Review by Booklist Review
In the seventeenth book of her cat mystery series, which began with The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (1966), Braun extends her North Country locale from Pickax to the whole of Moose County. When the discovery of embezzlement at the Lumbertown Credit Union in Sawdust City (aka Mudville, population 5,000) coincides with the disappearance of its wealthy president, who is also a model railroad buff and owner of a salvaged and restored steam locomotive, Moose County's best-known philanthropist, columnist, and amateur detective, Jim Qwilleran, decides to investigate the mystery--with the help of his two Siamese sleuths, Koko and Yum Yum. Financial fraud and, later, murder seem almost secondary, however, to the activities and attachments of familiar characters, for example, a local theater production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Qwill's genteel affair with head librarian Polly Duncan. The author provides enough background information to make new readers feel at home, and devotees of the series will applaud the added interest of railroading language and lore. As the communicative and prescient Koko would say, "Yow!" (Reviewed December 1, 1994)0399139818Barbara Duree
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Best of series, this 17th The Cat Who caper slyly creeps up on the reader. The newest delight in Moose County, ``400 miles north of everywhere,'' is a railroad buff's refurbished locomotive, which is making its debut run. Floyd Trevelyan, the train owner, disappears just as the state closes down the credit union associated with his business. While others believe the man has decamped with investors' money, newspaper columnist Jim Qwilleran doesn't believe Trevelyan would abandon his railroad project. He persuades his friend and sleuthing cohort Celia, recently moved to Pickax City from Chicago, to go undercover to find the missing businessman. Meanwhile, librarian Polly Duncan, with whom Qwill has had a long-standing relationship, is becoming distraught about the house she is building nearby. After a carpenter on the project is stabbed in a barroom brawl and the contractor, Trevelyan's son, is seriously injured on the job, Qwill begins to fear for Polly's health. Qwill's Siamese cat, Koko, plays a central role in solving these puzzles as Qwill struggles equally to interpret the cat's hints and cope with those problems complicating his personal life. Literary Guild, Mystery Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Cat mystery lovers beware! Pickax's Qwilleran and Koko have returned for a go at catching a train fancier who has embezzled millions from Moose County investors. Another best seller from the prolific Braun. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Floyd Trevelyan, president of the Lumbertown Credit Union, is gone, and so are his secretary Nella Hooper and millions of Moose County dollars. It was just a few days earlier that model- railroad hobbyist Trevelyan's latest brainchild, the Lumbertown Party Train, steamed through nearby Pickax and Wildcat in its triumphant first run; and it's back to those fateful last days that aw-shucks columnist Jim Qwilleran, ``the richest man in the northeast central United States,'' looks for clues about what tipped Trevelyan off to flee one step ahead of the police investigation--and who blew the whistle on his scam in the first place. Luckily, hearty oldster Celia Robinson, a longtime correspondent of Qwilleran's just arrived in town, has settled in as a Pickax Pal to Trevelyan's abandoned wife and daughter. And Qwilleran himself is well-positioned to keep tabs on Trevelyan's ne'er-do-well son, Eddie, while his cats, Koko and Yum Yum (The Cat Who Came to Breakfast, 1994, etc.), run off as usual with the detecting honors. Larceny, homicide, and a climactic train wreck- -but nothing nasty--provide mild punctuation for an Ozzie-and- Harriet daily routine that takes Qwilleran and his homespun friends from picnics to flirting to gossip to softball games to amateur theatricals. Braun's childlike characters take these activities and themselves almost as seriously as they take their cats. (Literary Guild/Mystery Guild main selections)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
