Product Description

On vacation in the Big Potato Mountains, Qwilleran stumbles into a mystery involving the murder of J. J. Hawkinfield, the developer who was pushed off a mountain years before after announcing his plans to develop the region. Reprint. AB. PW.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2368904 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06
• Format: Abridged
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 2
• Binding: Audio Cassette

From Publishers Weekly
This droll and engaging mystery, 13th in The Cat Who . . . series, firmly grips the reader even though the murder in question is a year old and the killer is apparently behind bars. Jim Qwilleran, an affable former big-city crime reporter who has just inherited a considerable fortune, heads for a vacation in the rustic Potato Mountains to ponder the future course of his life. Accompanied by his two omniscient felines, Koko and Yum Yum, he takes up residence in the former home of the town's leading citizen, J.J. Hawkinfield, murdered one year ago. The sheriff tells Qwilleran that the deceased, a believer in unfettered development of the area, was killed by one of the more militant mountain people, who oppose land sales and want to protect their rural environment. Under the pretext of researching Hawkinfield's biography, Qwilleran pries into everyone's business, aided by the garrulous residents, who raise gossip to a new art form. With the help of his unique cats, he uncovers new evidence and brings to a satisfying conclusion a lively, witty tale bolstered by sharply etched characters. Mystery Guild main selection, Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club alternates.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Jim Qwilleran and cats take their turn with greedy land developers in the fictitious Potato Mountains.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews
Newsman Jim Qwilleran and his Siamese sidekicks, Koko and Yum Yum, now find themselves summering on the top of Big Potatoe Mountain in the ramshackle digs of the late J.J. Hawkinfield, while Qwill mulls over life now that he's officially the beneficiary of the Klingenschoen fortune. Koko, of course, is fascinated by the porch railing old J.J. was pitched over by mountain man Forest Beechum, as well as by a certain wall hanging and something under a massive chest of drawers. And the more Koko meows, the more Qwill is convinced that J.J.'s death has been attributed to the wrong person, which puts him right in the middle of a mountain- development feud between the ``Taters'' and the ``Spuds,'' the have-nots and the haves of the Potatoe range. Meanwhile, there's J.J.'s scurrilous editorials to pore over, including the last he wrote concerning the nefarious Hot Potatoe Fund. Who's behind it? Koko knows and, as usual, lets Qwill in on it while a stressed-out Yum Yum bites her flanks until the three pack up and head back for Pickax City. A shade cuter than most Braun outings, with a very incidental murder, but devoted fans will lap it up anyway. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Lots of Good Gravy In The Potato Mountains!
Hardcore mystery fans may find it a bit of a stretch, but if your taste runs to expertly written and very light fiction, you can't do better than Lillian Jackson Braun's "The Cat Who..." series. Her detective, reporter James Qwilleran, investigates crimes with the aid of his Siamese cats--and the solutions to the crime inevitably rest more upon intution than actual deduction. While the premise sounds farfetched, Braun's work is actually less fanciful than you might expect, and she presents her eccentric characters and stories with great charm.

THE CAT WHO MOVED A MOUNTAIN finds Qwill longing for a vacation from his beloved Moose County--and at the urging of friends he elects to spend a season in the Potato Mountains. But as usual, Qwill cannot leave well enough alone: once settled in his moutain-top retreat, he finds himself drawn into a battle between developers determined to turn the Potatos into upscale retreats for the wealthy and locals equally determined to hold them at bay... and the ever-astute Koko is behaving strangely. Could an old--and some believe still unsolved--murder be the cause?

Braun frequently references ecological concerns in her work, and like THE CAT THAT CAME TO BREAKFAST, this particular title gives her plenty of opportunity to slyly satirize greed and lousy land-management. THE CAT WHO MOVED A MOUNTAIN is a particularly charming entry in "The Cat Who..." series, and both old fans and newcomers should enjoy it tremendously.

The Mountain Adventures of a City Slicker
In an earlier book in this series Jim Qwilleran inherited a pot full of money but there was a stipulation. He had to live in Moose County for five years or he forfeited his windfall. As this book begins, Qwilleran has just completed his five years and is contemplating his future. He has come to love Moose County and it's quirky residents but he was born and raised a city boy and sometimes he longs for more action. The former reporter decides that he needs some time in a quiet atmosphere to think through his options and one of his friends suggests that he spend some time in the Potato Mountains.

In order to find a summer retreat that will accept pets, Qwilleran has to rent a huge former mountain inn that sets on the peak of Big Potato Mountain. It turns out that the last owner of the home was murdered and as normal, Koko immediately begins to exhibit strange behavior. Yum Yum on the other hand starts to tear out bits of her own fur, a behavior that has Qwilleran very upset until the veterinarian tells him that this is not unusual in a spayed female. It is a trait that I have witnessed in my own spayed female cat and this little sidebar makes it very clear that Mrs. Braun most assuredly knows her cats.

Qwilleran for his part has all kinds of trouble in the unfamiliar mountain setting. He has learned some things about rural life during his sojourn in Moose County but the mountains provide an entirely different set of challenges. He gets lost on the mountain roads, almost falls over a waterfall, gets lost while hiking in the woods and gets trapped on the mountain after a dam break. What's a poor city slicker to do?

Despite all of his trials, Qwilleran still manages to get involved in local politics. More specifically he gets involved in a fight between the Spuds (people who live in town and support development) and the Taters (mountain people who oppose development) and he finds that a serious injustice has been done to one of the Tater families. With the help of Koko, Qwilleran wades through the evidence (and a mudslide) and discovers the truth, which once again puts his life in danger and requires a cat to save the day.

The mystery itself, as is often the case in this series, plays a decidedly secondary role in a plot that is laced with humor and oddball characters, including an old mountain man who builds Qwilleran a gazebo that has no door. This book is also a warm fuzzy mystery with a conscience as Mrs. Braun goes to great lengths to point out what happens when humans try to bend mother nature to their own ends. As usual, the writing style is engaging, fun and entertaining. This author's characters are always unpredictable and unforgettable and the cats are fascinating. Mrs. Braun even throws a few witches into this book, just to keep things interesting. This is one of the best books in the series so far and it was a real pleasure to read.

Qwill's Mountain Adventure
If you love cats and the mountains, you will love this episode in, "The Cat Who..." books.

Qwill has lived in Pickax County the required five years to make his inheritance official. He doesn't know what to do next. Does he want to move? Does he want to take a job or start a business? He knows he has a lot of thinking to do so he decides to take a journey. He decides he wants to spend the summer on top of a mountain. So he and the cats rent a mountain house for three months.

While on the mountain he learns of a murder exactly one year before. He and Koko solve the murder and make new friends along the way.

I loved this book! You will too!