Cat Who Brought Down The House [Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

I realize that the focus of the series has changed somewhat over the years, and that I shouldn't expect a tight, suspenseful whodunnit; my quibble with the book thus isn't really its lack of a sound mystery. (As with other recent installments, the mystery plot is very, very secondary to scenes and anecdotes about life in Moose County.) What I have problems with is how *pointless* it all felt--not to mention how different Qwill and various other characters seemed from their old selves of even a few books ago, and how many of the characters in this book are relative newcomers to the series and in no way as engaging (IMHO) as the Old Guard. The plot meandered here and there, not so much hard to follow as hard to stay interested in; and Qwilleran himself seemed almost unrecognizable. Since when does he let everyone and their dog--literally!--into his home, when he once resented people wishing to come gawk? Why would he become the special chum of Thelma Thackeray and spend so much time with her? And speaking of which, why was it that in the beginning of the book no one seemed to know who Thelma was or whether she was even real, while in later chapters everyone Qwill talked to had something to say about her brother, her father, and her family history? That sort of continuity error seems sloppy.

And speaking of sloppiness, I question whether an editor even glanced at this novel. Twice I found quotation marks where they had no business being--such as in the middle of a dialogue sentence, as if the author had forgotten the character was already speaking. Qwill's name is even misspelled once! Meanwhile, there are a lot of little throwaway scenes that never amount to anything and aren't interesting enough to add character or flavor to the narrative (Burgess describing in detail the party that the kids on Pleasant Street will be having comes to mind); I found myself wondering in bemusement how this or that scene would later become relevant... and it never did. The book might have benefited from having an editor more inclined to use his or her pruning shears.

Finally, it's hard to imagine how this book contributes anything of lasting value to the series given how everything turns out. (I can't say much more without spoiling the ending, but anyone who's read it through should know what I mean.) I felt empty after reading it. Granted, 'empty' is a better way to feel than 'completely disgusted,' which is how I felt after _Cat Who Saw Stars_, but given that I used to put down a newly-finished Cat Who book with reluctance because I didn't want to leave Qwill's vivid, lovingly-crafted world, I can't help but be saddened by this development.

Now that I've said all that, is there anything *good* about this book? Well, yes... sort of. Maybe. It depends on what you're looking for. Do you just want something light and quick to read, with a couple of engaging characters and a lot of mentions of delicious-sounding foods? Then you might be fine with this. It's nice, it's light, it's fluffy, and there's nothing wrong with that--so long as you go into it knowing what to expect. Personally, I just can't recommend that anyone make this their first Cat Who novel (_Cat Who Could Read Backwards_ would be my recommendation there) or buy it in hardback. I'm not sure I'd even suggest buying it in paperback, at least not without trying to find it at your library first.

I would like to preface this review by saying that anyone who has not read these books before should avoid reading THE CAT WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE HOUSE as their first book in the series. Published in 2003, this is the very last book in the series, and it's a big disappointment.

This was my introduction to Lilian Jackson Braun's famous cat series, known for being very cozy mysteries with more emphasis on the "cozy" than "mysteries". Jim Qwilleran is a very wealthy citizen of the small town of Pickax, "located 400 miles north of everywhere", and is owned by two Siamese cats Yum Yum and Koko.

The big news in this story is that a famous citizen of Pickax, Thelma Thackeray, who left town decades ago to make her living amongst the movie stars of Southern California, has returned to live out her remaining years. She has a nephew that still lives in Pickax, but he's not exactly her favorite person. Nevertheless, she had loved her dear departed brother and had come home to set things right.

While the town goes into a dither over the return of their famous Thelma, Qwilleran notices that Koko, his male Siamese, is acting strangely. He seems to be trying to tell his owner something, but Qwilleran can't quite make out what it is. It takes a while, but soon Qwilleran puts the clues together. There is trouble in town, and it's connected to Thelma and her nephew.

My overall feeling towards this book is very negative, although I ended with the book knowing I will try a few of the other books in the series. The book seemed to be written on a 1st grade level, and I was highly embarrassed to think this was supposed to be geared towards an adult reader. I felt cheated, and also thought that the author was simply churning out anything to please her publisher. There are also rumors of this book being ghostwritten, which would hardly surprise me. Based on the many negative reviews of this book, I am glad to know that I am not alone with my assessment. Frankly, this series has run its course. But that shouldn't deter anyone from reading the earlier books in the series. I am certainly going to be reading them, as I already own a few! Unfortunately, THE CAT WHO BROUGHT DOWN THE HOUSE will go down as one of my bottom 10 for 2003.