Reviews

The Cat Who Played Brahms by Lilian Jackson Braun

lazwright's review against another edition

3.0

A quick read with layers of intrigue. Perhaps a bit too "Pat" on a conclusion, but it still is a charming story nonetheless!

booksnorkel's review

3.0

This book played out a little differently though I wish these had more action. Jim has decided to take a break and go live in a cabin by a lake for a few months to get his head back on straight. Of course there are mysteries in the small vacation town that he’s in and the locals don’t care too much for outsiders. Fast fun little read for those who like the series.

penne_adela's review

adventurous mysterious relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

ladynik's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Reader: George Guidall

melissabeth's review

5.0

I love all of the books in the Cat Who series but this one is my absolute favorite!

delirantia's review

lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

tabithar's review

4.0

This book seems to achieve some of the author's goals of moving Mr. Q around to the spot where she wanted him. It was fun to see how the cast of characters linked together. My prior reading/exposure to this series had been out of order and based on the availability of the small local library back in East TN prior to grad school.

The series DEFINITELY dates itself both in technology and in some sentiments with which I don't agree. In general, the sentiments deal more with male/female interactions but I wonder if the author isn't almost deliberately trying to point out the ridiculousness of some of the double standards.

I love l how the cats' antics continue to ante up.

staticdisplay's review

4.0

I'm trying to go all the way back to the beginning of the series! This felt almost like the first, but it's actually #5. It's interesting reading about the Michigan of years ago - by now, all of these little towns would be full of strip malls, the Dimsdale diner would be gonezo, people couldn't just "not print" stories about murders (someone would write a blog and then it would be on national TV), etc. I like that in these earlier books Qwill seems a bit younger and there's a bit more of an edge to the stories, but they're still cozy and full of food and descriptions of interior decorating and cats sitting on moose heads. Reading these books is always such a treat.

*update: how funny, I finished this almost exactly 3 years later to the day. I love this series. the earlier books are definitely darker, but there is still plenty of humor and enough cozy elements to balance out how terribly sad some of this story is. I had forgotten how much fun Aunt Fanny is. I wish we got more time to know her.

eagerreader2022's review

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.75

I'm just a mystery lovin' gal who can read these back to back in small segments of the series. No two seem the same so far, it's always interesting how the cat's tips for whodunit make sense in the end. 

deannaosmith2's review

lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5