Despite the blindingly obvious fact that Moody Moose suffers from Bipolar Disorder, Healthy Hippo, the town "doctor" prescribes buttons to treat her symptoms. BUTTONS! This misdiagnosis should come as no surprise considering that he fails to recognize that Goof Off Goose clearly suffers from narcolepsy, Yakkity Yak from attention deficit disorder, and Responsible Rabbit from obsesive compulsive disorder.

While I always like to have a brief reunion with Qwill and his cats, it seems to me that the series has flatlined in the last several outings. Yes, I've read the whole series, but stopped buying the books several years ago when I realized they had become doorstops that I would never reread. Where's the mystery? What's with the cats?? Their involvement has gotten less and less, to the point where Yum Yum does absolutely nothing and Koko just howls once in a while and knocks things over. THIS is supposed to display his famous intelligence?

The writing style has changed for the worse, too. Ms. Braun's (if indeed that's who is writing the books) favorite punctuation mark has become the exclamation point. It's everywhere! Even if Qwill is just having breakfast! No event is so small that it doesn't deserve an exclamation! Of some sort!

In the latest "...Up the Creek" installment, a dead body barely intrudes on Qwill's stay at the Nutcracker Inn. After he discovers it floating down the creek and he calls 911, he apparently totally puts it out of his mind and proceeds to charm a neighbor and make a dinner date with her. No one seems to care too much about the dead guy, which I understand 'cause I didn't either. I did give the book two stars because there are a few humorous parts and it's always nice to peek in on Moose County and its local characters.

For the next "Cat Who..." book, may I suggest having Qwill and the K Fund lose everything in the stock market crash. He was more interesting when he was poor. Have the cats become more involved. And lose the omnipresent exclamation points! Unless the story really warrants them!!

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 rest more upon intuition than actual deduction. While the premise sounds farfetched, Braun's work is usually less fanciful than you might expect, and she presents her eccentric characters and stories with great charm.

But with THE CAT WHO WENT UP THE CREEK, it becomes evident that Braun has finally written one "Cat Who..." novel too many--if indeed she wrote this one at all. In some ways, the book seems typical of Braun, for it holds close to the formula she has established: Qwilleran is invited to visit the Nutcracker Inn in the Black Creek community, and between coping with his cats, running into old friends, and engaging in community gossip, he becomes aware of mysterious doings re the nearby "Black Forrest" land conservancy. But for all that, the novel simply doesn't read like Braun. Braun typically has an even pace and tone; she endows her eccentric characters and their episodic adventures with tremendous charm; and although her plots are extremely light she inevitably brings them to a clear resolution. But none of that happens here. The first and final thirds of the book have an extremely awkward feel, the characters and events seem perfunctory, and while there is a resolution of sorts it completely lacks the tone one expects of her work.

Judging from this, I would say that THE CAT WHO WENT UP THE CREEK was created by Braun in the sense that she developed the plot and outlined the highlights--but unless I'm truly off the mark, I'd have to opinion that the execution of this novel was either completely ghosted or significantly assisted by someone familiar with Braun's work but unable to duplicate the nuances of her style. I always look forward to a new Braun novel, but this may be the case of The Cat Who Needs To Retire.

--GFT (Amazon.com Reviewer)--

I'm afraid that I dont' agree with some of the previous reviewers. I was wondering when I read this 24th book in the series, how Ms. Braun manages to keep each book original and entertaining. It's an easy reading mystery like these books are, but it's purely delightful. In this book Qwilleran is taking a short vacation just a little ways away from his home. Of course his two cats go with him. Koko proceeds to find out everything that's wrong at this idyllic little vacation spot, and predicts murder and mayhem as usual. I was actually sorry to finish the book, because I have caught up in the series, and now must wait for Ms. Braun to write the next one. These books are pure enjoyment!