Lilian Jackson Braun Mystery Novelist

The mystery novelist Lilian Jackson Braun brings us “The Cat Who…” series of books. The main characters are Jim Qwilleran, a journalist and his 2 Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum.

Lilian Jackson Braun was a former newspaper editor and advertising copywriter for the Detroit free press for a period of 29 years. In 1966 to 1968 her first three novels were published. She did not publish another book for 18 years. In 1986, Lilian Jackson Braun was reintroduced by Berkley Publishing Group. Over the next two years four new novels were published in paperback and her first three novels were reprinted. Once again Braun’s Cat Who series is an instant best seller. Lilian is a private person and not much is known about her. We know she retired and lives in North Carolina with her husband and 2 cats. She still uses a typewriter when writing. To date, Braun has written 30 books in the Cat Who series, 6 short tales and collections expanding the series.

In Braun’s novels she brings us the newspaperman James Qwilleran. Qwill and his two Siamese cats Yum Yum and Koko stumble into mysteries and set out to solve them. The quirky character of James Qwilleran and his two cats are fun and easy to read stories. The feline interventions in the mysteries only add to the fun of solving the mysteries. The latest book to be published in 2009 is entitled “The Cat Who Smelled Smoke.” Other titles include, “The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare,” “The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts,” and “The Cat Who Went Into The Closet.”