The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare (Hardcover)

In this episode, Koko becomes fascinated with Qwilleran's antique and rare books, especially the Shakespeare plays. He regularly throws them on the floor of the library. Qwilleran soon realizes that Koko's antics will help him solve a mystery...

Alas, Qwill's doctor girlfriend has moved to Boston to specialize, leaving him without the benefit of female companionship. But not to worry! In "Shakespeare" we are introducted to Polly -- a widow about Qwill's age who manages the local library. In Polly, Qwill seems to have found a soul mate.

Also, Mrs. Cobb, Qwill's landlady from Down Below (see "The Cat Who Turned On and Off") and his new cook and housekeeper (see "The Cat Who Played Post Office") decided to re-marry. Will the third time prove the charm for Mrs. Cobb?

This mystery, set once again in Pickax (pop. 3,000) while not the best of the series is certainly an entertaining read. I enjoyed it.

His largest planned project is setting up a museum in the mansion full of antiques he has inherited but the one possibly nearest his heart is luring a decent cook into one of the local restaurants. The cook has arrived accompanied by a friend of Qwill's from down below, Hixie Rice, and is a bit of a mystery.

Other matters that concern Qwill are the romance of his housekeeper, Iris Cobb and his own budding romance with the local librarian, Polly Duncan. Qwill has also taken an interest in the local newspaper and the family that runs it. His companion, Koko, a Siamese cat has taken an interest in pushing valuable volumes of Shakespeare plays off the bookshelves. As always by the end of the book Qwill has resolved all issues and realizes that Koko was ahead of him all the way.

The emphasis in the series has always been more on the characters, the cozy element and less on the mystery aspect. This is particularly true in this one. If you are a Moose County fan you MUST read this book as it moves the series along on serveral important fronts but if you are looking for a mystery this probably isn't the book for you. The resolution is rather contrived and frankly by the time you get to it you may have forgotten half of the questions it was supposed to answer.