It follows, then, the success of the book depends on the charm and familiarity of the close-knit, small-town America Moose County setting that has so endeared the Cat Who... series to readers. Unfortunately, neither town nor townsfolk breathe much atmosphere into the tale this go-around; events stall in a lifeless snowbound Pickax for most of the book, and the citizenry that might seem like old friends to long-time readers are ill-squeezed into a disjointed string of confusing, isolated cameos that serve no purpose but to disrupt the main narrative. A newcomer to the series would be hard-pressed to keep track of exactly who these strangers are or what exactly their place in the plot is. The only step forward is the introduction of Wetherby Goode, the jocular weatherman at WPKX (the chronically incompetent radio station that has remained one of the series's funniest running jokes). He's a bit too outgoing and forward for the local norm, though; let's hope that Braun doesn't jam him into the Standard Moose County Male character mold (a la Roger/Lyle/Bushy/Big Mac/Larry et al.) and exile him to Token Fleeting Personal Acknowledgement limbo (a fate that has befallen the potentially interesting Onoosh from The Cat Who Said Cheese), or, worse, use him as chalk-outline fodder (as with some unfortunate Down Below transferees with whom Braun didn't quite know what to do and a few of the more colorful Moose County natives. See, THAT's why no one in Pickax seems alarmed at the high rate of fatal crimes in such an otherwise peaceful rural area; the killers perform the social cleansing necessary to preserve Moose County's current placidity-through-homogenity).
It would be unconscionable to close this review without first spewing vitriol at the Putnam's horrible book jacket, which divulges every single plot "twist" (if that is the word) up until the last thirty pages and continues Cheese's misguided trend of not using Jill Bauman's wonderful art for the hardback cover. In every aspect, The Cat Who Tailed a Thief is a thoroughly disappointing and disheartening effort; even the eponymous Koko and his methods of expressing his extra-sensory talents seem a tad duller in this outing. Pray that The Cat Who Sang for the Birds breaks Braun's slump.
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