The Cat Who Said Cheese

Lilian Jackson Braun

7/3/1999

Pickax is having a Great Food Explo now that summer is over. This will be a celebration of food. A group of new specialty restaurants are opening in one of the historic areas. Qwill has been interested in the new project. One new venture, The Sip and Nibble is a wine and cheese shop. Qwill is learning about gourmet cheeses. Koko and Yumyum also thinks this cheese is wonderful as a small portion is added to their diet.

Since everyone knows everyone in Moose County, a stranger always causes excitement. A strange woman has been staying at the New Pickax Motel for over a week, an unheard of phenomenon. She doesn't seem to be in town for business nor does she seem to know anybody. She is the focus of a lot of speculation.

One afternoon Qwill accidentally meets her at the lakeshore. She claims to be a gourmet cook, so he runs into Pickax to pick up ingredients for a Greek dish. While there, a bomb explodes in the hotel, killing one of the staff. It is the stranger's room that is the target. She hears about the explosion over the radio and escapes before Qwill returns. She later sends him an apology for leaving so suddenly.

Why was the hotel bombed? Who is the mysterious woman? Why is the head injured neurologically impaired beekeeper so upset? The octogenarian hotel owner is dying in the hospital. What will happen to the hotel? Who else may be killed before the police identify the bomber? How does Koko help Qwill put the clues together? Who would bid for Qwill at a bachelor's auction for charity? And who has Iris Cobb's personal cookbook that disappeared when she died?

This mystery has a lot of twists and turns. Again, it is a light read, and Qwill is never in danger. Fortunately, he realizes when someone else is and is able to send that person away before a probably attack. Polly, Qwill's woman friend, is recuperating from heart surgery in this novel, so is present but not a big part. The Food Explo sounds wonderful. The mystery stands on its own; the characters are briefly explained, but better understood if others in the series are read first.

You can find more about this book at .

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