The Cat Who Could Read Backwards

Jim Qwilleran has his string of bad luck since leaving his job with a big city paper, not he has taken a position with the Daily Fluxion, and small town paper, doing a column he has no knowledge on...the art column.  Many of the artists in the town are hopeful that this means the replacement of the ever too critical art critic, many try to convince Qwill of how horrible of a man the art critic is while he attends art functions and does human interest articles on local artists.  Qwill decides to met this critic and ends up living in the same house on a lower level.  While the critic is away, Qwill takes care of his Siamese cat whom Qwill nick-named Koko.  This cat has extra ordinary talents of being able to read backwards and know when something is amiss.  Soon artists and others in the art community become victims of murder.  Qwill's old investigative journalist talents kick in and he begins o try and solve this murder, with the help of Koko of course.  The question is will Qwill be able to find the correct murderer and save the reputation of many artists as well as the critic? Or will he soon become the murderer's next target?

This is a series of books that I read when I was younger and starting to really get into mysteries and longer chapter books aside from the typical baby sitters club (that's like a rite of passage for little girls).  I loved that a cat helped solve mysteries by leading Qwill to different clues and seem to pick up on subtle things the humans in the books don't pick up one.  The cat in this book, Koko reminds me of my friend's cat Artemis (pictured on the left) with his perchance of running around the room, wanting specific food and making his discontent known.  Braun gives the cat as much personality as she does her human characters, which is something you don't see in many books with animal.  Normally the animal is just that an animal whereas in these books, Koko is another personality rather than a prop so to speak. 

I love this series even 20 some years after beginning to read the series and returning to it time and time again.  This is the perfect novel to begin with since I believe it is the beginning of the series as it introduces Qwill and Koko and how they became a dynamic duo. The writing isn't too complex and easy to understand which is one reason why it was great for a youngster as I once was.  There also isn't blood, gore, or sex in it.  Sure Swill has attractions to ladies and flirts a little, but it's all innocent and clean, another reason why it is a great starter series for young readers (and a nice break from stuff included in some books today). This is a short, cozy mystery that is easy to read within a day.  Perfect for a rainy afternoon curled up with your favorite feline. 

I do recommend this book as well as the series to any young reader who wants to grow in their reading library.  I also would recommend this to anyone who loves a cozy mystery, easy to read book or who feels a little nostalgic.  I give the book a 4 out of 5 for a rating, it needed more Koko!

Tale of Two Kitties

Owen and Hercules are two special kitties, they have a keen scene of intuition and seem to have super powers.  Kathleen has learn to trust their instincts when something feels amiss.  When Owen leads her to the door of Leo Janes father, she discovers a murder.  The town of Mayville whisper about the rivalry and scandal between the Janes brothers as well as their arrival in town at the same time.  While it seems the brothers are trying to reconcile, Leo's death may prove otherwise.  While police sights are on Simon, Leo's son, Kathleen knows something is missing and there is more to the story than everyone knows.

** I received a copy of this book from Netgally in exchange for an honest review**

My love for reading started at a young age with cozy mysteries like the Cat Who series, and lately I have been getting back into the habit of reading them.  This book is adorably cozy and reflects everything I loved when I was young reader.  Owen and Hercules remind me so much of my own literary cats Falcor and Orion (sometimes I think Orion has super powers to magically appear).  One thing I love about this book is while there is romance in the novel, there is no sexual content other than a kiss here and there, we see couples being just that couples sharing daily life together.  It was a nice refreshing change.  Perfect book for young readers.

The book does start out a little slow and has ALOT of description throughout, sometimes it felt a little overwhelming, but it does not take away from the book.  Sofie does a great job writing the story and making it interesting and have the readers get involved with not just the main characters but the whole town.  It starts off with a dead body and I had to chuckle as I realized what was being described.  What cat owner hasn't stepped on a freshly chewed cat toy?

This may be the 9th book in the series, but it really is a stand alone novel, you don't need to read the other books in the series to understand the characters or what is going on.  Sofie's writing is clear, concise.  Readers will not be confused when reading this book and may try to figure out the mystery themselves.  I highly enjoyed reading this novel and recommend it for anyone who enjoys a cozy mystery.  4 out of 5 stars.

The Cat Who Saw Red

Hello internet literature type people.  This is Harley today, the human is sound asleep so I decided to help her out with this book.  The Cat Who Saw Red a book about not one but TWO crime fighting cats how awesome is that!  I wish I could solve crimes...anywho.  Koko and Yumyum are Siamese kitties who move into a new home with their human., Qwill who writes for a newspaper (I don't know what that is, I think it's something to play with).  Some people in the house are weird but this nice lady, Joy goes missing so does the young kid that plays with the kitties.  Qwill tries to figure out who did it, he thinks he knows but can't just accuse people.  So Koko helps Qwill out and shows him some interesting stuff to help is investigation until he discovers something very important about the color red and the pottery Joy's husband puts on display at a showing.


This is some interesting stuff.  I see why the human is always reading.  She said she used to read these as a kid (like 10 I fink she said), and wanted to fall in love with Koko and Yumyum all over again.  Why would she need two more cats to love she has me, and my brodders.  Anyway this was an easy book for youngster like me to read.  It was perfect because it wasn't scary or had bloody scenes in it like some of the other stuff she reads.  It is great to begin someone on reading and mysteries.


This is a series that could easily be a classic book for people to read, a great transition from chap books to longer chapter books.  This series is known as cozy mystery and it definitely lives up to that.  What I love about this book is that it could be read within a few hours on a lazy weekend afternoon and a cup of coffee.  If you are looking for something suspenseful, this is not it.  It is very easy-going, but that doesn't mean it is slow.  I love how Koko does little things like typing letters on a typewriter or knocking books of the shelf to help Qwill think of things.  I also love when readers get to see them be cats like being afraid of a bearskin rug or dragging yarn across the apartment (I love playing with the human's yarn but she gets mad when I do).


Such a fun book and it brought back a lot of childhood memories.  I highly recommend this series for anyone who has fledgling readers and seasoned readers a like.  It is a great book to just relax to and clear your mind.  I give it a 5 out of 5 and look forward to rekindling a love for the Cat Who Series.

Purr M Murder

Sydeny left New York after ending her engagement and returned hom to Deer Park where she now helps her sister run the local animal shelter.  Syd and Kat organize a fun fundraising event with a local café shop: a cat café! where people can pay an extra fee and have their coffee and play with adoptable cats.  Things are going great that is until Trowbridge Littleton begins to make troubles from them and threatens to not only shut down the event, but also the shelter.  Kat and Syd decide to try and reason with him only to find his dead body.  Now the sisters need to try and clear their names off the list of suspects.  When Syd starts investigating further, with the help of a tabby cat Toby, the killer sets their sights on her.

We cats decided the human needed to review a book with the hero is a cat! I mean, we are the literary cats after all right?  The human was honored to review a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGallery, awesomesauce right?   The cover is cute with the orange tabby looking all mischievous with his skull cookie, and makes the reader wonder what the book will be about and how the cat will play a part into the story.  It reminded me a lot of the "Cat Who" series by Lilian Jackson Braun.






While this novel was light and airy, it was very suspenseful and keep me guessing at what would happen next to the characters.  It doesn't have many dark undertones that most mystery novels have, but then most mystery novels that have an animal as a central character seem to be light and airy.  Lotempio creates characters and a setting that leaves readers invested in them.  I couldn't wait to find out what would happen with the shelter, almost more than I wanted Littleton's murderer found, is that odd?  The story was almost hypnotic in that it pulls readers into the story and time seems to stand still until something interrupts you.






It is an easy read, but not to the point of feeling too simplistic or "childish" (I'm not sure if that is the word that I want).    I found myself curled up on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa getting lost in the book on a snowy afternoon.  It was exactly the kind of book I needed to read to lift my spirits and bring a smile to my face.  I seen on the cover that it is a part of series, and I look forward to what Lotempio has in store for us in other books.  I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys mystery novels, animals, cats, a good soft read, and reading in general.  I would even allow a child of pre-teen age read this because there isn't a lot of gore, sex, or otherwise inappropriate material.  It's a good, clean, fantastic book.  Keep up the good work Toni.


My rating is an enthusiastic 5 paws up.