Lilian Jackson Braun

Extraordinary detective team, journalist Jim Qwilleran and his intriguing Siamese cat, find themselves in the midst of a murder investigation, when he receives his new assignment from the Daily Fluxion. Soon he, and his whisker-twitching friend are matching wits with an uncannily clever killer.

Jim Qwilleran, a struggling crime reporter, comes across a brutal murder, when reporting on an arts event. Investigating the murder, he is assisted by Koko, an aristocratic cat belonging to an art critic.

In the small town of Pickax an accident has claimed the life of the local paper's eccentric publisher, but to Jim Qwilleran and his Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum 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...

Qwilleran, Koko and Yum-yum head north to Mooseville where an old family friend keeps a cottage on a lake. But Mooseville is not exactly the serene, sylvan setting Qwill had envisioned. When he samples a little of the local colour on a boat trip, his line snags on a very fishy corpse...

Qwill has just inherited a fortune and must learn how to live as a millionaire in a huge mansion. He and the cats are busy enjoying their affluent new lifestyle when a shocking murder intrudes. A bicycle accident has left Qwill confused, but luckily Koko, a Siamese with a talent for sniffing out clues, is on the ball.

Banker William Carmichael is killed in an apparent mugging. When his young wife's cousin seems to be very eager to step into William's shoes, Jim Qwilleran decides that he and his feline team should investigate!

Late one night, Jim Qwilleran is disturbed by the shrill ringing of the telephone. His erstwhile landlady, Iris Cobb, now resident manager of the Goodwinter Farm Museum, is distraught. Knowing her frail state of health Qwill is concerned and becomes even more so when a piercing scream severs their connection.

Arriving at the museum he finds Iris slumped on the kitchen floor. But what at first looks like a natural demise from heart disease proves to be much more sinister. Once more the detective talents of Koko and Yum Yum, Qwill's sleuthing Siamese companions, are in demand in Pickax City.

When Qwilleran decides to do a feature story on Junktown, he gets more than he bargained for. When a mysterious fall ends the career, and the life, of one of Junktown's leading citizens, Qwilleran is convinced it was no accident. But as usual it takes Koko, the brilliant Siamese cat, to prove he's right.

Qwill and his cats are spending a few weeks at the Nutcracker Inn, a restored Victorian mansion. The manager believes it may be haunted and wants the journalist to investigate. Then Qwill finds a nasty surprise: the body of a guest floating in nearby Black Creek. Is the inn really jinxed? Qwill and his Siamese sidekicks begin to look for clues. Their investigation will uncover a gold mine of information about this remote area.