The Cat Who Talked Turkey

✍ Scribed by Braun, Lilian Jackson

• Book ID: 108577641
• Publisher: Putnam
• Year: 2003
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 79 KB
• Series: The Cat Who... 27
• Category: Fiction

✦ Synopsis

A New York Times Bestseller

James Qwilleran and his famous felines, Koko and Yum Yum, are back for another mystery-solving stint in the beloved bestselling Cat Who . . . series.

In Qwill's opinion, "A town without a bookstore is like a chicken with one leg," and since the late Eddington Smith's bookstore burned down, the town of Pickax has been somewhat off balance. To the rescue comes the Klingenschoen Foundation, manager of Qwill's estate, which considers a new bookstore a worthy investment. Delighted by their good fortune, the people of Moose County prepare to celebrate the gala groundbreaking of the store on the site of the old. But no one is prepared for the discovery of the body of a man shot execution style on the very same day. Now Qwill and his cats have their work cut out for them.

About the author:

• In 1966, The New York Times labeled Braun, "the new detective of the year."
• Between 1966 and 1968, Braun published three novels to critical acclaim; The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern and The Cat Who Turned On and Off.
• The Cat Who Talked Turkey is the 26th book to feature Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum and Moose County journalist Jim Qwilleran.
• Lilian Jackson Braun lives in North Carolina.

From Publishers Weekly

Like other recent books in Braun's best-selling series that began with The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (1966), this loosely plotted novel, the 26th to feature Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum and Moose County journalist Jim Qwilleran, isn't quite up to the standard of earlier entries, but it still provides plenty of escapist fun. The shooting death of a well-dressed gentleman in the woods on Qwill's property is nearly neglected in the fuss and excitement engendered by the neighboring town of Brrr's bicentennial. On the trail of a story for the celebration, Qwill interviews Edythe Carroll, a wealthy widow who has retired to Ittibittiwassee Estates from the magnificent mansion she plans to leave to her granddaughter, Lish (short for Alicia). Little does Edythe know that Lish and her boyfriend, Lush, have already trashed the place. After dozing off in his gazebo after a busy day, Qwill is startled awake by strange noises, including some coming from Koko. Enter an entire family of wild turkeys. If this all sounds like a bit of a ramble, it's quite in keeping with the story, which wanders pleasantly around Moose County, surveying its eccentric citizens as they go about their idiosyncratic business. In spite of two murders and a pair of villains, the tale is as cozy as an hour spent cuddling your favorite cat.
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From Booklist

For fans of this series featuring Siamese cats Yum Yum and the clairvoyant Koko, there are no surprises in the twenty-sixth installment. The felines' owner, James "Qwill" Qwilleran, is just as rich and listener friendly as ever, his place of residence, Pickax, in Moose County, is still 400 miles north of anywhere else, and people are still murdered with astounding regularity, though Koko, who can sense a homicide a mile a way, is never surprised. Those who love the series appreciate Braun's attention to detail as she describes Pickax and the surrounding area, which while magnificently rural also boasts many fine dining establishments, places to buy the New York Times , and an abundance of cabs, as well as a limousine service. The citizenry, laconic, timidly happy, or in the case of Qwill's librarian lady friend, stupefyingly boring, would feel right at home in Lake Woebegone. The several murders committed here are really beside the point--in fact, except for the cat screeching you might miss them entirely. More attention is paid to Qwill's radio reenactment of the Great Blizzard of 1913 (the audience, of course, must pretend radio existed in 1913), which takes up a number of the book's pages. Loyal readers find the series' inconsistencies and idiosyncrasies charming, but even they, at times, must wish for less of Qwill and more of the cats. Ilene Cooper
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