The Cat Who Could Read Backwards
by Lilian Jackson Braun
Series: Cat Who... #1
Series Rating:
Published by Berkley Trade on 1966
Genres: Cozy Animal Mystery
Pages: 256
Format: Hardcover
Goodreads
Jim Qwilleran is a prizewinning reporter who's been on the skids but is now coming back with a job as feature writer (mostly on the art scene) for the Daily Fluxion. George Bonifield Mountclemens, the paper's credentialed art critic, writes almost invariably scathing, hurtful reviews of local shows; delivers his pieces by messenger; lives with his all-knowing cat Koko in a lushly furnished house in a moldering neighborhood, and has a raft of enemies all over town.
He offers the newcomer a tiny apartment in his building at a nominal rent, and Qwilleran grabs it, surmising the deal will involve lots of cat-sitting. Meanwhile, a gallery whose artists get happier treatment from Mountclemens is owned by Earl Lambreth. The acerbic critic has praised paintings there by a reclusive Italian named Scrano; the junk assemblages of Nino, who calls himself a ``Thingist,'' as well as works by Lambreth's attractive wife Zoe.
It's Zoe who, one night past closing, finds her husband stabbed to death in the vandalized gallery. Days later, Qwilleran, guided by an insistent Koko, finds Mountclemens's knifed corpse on the patio behind his house.
Not a favorite for me
This is my third time trying to read The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lillian Jackson Braun and I finally succeeded –does a happy dance-. Again though like the first two times, I kept falling asleep when I was reading it. It wasn’t like I was curled up in bed reading it. Let’s just say that I felt like the story was droning on and on until the first murder happened. Well even after that it felt like the story wasn’t moving very fast. After the second murder, it felt like things were getting better.
I only read this book as a recommendation from my aunt, mom, and sister. I still don’t know if I am going to be reading the other ones. Ok, I know I am not going to read any more of this series, even if I love cats. I mean the book was good but I am not used to this type of writing style. I just don’t know if I will be able to finish reading the other ones.
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards is a good one but not great. I am only going to give it three stars. It lost one when I fell asleep while reading it and it lost another one with the continuous droning on. So it’s left with three stars from me.
I know I probably shouldn’t be this harsh to it but I just didn’t feel all that great about this book really. So yeah please read my other reviews and comment.
This Review was previously posted on my blogspot site which is closed.
**Where to find this book**
** Goodreads **
About Lilian Jackson Braun
Lilian Jackson Braun was an American writer. She is well-known for her light-hearted series of The Cat Who… mystery novels. The Cat Who books center around the life of former newspaper reporter James Qwilleran, and his two Siamese cats, KoKo and Yum Yum in the fictitious small town of Pickax located in Moose County, “400 miles north of everywhere.” Although never formally stated in the books, the towns, counties and lifestyles described in the series are generally accepted to be a modeled after Bad Axe, Michigan (located in the “Michigan Thumb”) where she resided with her husband for many years until the mid 1980’s. Many also believe that the culture and history of the Upper peninsula of Michigan are represented in the series as well, which is quite possible as it is indeed a fictitious location.
