Jacqueline

I enjoyed the book. Reading a "Cat Who..." book is similar to sitting down with old friends or family whom I have not seen in a while and catching up on all the news. My daughter and I both felt that there may have been some help with the writing. In some areas the flow is not the same as in previous books. The wording was different. It's hard to describe. This did not detract from the story. The threads holding the mystery together were thin. One had a feeling of, "Oh, by the way...some one was murdered." The murder came across as very much a sideline to the main story. I would like to read more about MCCC. The college is an excellent venue for a future story. I am surprised that it has yet to be used as a setting for one of the books. I too, thought that this was going to be the last book in the series. I am pleased that another book has been announced for 2003. Given Ms. Braun's age, I am wondering if assistance will be provided in producing the book. If someone is helping, they need to review their vocabulary. The words and phrasing Ms. Braun uses is indicative of another generation with a tad more history. I own them all including the companion book. I have read each of them at least three times. Ms. Braun's grasp of language and her memory of past characters, sites, and situations is phenomenal. Thank you Ms. Braun for the many hours of enjoyment you have provided.

Greg and Amy

Not one of her better works (if she is indeed still writing - which I doubt). The "mystery" was introduced early, disappeared for a while, then was wrapped up in the last two chapters (or so). The rest of the book was just "life in Moose County without Polly" (not that I missed her). There was little in the way of "cat investigations" - just a few well placed, almost choreographed excapades by Koko.
I miss the adventures from the earlier books - stuck on Potato Mountain in a rain storm, lost on an island, almost enveloped by water with two friends. Those were stories!!

Gary

I want to know who Walter was! Other than that I thought it was better than recent books but no where near the quality I had come to expect. Maybe it's the curse of a series that has gone on too long... We no longer get to meet new characters with any detail and the cats are playing second fiddle to Qwill's own inquisitive mind. I loved the squirrels myself (being fond of the great Squirrel Nutkin!) but was dissapionted that the ending was brought about so quickly without any real explanation. I said I wouldn't buy another one but I suppose I always will.

Chris

I have really enjoyed "The Cat Who Went Up The Creek". It's another fun book to read. Lilian Jackson Braun can go on making "Cat Who" books forever! I luv 'em!

Heidi

Well, I have to say that I have felt the last few books were not nearly as good as Ms. Braun's earlier books and so was expecting the same from Went Up A Creek... For approximately the first half of the book, I swear there was different author from the second half. The cats' food was simply that, "food". Qwill never just "feeds" the cats. But he did in the beginning of this book. So much of The Cat Who Series involves exactly what the cats eat, what Jim eats... And then about halfway through, all of a sudden, they are eating specific foods... Jim, Koko and Yum Yum. I truly feel that the writing changed there also. Even in the beginning, Qwill didn't sound like Qwill to me. What he said, what he did.
I've read and re-read all of Ms. Braun's books many times over many years, and this is just my humble opinion. I'm sorry that I don't have the book next to me to excerpt specific spots, but it was so clear to me at the time of reading, that I actually went back and forth through the book to compare. I did feel that there was at least a clear and distinct plot. Still, it is always a pleasure to get my Cat Who fix...

Deb (and Playful!)

I thought this was much more like the old LJB so I really liked it.

Mindy

I didn't especially like "Up The Creek." The mystery wasn't as well plotted as in earlier books, the characters seemed dull, and the details were confused. At one point, the book said that Brrr was named via typographical error, when we all know it's the coldest spot in the county. I have to admit, much as I love the series, it's time for it to end.

Lynn

If she doesn't find a better ghost writer who does his/her homework and research, it might as well end now.
James Bond went on pretty well with Gardiner. . . and Perry Mason has gone on, but with good ghost writers, and "the Cat Who. . . " has had bad ghost writers for the last 3 books.

Victoria
I agree with several of your respondants who felt that Ms Braun may have had help with this book. The past relationship that Qwill had with the Bamba's is never developed for this story. In earlier books, he depended on Lori Bamba for her expertise with cats; and she truly adored the Siamese. In this book she barely acknowledged them. If I were Koko, I would be downright indignant!
I loved the ambiance of visiting with old friends - the Rikers, Andy, and the Scottish community. Just like Qwill, I feel I've known these people for years. Oh...I have known them for years. My favorite part of all the "Cat Who...." books is anything dealing with the Siamese personalities. I am lucky enough to share quarters with two Siamese; and Koko and Yum Yum are right on.
I, too, have enjoyed all of Ms. Braun's books. Ghost writer or not, I look forward to more adventures of Koko, Yum Yum and Qwill.

Eileen

I consider this to be the best of the "Cat Who..." books since the "slump" began. I agree that about half of it sounded as though the author was just rushing through it, but it was the first half, rather than the second, that struck me that way. The book seemed to "pick up steam" as it went along, and the material from Chapter 12 to the end seemed particularly good. The dialogue sounded more natural and there was less summarizing. A description of the cats going "on ear alert" and of Qwilleran being awakened by whiskers and a paw on his face sound like Braun at her best. One element, though, was strikingly missing: the climactic scene in which Qwilleran confronts the murderer and, after a struggle in which Koko or some human character saves Qwill's neck, the perpetrator is arrested. I don't even remember "meeting" the perpetrator in "Up the Creek"; this distancing from the crime and the one who committed it detracts from the reader's involvement in the story. I also wondered, all through the book, about another detail: Why was the Bambas' experience with the Domino Inn never once mentioned? This seems to be an obvious topic for reminiscence material.

Jennifer
I've been reading these since I was 10, (I'm 15 now) and I found it to be rather disappointing. Koko had nothing to do with solving the mystery, and Qwill was never really placed in any dangerous situations. I thought this book was very dry. I wonder, did Lilian Jackson Braun really write this?

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