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“The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell” by Lilian Jackson Braun

The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell is available at Diesel Ebooksand Amazon.com.

Part of the success of the “Cat Who” series can be explained by the fact that each novel in has some special point of interest that grabs the reader. The early novels hinged fascinatingly on Qwilleran’s efforts to put his life back together after a fondness for alcohol destroyed his marriage and derailed his career. Once he began to accept his life as it was, and especially after he formed a lasting relationship with the feline species, he was able to look outside his own life and develop interests in topics such as the arts, music, literature and history. These interests were enjoyably described in subsequent novels, sparking the reader’s interest in subjects that one might previously have ignored.

I especially enjoyed my education about pottery in The Cat Who Saw Red, about Scottish history and literature in The Cat Who Came to Breakfast, and about spinning and knitting in The Cat Who Saw Stars. The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell offered some insight into the amusing poetry form called limerick, but one must finish the novel before one realizes the real point of interest: an interview of Lillian Jackson Braun conducted by our favorite newspaper reporter: James McIntosh Qwilleran. Possibly in response to thousand of questions about why she has written so many “Cat Who” novels, Ms. Braun explains how she got started writing the novels and why she has continued to write them over the past 40 (!) years.

One needs no excuse for reading a “Cat Who” novel—as I have said before, each is a vacation unto itself. However, if you are trying to decide whether to get this installment in the series, the interview might be the clincher. Go for it!

© 2008 Girlebooks.