Lilian Jackson Braun

After five years of legal formalities in gossip-ridden Pickax, Jim Qwilleran has officially inherited the Klingenschoen fortune. In search of a summer's peace, Qwill and his two Siamese cats head for the Potato Mountains. But Qwill finds controversy—one side of the valley is a haven for the descendants of Prohibition Moonshiners, the other home to developers eager to turn the...

Is it just a case of summertime blues or a full-blown career crisis? Newspaper reporter Jim Qwilleran isn't sure, but he's hoping a few days in the country will help him sort out his life. With cats Koko and Yum Yum for company, Qwill heads for a cabin owned by a family friend. But from the moment he arrives, things...

Inheriting unexpected millions has left reporter Jim Qwilleran looking like the cat who swallowed the canary. While his two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum, adjust to being fat cats in an enormous mansion, Qwilleran samples the lifestyles of the rich and famous by hiring a staff of eccentric servants. A missing housemaid and a shocking murder soon show him...

The Great Food Explo is scheduled to open in Pickax with a bang, introducing new restaurants, country inns, and food speciality shops. Unfortunately, the 'bang' takes the form of a bomb which wrecks a hotel, killing the housekeeper and causing extensive damage. Enter Qwill and his Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum, whose instincts tell them that the murderous bomb...

When Jim Qwilleran is sent to The Cat Who Saw Red on a gastronomical quest, he takes Koko and Yum Yum along for company and steps into a house of curiosities. There's restaurateur Robert Maus, elbow-deep in saucepans; cuddly Hixie with her daily calorie count; and Joy Graham, the red-headed flame from Qwilleran's past and a talented potter to boot....

Pickax's sedate calm is occasionally disturbed by random acts of vandalism, but nothing more serious than paint daubed on civic property. Until, that is, the cold-blooded murder of young banker Harley Fitch and his new bride Bella, which is altogether more shattering. Qwilleran's moustache twitches in anticipation of mystery and Koko develops a fascination for all things glutinous. Just what...

The good people of Pickax are agog with anticipation. Not only is the new bookstore, The Pirate's Chest, about to open, but the Theatre Club is set to perform Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest. The play does not continue past opening night, however, for a member of the cast is killed in a car accident...or was it an...