The Cat Who Lived High [Paperback]

Granted, the plots of the cat books are sometimes a bit weak, even outlandish. And the details of every last thing Qwilleran had for breakfast, lunch and dinner can be a trifle tiresome after the tenth time or so, especially when the same sort of detail is applied to the cats' meals and snacks.

But I can tolerate all those because the characters seem real and because the atmosphere is so carefully drawn. In this case, for example, we have the building owner, the "countess," with overtones of Miss Havisham telling Pip (or Qwill, in this case) simply to "Play." And then there is the apartment building, the Casablanca, with its rickety elevators and other signs of age and disrepair. I feel that I actually know the countess and can smell the Casablanca or find my way through the hallways in the dark.

One has to go by the sum total in evaluating a book, i.e., the credits minus the debits. That being so, I have to give this a solid recommendation as I look forward to the next in the series. The perfect mystery? Not at all. But pretty good.

After arriving in the city and establishing himself at the Casblanca Qwill begins to catch up with old friends, visit old neighborhoods and delve into the issues surrounding the Casablanca. Of course once Qwill and the cats are on the scene the suicide and murder scandal that had rocked the community a few weeks before is discovered to be even more scandalous than previously thought. In the end Qwill and the cats unravel the plot.

This is one of my least favorite books in the series. The beginning is riveting, the opening scenes of the warnings Qwill receives from his Moose County friends and his re-introduction to city life are all very well done. It is also great for fans of the series to travel back to Junktown and see how it and some of its residents have changed since we last saw them (The Cat Who Turned On and Off and The Cat Who Saw Red). Many of the characters we meet at the Casablanca are also interesting and cause us to hope we will see more of them but about half way through it is as if the author has begun to lose interest in the story. Details are glossed over, things move much quicker until the last couple of chapters seem to be little more than glorified outlines. This book does not have an ending so much as it just ends.

If you are a fan of the series of course you'll want to read this for the news of old friends if nothing else. If you are new to the series do NOT start with this one and if you are just looking for a good mystery, cozy or otherwise, keep looking because this isn't it.