Lillian Jackson Braun, The Cat who Talked Turkey

I really love to hear the descriptions of the characters that appear over and over again, as well as, read about the different towns in Moose County. I just couldn't get into this story. There was so much on the "Great Storm," pages of dialogue that really wasn't set up that well for me. The pages of repeated text that have appeared in other stories were not interesting. I found myself skipping pages, something I HAVE NEVER DONE in a Lillian Jackson Braun book.

The Cat who Talked Turkey

Lillian Jackson Braun

Putnam, Jan 2003, $23.95, 192 pp.

ISBN 0399151079

Jim Quilleran, who lives in Pickax "four hundred miles north of everywhere" is influencing the town in small but subtle ways. When the only bookstore burned down, he wrote a column for the Moose County Something declaring that every town needed at least one bookstore. After pulling some strings with the K Foundation, they agreed to sponsor a bookstore and Quill's girlfriend Polly is going to run it.

On the day of the ground breaking ceremony, the famous Siamese feline Koko gives out his death cry and shortly after a man's body is found on some property that Quill owns. Since there is no way Quill can do anything to help the police solve the murder, he immerses himself in events that will keep his mind off the subject, but if he listened to Koko he would know who the killer is before he struck again.

Long time fans of this series will absolutely love THE CAT WHO TALKED TURKEY. The narrator refers to Koko talking turkey to some wild turkey and their children who have moved into the neighborhood. Koko's psychic abilities are the key to solving the who-done-it. The darling feline is really the star of THE CAT WHO TALKED TURKEY. It would not surprise this reviewer at all to one day see Koko openly rule Pickax and everything within a radius of four hundred miles.

Harriet Klausner