From the shelves of the Mewton-Clawson Library, a curated review destination for cat-centric fiction at BionicBasil.com
✨ This Week’s Intro ~ 100% Stability (Allegedly) 0% Nonsense✨
Hello, my gorgeous library guests
and
Welcome back to the Mewton‑Clawson Library at BBHQ.
I am delighted to announce that the library is now officially 100% temporally stable. Yes, you read that correctly. One hundred percent. Full stability. No flickers, no time pockets, no encyclopaedia uprisings. Melvyn nearly fainted.
Of course, “100% stable” at BBHQ still means:
The thesaurus attempted to redefine itself
The dictionaries staged a brief intervention
And the atlases insisted on being shelved by emotional longitude
But compared to the last few weeks?
We’re basically a spa retreat.
📚 A Minor Incident (Purrfectly Normal, Don’t Panic)
There was a small situation involving a thesaurus who became… let’s say overenthusiastic about synonyms. After it began aggressively offering alternative words to anypawdy within a three‑paw radius, we gently escorted it to the Level Six Archive “for its own safety.”
It’s resting comfortably and only occasionally muttering things like “calm, serene, tranquil, placid…”
Melvyn considers this a win.
📚 A Conversation in the Library This Morning
Me: “Melvyn, sweetie, we’re at 100% stability. Mew can put the stopwatch away.”
Melvyn: “Amber, the thesaurus tried to bite me.”
Me: “It was offering mew options.”
Melvyn: “It hissed the word ‘alternative’ at me.”
Me: “That’s just its love language.”
Melvyn: “Amber, it followed me down the corridor whispering ‘variant… substitute… equivalent…’ in an increasingly threatening tone.”
Me: “See? It’s expanding your vocabulary.”
Melvyn: “It tried to expand my ankle.”
Me: “Sweetie, mew’re being dramatic.”
Melvyn: “No, Amber. Lumie is dramatic. I am traumatised.”
Me: “Mew’re fine. Mew’re breathing.”
Melvyn: “Only because I climbed onto the reference desk and yelled for Oswald.”
Me: “Oswald said mew overreacted.”
Melvyn: “Oswald was laughing.”
Me: “He laughs when he’s nervous.”
Melvyn: “He was eating a cheese cube.”
Me: “He stress‑snacks.”
Melvyn: “Amber, please take this seriously.”
Me: “I am. I’m meditating.”
Melvyn: “Meditating or napping.”
Me: “Yes.”
Melvyn: “Amber, the thesaurus is still outside the door.”
Me: “It just wants closure.”
Melvyn: “It’s spelling the word ‘synonym’ with its pages.”
Me: “That’s enrichment. We encourage creativity here.”
Melvyn: “Amber, please.”
Me: “Fine. I’ll have it escorted to Level Six for a calming period.”
Melvyn: “Thank mew.”
Me: “But only because it called me ‘idiosyncratic’ and honestly? I’m flattered.”
So, my wonderful library guests, if mew notice a slightly twitchy thesaurus being wheeled past on a trolley, please don’t worry. This is the correct version of the library.
Probably.
Now, let’s begin this week’s review before Melvyn starts checking the dictionaries for “signs of emotional instability”, and Oswald files another complaint about “insufficient cheese cube diplomacy.”
If mew're wondering where this week's Egypt Adventure is, many apologies. The P.A. had planned to share it today, but unfortunately, yesterday she had to attend an unplanned meeting that took up all her time, and when she got home, she flaked out on the sofa.
I will have a stern word with her and make sure there are no hiccups whatsoever next week!
1. A Ted Talk that I found helpful was done by ______________________.
2. If I could make my own candy heart it would say ___________________.
3. I _________ early in the morning, but I _________ late at night.
4. _________ is what I love most about myself.
The P.A.'s answers are...
1. A Ted Talk that I found helpful was done by ______________________. I've never listened to a TED Talk. Maybe I should. I will make a note to do so! LOL
2. If I could make my own candy heart, it would say Fluffing Epic! Well, what did you think it would say? LOL
3. I write early in the morning, but I also write late at night. Well, if I didn't, there'd be no blog, books, or anything.
4. _________ is what I love most about myself. I'd have to say I love that I can create absolutely epic adventures for The B Team.
Let's see what I've got to show mew this time!
Mewton-Clawson Library Copy
The Cat Who Saw Red
The Cat Who… Mysteries, Book 4
by
Lilian Jackson Braun
I'm back with another in The Cat Who series. I can't seem to stop now that I've started, and it's even better than I remember, getting better with every book!
Here are the previous reviews, fluff knows what I was thinking, jumping to the middle of the series, maybe it was the catnip, and I wasn't thinking straight:
📚 This Week’s Paw‑Approved Top Pick: The Cat Who Saw Red
Dahlings, prepare your whiskers for a deliciously twisty mystery steeped in culinary chaos, artistic intrigue, and the incomparable brilliance of the epic two Siamese sleuths who could out‑detect any human with half a brain cell. Yes, Koko and Yum Yum are back, and they are utterly furbulous.
❓ What’s the Vibe?
Think cosy crime with a gourmet twist.
A little art, a little food, a little danger, and a whole lot of feline intuition.
It’s atmospheric, quirky, and wonderfully old‑school, the kind of mystery that pairs meautifully with a warm blanket and a smug sense of superiority over the humans in the story.
🐾 What’s the Story?
Jim Qwilleran, moustache enthusiast, journalist, and loyal servant to two Siamese geniuses, is sent to Maus Haus, a boarding house full of culinary talent, eccentric artists, and more secrets than a catnip smuggling ring.
Among the residents:
🍲 Robert Maus, the restaurateur with a saucepan in every direction
🍰 Hixie, counting calories like her life depends on it
🎨 Joy Graham, Qwill’s red‑haired blast from the past and a gifted potter
Everything seems charmingly chaotic… until a scream slices through the night and Joy vanishes without a trace. Qwill is baffled. The police are baffled.
But Koko?
Koko knows something is very wrong, and he’s determined to point his human in the right direction, even if he has to knock over every object in the house to do it.
Yum Yum, naturally, provides emotional support and adorable distraction.
⚔️ What I Loved
😼 Koko: Sharp, dramatic, and utterly unstoppable. His investigative methods may be unorthodox, but darling, they work.
😺 Yum Yum: Soft, sweet, and quietly brilliant. She’s the heart of the operation.
📰 Qwilleran: Forever confused, forever trying, forever outsmarted by his cats. A mood. Epic moustache.
🏠 Maus Haus: A deliciously atmospheric setting, part boarding house, part restaurant, part art studio, part mystery waiting to happen.
🔍 The Mystery:
Twisty, clever, and surprisingly dark in places. The clues are subtle, the tension builds meautifully, and the payoff is satisfying.
📖 Final Thoughts
This is one of the standout entries in the early Cat Who… series, rich with character, full of charm, and anchored by the brilliant feline intuition of Koko and Yum Yum. It’s cosy crime with claws, humour, and just enough emotional depth to keep your tail curled around your paws.
If mew love mysteries where the cats are the real detectives and the humans simply try to keep up, this one is a treat.
🪄 Summed Up in One Sentence
🐾 A deliciously twisty mystery where the Siamese sleuths shine brighter than ever. 🐾
Paperback: 257 pages
Audio Cassette/CD: Very Expensive
My Ratings Scale
Ratings of:
The Cat Who Saw Red
Overall Enjoyment
Other Fun Blog Hops to Join in Today
I really hope mew enjoy the book as much as I did if mew decide to read it.
It's time for me to say BFN or bye-for-now as mew know the drill, so many books, so little time, and I'll be back next week with another specially paw-picked book just for mew, and don't forget that all my previous reviews can be found on my Book Review page.
Until next time...
Keep calm and read more books
Amber
The Cat Book Connoisseur
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