The Cat Who Knew Brahms by Lilian Jackson Braun

This is the second book that I have read in this series. I picked up The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare first and enjoyed it. Similarly, I enjoyed this one for much of the same reasons.

In this particular tale Ko Ko the hyper-intelligent crime solving feline, learns to turn on the tape player and play a particular Brahms song as a clue for his crime solving partner, Jack Qwilleran. I have to admit this talent was not as played up or used as often as it was in The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare. Actually, the Brahma sound just happen to be on the tape in which something else is record that really becomes the clue. Therefore, I didn't feel the cat knew Brahms as well as he knew Shakespeare. Although to be honest, it really didn't make me like the story any less, just different.

I really enjoyed that this in this story, the reader got to meet the woman that wills Qwill all this money and this wonderful home. She is pretty much what I pictured. Feisty and eccentric. I also got to learn about the beginnings of the relationships with characters that I had gotten to know in a later book. How Qwill meet them and how their relationship developed. It is one of the reasons that I will continue to read these books. That small Norther Exposure- like atmosphere and the quirky characters that fill it.

In this particular novel, Qwill and the cats first come to this tome to visit "Aunt Fanny," so Qwill can get away from his high pressure job to relax and work on his novel. Quickly Qwill starts to realize that the town does not trust stranger... and stranger than that... (pun intended) they all seem to be guarding secrets. This of course causes him to start to poke around and ultimately makes him a target for harassment and so on.

While I enjoyed the story and I am glad I read it, I really think that it would benefit the reader if you start at the beginning of the series and read forward. There is just so much change in characters and their relationships with each other that I need to read this development in order. With that said, the book does stand alone. I just think the overall experience is richer if you read them in order.

The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare by Lilian Jackson Braun

I really liked this book. First of all, it has cats and being the owners/ cohabiter of three I love the challenges that only a life with cats can bring. Second, it mentioned Shakespeare in the title and that always intrigues me. This is my first Lilian Jackson Braun mystery and apparently she is quite the writer in this genre. There are more than 20 Million Cat Who... books in print and after reading The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare that does not surprise me. I can remember seeing these books come home from the library with my mom when I lived at home, so when I was wandering through the stacks at the library, I picked up a couple.

I know that the title mentions the cat. It is an intelligent cat... obviously, who throughout this series helps his owner, Jim Qwilleran, solves mysteries. And while I love cats, I think what will make me go back and read more books from this series is the character of Jim Qwilleran. Here is a newspaper man; a city man that has inherited a large sum of money and a wonderful home that has relocated to Pickax (a small town in Minnesota, I think). I am interested in how this came about and how someone can go through such a chance in life circumstances. Because of his newspaper ties, it seems natural that he would become involved in solving the mystery of death of the local newspaper patriarch.

This brings me to the other main character of the cat, Ko Ko. I admit... I wish he could talk, but alas, Braun instead comes up with more clever ways for him to communicate. In this novel, he pushes specific titles of Shakespeare plays onto the floor to guide Qwill onto the right path of thinking to help him solve this crime. Knowing all of these plays fairly well, I found the title selections fascinating and I wanted to read more to see how that particular title was a clue.

Lastly, I love the setting of the books. The small town and the quirky people were really down to earth and in an odd way very Northern Exposure- like. I enjoyed that.

The writing style is quick and easy to read. You can finish a book in a couple of hours. The vocabulary is very usable (if that makes sense) and I definitely think I would recommend this to my students (middle school and high school) to read, too. It is straight up entertaining in a relaxing way. While I enjoyed the Shakespeare aspect, I do not think you need to know Shakespeare to read it. Lastly, they are not gross or gruesome in their descriptions of death. Just like the setting and the characters, there is just enough details to tell the story without going over the top.

Chamomile Mourning by Laura Childs

I have to admit I am not really a mystery reader. I read this book because I owed money to the library for a kids book (again), but I really needed something to read and my mom likes mysteries. I snagged this from her library pile.

Therefore, I came into this book without any preconceived notions. It was just what I needed to read. Simple but enjoyable characters. The plot moved quickly, and there were just enough details to complete the story and characters but not so much that I couldn't read it with Barney blasting on the tv in the same room. :)

I liked the main character Theo, although some of the "investigating" she does seems a little far fetched, but there is a mystery that needs to be solved... duh. I really enjoyed the setting and was finding myself fighting a slight desire to go to Charleston to visit.



Lastly, I loved the information about teas and the recipes. I am going to visit my local tea shop to poke around now. I do have a loose leaf tea pot that I should be using. Also while I have read other books with recipes in them, you do not have to be a star on the Food Network to follow these. Simple and normal ingredients. I want to make the raspberry chocolate chip muffins. Yum!


I would definitively would read another book in this series.