I've now finished reading The Cat Who Smelled A Rat, and the rest of the book strengthened the impression I got from reading the first chapter that the writer is starting over in telling the story. The book's most striking feature is the re-design that Moose County has undergone. The shafthouses are now major attractions photographed by "tens of thousands" of tourists, whereas in the past Moose County never attracted tens of thousands of people for anything. Edd's Editions is also, suddenly, a major tourist attraction built of glittering stone that hosts rare book collectors from far and wide rather than the dusty hole-in-the-wall that Qwilleran frequented to stock the cats' bookshelf. The WPKX news broadcasts are coherent rather than redundant. A never-before-mentioned mural, described as a lifelong focus of the residents' ancestral pride, appears in the post office. Tipsy's Tavern serves Sunday brunch. Qwilleran has developed an interest in Egypt. Yum Yum doesn't walk on area rugs, even though she constantly has buried things, including herself, under them. Although never portrayed as sympathetic characters, Don Exbridge and Gregory Blythe are demonized as outright criminals, apparently to remove them from the story line. A blind Scotsman and his guide dog who have never before been mentioned in any of the books are said to be "well known in Pickax."
Despite these changes, the overall quality of the book struck me as improved over Robbed A Bank. Qwilleran is again involved with investigating and solving the mystery, and the cats get a little more page time, particularly toward the end. Koko's attempt to stick his head into the crystal pitcher struck me as very much in-character for him, and I personally found the final scene with Qwilleran trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue to be downright charming. The caliber of the writing still isn't up to the early works, though.
Characterizations are still somewhat of a problem: Junior Goodwinter continues to morph into Arch Riker, Jeffa Young overshadows Mildred Riker as Moose County's occult specialist, and Derek Cuttlebrink comes across as a court jester whose personality doesn't seem to merit his popularity. Qwilleran's interaction with 6-year-old Leslie Harding is not portrayed as evocatively as were his encounters with Baby in Talked To Ghosts or with Timmie Wilmot in Went Into the Closet. The author resorts to "Qwilleran's personal journal," à la Saw Stars, when the writing hits sticky places.
These issues raise again the matter of authorship: Is Braun still writing these books? If she is, obviously she has been struggling. That would be understandable for someone who has written 24 books on the same subject, 19 of them in the past 15 years. It isn't clear, however, why Braun would want to alter so extensively a setting that has worked so well for her in the past. These changes would be more understandable if they were the work of a ghostwriter who is preparing to take over the series. The new author would want to reshape Moose County according to his or her own vision of it and plans for its future. If this is the work of a ghostwriter, I think it bodes well for the series' future because the ghost writing is improving--compare the present entry to Saw Stars! The elements for a successful plot were present in this book to a greater extent than they were in the last two, almost--but not quite--coming together in a cohesive story.
The major need in future books is for the plots to be more focused. Qwilleran does entirely too much aimless wandering around Moose County listening for local gossip. Although I found it preferable to the entourage of unknowns he gathered in Robbed A Bank, it isn't necessary for Qwill to touch base in one book with every living soul he's ever met in Moose County. The author should decide on a subset of characters to be included in the book's plot and focus on them. New characters should be introduced only if they are absolutely essential to the plot, and their introduction should be consistent with the established continuity. Qwilleran's excursions should have purpose and his experiences during them should advance the plot. He should also spend more time at home with the Siamese to provide more opportunity for their active inclusion in the story line.
That is what the author needs to do. Putnam needs to start editing these manuscripts again, which I am convinced they are not doing. It is not necessary for us to be told three times in the first 35 pages that Maggie Sprenkle donated the shafthouse plaques, nor to have the process of batik described twice in that space. (Given Qwilleran's coverage of the art beat and production of "Gracious Abodes" Down Below, I was surprised that he needed to have it explained to him at all.) The term "snow flies" loses its local color after the first dozen uses. Inconsistencies are not being corrected. In chapter 4 "three items of note" are said to be listed on the business page of the Something, and a list of four items follows. Two pages later, Qwilleran claims never to have met Dr. Zoller. In Knew Shakespeare he went to Zoller's office to have his teeth cleaned and stated that he was following the dentist's flossing instructions; near the end of Lived High, Arch Riker arrived Down Below with Qwilleran's dental records, obtained from Zoller, to identify the burned body in Qwilleran's car. To crown all, the first page of chapter 11 includes a description of "verticle" cuts made in the faceting of the crystal pitcher. When even glaringly misspelled words make it into print, someone at the publishing house isn't doing his or her job.
The Cat Who... outlook? Guarded, but hopeful.
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