This review of The Cat Who Played Post Office by Lilian Jackson Braun is part of Book Reviews with Amber, the Cat Book Connoisseur at the Mewton-Clawson Library. Scroll to read.
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✨ This Week’s Intro ~ 92% Calm, 5% Baking Aroma, 3% Harmless Anomaly ✨
Hello, my gorgeous library guests,
and
Welcome back to the Mewton‑Clawson Library at BBHQ.
I am delighted to report that the library remains comfortably calm this week, not quite as sparkly as last time, but still pleasantly peaceful, with only the faintest hint of… cinnamon?
Yes, my dahlings, the air has taken on a warm, buttery fragrance, and while that may sound
suspicious, I assure mew it’s nothing alarming. Most likely.
The shelves are still aligned with their usual military precision. The glitter trail from last week has dispersed.
The books are reclining in their designated spots like the aristocats they are.
The mice are gliding about with serene purpose, tiny clipboards and even tinier aprons in paw.
And the encyclopaedias? They’ve abandoned jazz and are now humming something that sounds suspiciously like a baking show theme tune.
And Melvyn?
Melvyn is still rather calm … but alert.
Not anxious.
Not twitchy.
Just quietly monitoring the situation with the seriousness of a cat who once saw a prawn soufflé collapse and never fully recovered.
📚 A Morning of Mild, But Delicious, Intrigue
Me: “Melvyn, sweetie, mew look contemplative.”
Melvyn: “I am. There was an anomaly in the B Aisle.”
Me: “Oh dear. What kind of anomaly?”
Melvyn: “A warm one.”
Me: “Warm?”
Melvyn: “And fragrant.”
Me: “Fragrant how?”
Melvyn: “Cinnamon. Nutmeg and possibly brown sugar.”
Me: “That sounds … lovely?”
Melvyn: “It was coming from a baking book.”
Me: “A baking book?”
Melvyn: “Yes. It wanted to share a new recipe.”
Me: “That’s … actually quite sweet.”
Melvyn: “It insisted I take a sample page.”
Me: “Did mew?”
Melvyn: “Of course. It had a scratch-and-sniff square on the page. It smelled delicious.”
Me: “And was it?”
Melvyn: “Amber … it was life‑changing.”
Me: “We’ll add it to the staff cookbook.”
Melvyn: “Already done.”
Me: "When do I get to sample it?"
Melvyn: "Chedds, Flora and Aardvar are in the staff kitchen cooking up a storm right now!"
Me: "Oh, fluff, help us!" MOL
📚 General Library Status Update
Happy mice
Happy vibe
Happy baking book
Happy thesaurus (still in its poetic era, now writing odes to pastries)
In short:
The library is calm.
Mostly calm.
Calm with a warm, buttery undertone.
And honestly? I’m not complaining.
So, my meowvellous library guests, if mew notice a cosy aroma drifting through the stacks or a cookbook gently steaming with pride, don’t worry, it’s simply the library sharing its culinary enthusiasm.
Probably.
And baked goods will be served imminently to all ... catnip tea with that?
Many thanks to the library mice for bringing new flavours to the stacks.
The P.A. is also joining in Friday Fill-ins Blog Hop with the pawesome 15 & Meowing and Four-Legged Furballs.
1. My plans for this weekend include _________ and __________________.
2. I meant it when I said I _____________________________.
3. I should probably _________ more often so that _________.
4. I will never jump on the _________ trend.
The P.A.'s answers are...
1. My plans for this weekend include writing, cleaning, writing, gardening - weather permitting, and more writing. If you hadn't guessed, I'm writing, yep, a new book, but no, it's not the latest B Team adventure, that's still at 8 chapters, I'll finish that when I've finished this. Not long, I'm going as fast as I can.
2. I meant it when I said I will never dilute the B Team cats or their epic adventures for anything ever. They are who they are, and they can stay epic, not watered down for modern-day parameters.
3. I should probably weed the garden more often so that I don't stand there and go, "Fluff me, that's a lot of work!" Usually, I'm pretty good, but sometimes I let things get past the point where I should have tackled it 2 or 3 weeks sooner.
4. I will never jump on the _________ trend. I'm not really a 'trend jumper,' it's been a lifelong quest to do my own thing, regardless. I think I've reached Grand Master status at this point! LOL
As it's the last Friday of the month, we're also joining in the furbulous ...
Fluff Knows What Fudge is Doing
This was from March 2024, and no, we have no idea what all this was about!
We asked him, but he refused to comment! MOL
Let's see what I've got to show mew this time!
Mewton-Clawson Library Copy
by
Lilian Jackson Braun
Today I'm back with The Cat Who series; there are 29 in total, but don't quote me. I got an urge to reread this epic series earlier this year, for the first time since 2007.
Eight down, including today's review, and ONLY twenty-one to go! MOL
Here are the previous reviews. Fluff knows what I was thinking, jumping to the middle of the series, maybe the catnip tea was a bit too strong, and I wasn't thinking straight:
The Cat Who Turned On & Off ~ BK 3
The Cat Who Saw Red ~ BK 4
The Cat Who Played Brahms ~ BK 5
The Cat Who Moved a Mountain ~ BK 13
The Cat Who Wasn't There ~ BK 14
📚 This Week’s Paw‑Approved Top Pick: The Cat Who Played Post Office
Dahlings, preen your whiskers and adjust your tiaras or crowns, because this week’s mystery drops us into a world of unexpected wealth, eccentric servants, and a mansion so large even I would need a map. And at the centre of it all? The incomparable Siamese sleuths, Koko and Yum Yum, who are adjusting to their new life as furbulously wealthy felines … with trouble lurking just beyond the caviar bowl.
❓ What’s the Vibe?
Think cosy crime meets “new money chaos.”
A sprawling mansion, a missing maid, a murder among the upper crust, and two cats who refuse to let luxury distract them from the scent of a mystery.
It’s witty, warm, and wonderfully cat‑centric, classic Braun with a decadent twist.
🐾 What’s the Story?
Jim Qwilleran, moustache maestro, journalist, and full‑time servant to Koko and Yum Yum, has just inherited a staggering fortune. Suddenly, he’s living in a mansion, hiring staff, and trying to navigate the world of the supurr wealthy without tripping over his own good luck.
Koko and Yum Yum, naturally, take to the lifestyle like royalty:
more rooms to explore
more furniture to nap on
more servants to charm
But beneath the champagne sparkle, something is very wrong. A housemaid goes missing, and a shocking murder follows.
And Qwill quickly realises that money doesn’t buy safety or honesty.
Thankfully, Koko’s uncanny instincts kick in. Between pawing at clues, knocking over suspicious objects, and generally being a genius, he leads Qwill straight toward the truth, and the most unlikely suspects.
⚔️ What I Loved
😼 Koko: Sharp, dramatic, and utterly unstoppable. Wealth has not dulled his detective instincts one bit.
😺 Yum Yum: Sweet, delicate, and quietly observant, the purrfect counterbalance to Koko’s flair.
💰 The Mansion Setting: Rich, atmospheric, and full of secrets. A playground for cats and a nightmare for murder victims.
🧹 The Eccentric Staff: Quirky, suspicious, and endlessly entertaining. Every one of them feels like a clue waiting to happen.
🔍 The Mystery: Twisty, clever, and full of red herrings. The purrfect blend of cozy and compelling.
📖 Final Thoughts
This entry in the Cat Who… series is a delightful romp through wealth, secrets, and feline brilliance. The shift to a grand estate adds fresh flavour, the mystery is engaging, and Koko’s clue‑finding antics are as sharp as ever.
If mew love cozy crime with charm, humour, and cats who are clearly the brains of the opurration, this is a wonderfully satisfying read.
🪄 Summed Up in One Sentence
🐾 A witty, whisker‑twitching mystery where wealth brings trouble, servants hide secrets, and Koko steals the show. 🐾
Another Top Paw Edition To The Series!
Paperback: 228 pages
Audio: Only cassette, terribly expensive
My Rating Scale
Ratings of:
Overall Enjoyment
Other Fun Blog Hops to Join in Today
I really hope mew enjoy the book if mew choose 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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