This is the 24th book in the Cat Who series, also called the Jim Qwilleran Feline Whodunit series. You can find my scribbles about the second book in the series here. Here’s the synopsis from the dustjacket, it’s been a real pain to type out as it’s printed in white text on an orange background, don’t they know about contrast?

Pickax’s favourite columnist, James Qwilleran, is enjoying a brief holiday at the Nutcracker Inn in the nearby town of Black Creek – but his two Siamese, who prefer the spaciousness of their home beg to differ. At least the many squirrels that have free rein on the grounds of the inn provide some measure of entertainment for Koko and Yum Yum, while Qwilleran unearths lots of material for his book-in-progress, Tall and Short Tales.

But it’s not long before the blissful tranquility is interrupted by the discovery of a body floating down the creek – the body of a man who had been a guest at the inn. And a possible motive for his murder is suggested when several gold nuggets are found in his possession. Might he have been illegally prospecting for gold in the Black Forest Conservancy, or perhaps beneath the creek? If so, it seems he wasn’t the only one in search of an easy fortune. And his competitor is far more determined to strike it rich…

Braun seems to have a penchant for Gilbert and Sullivan. Not only are the two cats named after characters from The Mikado but she brings the operettas into action whenever she can. Not that I mind as I’m quite partial to a bit of Gilbert and Sullivan and The Pirates of Penzance is one of my favourites…although I could say that about most of them.

In this book Jim Qwilleran has moved on in life and doesn’t mind writing about the minutiae of life, he seems to have forgotten he was once a high flying detective writer at the newspaper and is content. He’s in the middle of writing a book and collects material for it wherever he goes and collects material for his popular column, Straight From the Quill Pen. He also seems to have inherited a lot of money and has created a foundation to use it wisely.

The cats are still as imperious as ever, Koko loves going for a walk and the best place for him is on Qwilleran’s shoulder with the harness around him. Qwilleran gives them an amazing variety of treats and they respond by pretending to be human and sussing out the clues as only cats can do.

I enjoyed this book and thoroughly recommend it. It’s light enough with concepts easy enough to recommend it to the younger end of the young adult reading age. I wouldn’t dare show it to my kids, they might want cats…