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Jim Qwilleran, newspaper columnist and Moose County's richest resident, is intrigued to hear about the mysterious disappearance of an unidentified backpacker somewhere in Fishport, a village near Mooseville where he has a log cabin. With its hundred miles of lake for a vista and its great dome of sky, Mooseville is just the place to spend a short summer vacation. Rest and relaxation, however, are out of the question, for Qwill finds himself dragged into some hightly innovative plans for this year's fourth of July parade.
Above all, he is determined to dispel the rumours circulating that extraterrestrial beings may be responsible for the missing backpacker...
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Or they might if this were an ordinary book in the series. It really does seem like the author is running out of steam with the series. Usually the cases progress with some regularity over the course of the book. Here, however, we are treated to many meetings with friends we've made over the series, but, while enjoyable, they don't serve to advance the storyline. Several things are introduced and never resolved, and the climax is extremely weak. Not to mention a final chapter that is pulled from a lesser novel.
Even die hard fans will find it hard to enjoy this entry in the long running series. By all means, if you're new to Lilian Jackson Braun, do NOT start here. The earlier books in the series are much better and show why she has developed such a loyal following. This was my first time to try one of the later books, and I hope it's not indicative of its neighbors. I'd hate to see such a fun series go out with a whimper instead of a bang.
I did get charm. I didn't get much of a crime novel. The plot mainly consists of the main character (the human one) walking around the local community and socialising with old and new friend. This is all well written and, yes, charming, but the first dead body is just a curious tale for social gatherings, and the second only remarkable in that the person wasn't One Of Us. The third is probably an accident.
The solution to the mystery comes through a conversation the main character would apparently rather not be having. He hates it when people comes and confesses their crimes or other problems to him. No criminal is caught, I won't write why here. The first murder remains a bit of a loose thread, as far as I can tell. (Maybe the green men/cats really did get him?)
I might still give another of the books in the series a chance. I like the main characters, human and feline alike, and would like to see if they ever actively solve a crime.
Solving a mystery is supposed to require some effort on the part of a detective. Who did it is resolved in this one almost without human intervention. The detective and the reader aren't really needed. You will feel like you are reading about a true crime, except, of course, this is a work of fiction.
When these stories can be sublime is when Koko's intuition provides fascinating clues. Here, the closest you get to fascinating is when Koko digs up a body. Now, that's not very subtle.
The book is filled with a lot of extraneous references to UFOs and supernatural beliefs. The information lacks any validity and just serves to muddy the story a bit.
The main plot line is that with nothing to do on vacation and his friend Polly away, Qwilleran takes on every possible thing he can agree to. If you find that fascinating, I guess you've never met a workaholic.
The plot drags on very slowly, with the complications merely serving to make the book a little longer rather than making it more interesting or rewarding.
I have probably read over two hundred mysteries in the last five years, and I definitely liked this one less well than any of the others. If you do decide to read it, I hope you like it better than I did.
If you do read the book, I suggest that you think about what you want to have in a new book in this series. Do you want a mystery that you have to figure out? Do you want to have fascinating clues from Koko? What constitutes a fascinating clue? What new things do you want to learn about the characters in the series? Or, has this series simply run its course?
Enter books with expectations, and be bold in demanding that they be met!
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