to really craft a great mystery like I know Braun can do. It was still an enjoyable read, it just wasn't, necessarily, what I was expecting after what the past few books had set up.
Now, if I hadn't read the book after this I would be worried this series might begin to stall out, but I am happy to report that the next book is quite wonderful. Now that the general world building of Pick Axe has been established the 6th book feels much more on track with what I really loved about the series. -
The Cat Who Played Brahms is the 5th book in the Cat Who series by Lilian Jackson Braun. The books don't have to be read in order to enjoy them or understand what's going on as each entry usually involves the main character, Jim Qwilleran, going to some new place for work or personal reasons. However you will get so much more out of them if you do. Circumstances are always changing and evolving for Qwill and his cats. The Cat Who Played Brahms is a major turning point for him and a big set up for further books.
The story starts with Qwill needing a vacation. He goes to stay in Mooseville at his Aunt Fanny's log cabin. When he gets there he begins to learn more about her and how she interacts and gets along with the town, many of which are not financially secure like Aunt Fanny. In fact the town has problems but we also see that Aunt Fanny uses her clout to get things done.
It takes quite a while before a death occurs. As usual Qwill is curious about a lot of things. He is always somehow naturally investigating before he really starts, so when something does happen he is already prepared. This time though the murder isn't as important or central to the book. All of the other usual elements are there but the mystery isn't quite as satisfying. It's an important entry for fans of the series though and I've said before that this series is the only one where many pages can go by without a murder and I won't mind. -
THE CAT WHO series is one of my oldest favorite cozy mystery series. They are simple enough that anybody can read and follow the plot but not shallow. The character Jim Or “Call me Qwill” has a lovable depth to him. His 2 siamese cats, Koko and Yum-yum, are written so well that being a cat person myself and have also been previously owned by Siamese cats find myself laughing and chuckling while reading. The other characters are also well done.
This series is the epitome of cozy mystery books. When life gets complicated I always reach for an old favorite book that has just been waiting for me like a good friend to pick it up, grab a throw blanket and curl up with it. 2020 seems like a really great time to revisit these old friends.
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.By the way, best read in order but this particular book in the series is laugh out loud funny. -
3.5 Stars
This isn't my favorite book in the series, but it's clear this book is meant to change the direction of the series. I didn't realize when I first read these books years ago the number of years between the publishing of the first 3 books and the rest. The ending of this book gives the opportunity to take things in a new direction.
The mystery here was a little garbled with too many elements going on and not a lot of clear indication of the people involved. But I did enjoy Koko and Yum-Yum as per usual. Aunt Franny was a character and I wish we'd gotten to know her a little better. But this book felt a little like a way to push through events needed to get Qwill where the author wanted him and sort of give a new jumping off point. -
I think each "Cat, who..." is better than the previous one. This one is special as (I believe) this is the book written after a loooong break. It shows - it forms basically a retool of the show. I really liked the atmosphere of the little town with secrets alonb with a quite fleshed out cast of characters. The cats behaved also more like normal cats which I always enjoy. The only problem was, as usual, the ending - too abrupt and achieved without much input from the protagonist. Though this time it was also surprisingly dark.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this episode in this series. Having read several of the books out of order, this one gave me a more clear sense of the characters and set the stage for some of the books later in the series. I enjoyed the mystery, though still not a fully defined mystery. Overall, the characters are what make the books work ... Qwill, Koko, Yum Yum, ... and all the other people who are so real.
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Recordaba este libro con mucho cariño, pero no esperaba que fuese a gustarme tantísimo otra vez.
Esta es una historia de misterio, llena de crímenes, asesinatos y delincuencia.
Y es al mismo tiempo el tranquilo relato de las vacaciones de verano de un periodista agotado de vivir en la gran cuidad.
Los diálogos, que se sienten muy naturales, y el ritmo perfectamente medido de la historia hacen que está lectura sea un absoluto placer.
No vas a encontrar momentos de tensión increíble, ni te vas a quedar sin aliento al descubrir un giro inesperado en el guión.
Pero sentirás la curiosidad del protagonista correrte por la sangre, y querrás descubrir con él que está pasando en este misterioso pueblo a orillas del lago, y por qué parecen ocultar algo todos sus habitantes.
A pesar de ser una historia de misterio, es tranquila y se siente ligera, como un paseo por la playa.
Llegarás al final, antes de haberte dado cuenta siquiera de has empezado. -
These books are honestly just so entertaining. The cats put me in a good mood, even if I’ve had an awful day. “Yow!”
