In this mystery in the   bestselling Cat Who series, there’s something rotten in the small town of Pickax—at least to the sensitive noses of newspaperman Jim Qwilleran and his Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum. An accident has claimed the life of the local paper’s eccentric publisher, but to Qwilleran and his feline friends it smells like murder. They soon sniff out a shocking secret, but Koko’s snooping into an unusual edition of Shakespeare may prove CATastrophic... because somewhere in Pickax, a lady loves not wisely but too well, a widow is scandalously merry, and a stranger has a lean and hungry look. The stage is set for Qwilleran, Koko, Yum Yum, and the second act of murder most meow... Vastly wealthy due to his inheritance of the Klingenschoen estate in Pickax City way up North, Jim Qwilleran now enjoys the eccentricities of life in Moose County. Series fans will know about his pampered pair of Siamese cats; Koko, the male, pushes various Shakespeare plays off the shelf in Qwilleran's library, presumably commenting on events that excite and scandalize the town: the "accidental" death of the newspaper publisher, the disastrous fire that destroys the office, etc. A comfortable, quaint diversion, with interesting character names, wry remarks about feline behavior, and a deus ex machina protagonist. REK Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. Praise for Lilian Jackson Braun and the Cat Who series “A master of mystery.”— People “Upbeat prose and amiable characters.”— Publishers Weekly “The mix of crime and cats [is] catnip to readers who like both.”— Chicago Sun-Times “Braun keeps both paws on the side of charming.”— Los Angeles Times The history of Lilian Jackson Braun is perhaps as exciting and mysterious as her novels. Between 1966 and 1968, she published three novels to critical acclaim:  The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern , and  The Cat Who Turned On and Off .  In 1966, the New York Times  labeled Braun, “the new detective of the year.” Then, for reasons unknown, the rising mystery author disappeared from the publishing scene. It wasn’t until 1986 that Berkley Publishing Group reintroduced Braun to the public with the publication of an original paperback,  The Cat Who Saw Red . Within two years, Berkley released four new novels in paperback and reprinted the three mysteries from the sixties. Since then, G.P. Putnam’s Sons has published seventeen additional novels in the Cat Who series. Braun passed away in 2011.