The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell (2006 original; edició 2006)

While the town of Pickax is swept up in its sesquicentennial celebrations, Koko has developed a strange new hobby. He drops himself from balconies, occasionally landing in the oddest of places. When a young man comes to visit his wealthy relatives, Koko plummets straight onto his head! Meanwhile, a hurricane is brewing and the visitor's family members soon fall deathly ill. Qwill has his work cut out for him.

Pickax is gearing up to celebrate its 150th year. Parades, special events, family reunions and more are on the schedule.

In the middle of all this, Qwill gets a request to allow an aspiring architect to visit his unique home and sketch the interior. It's a request Qwill really can't refuse as it is from the Ledfields, one of the 'fine old families' of Pickax. The budding architect is their nephew from California.

While the young man is sketching, Koko drops from one of the beams overhead, landing on the man's head. Completely out of character for Koko, and puzzling to Qwill. What is Koko getting at?

A short time after this, it seems the Ledfields are not feeling well due to allergy problems. One by one the couple dies. Since they had no children, it seems the nephew will inherit all - which is quite a bundle. Or will he?

Qwill gets some uneasy feelings and when he receives a letter from California, his suspicions are confirmed.

I enjoyed this read with one reservation; it seems the focus was more on all the celebratory events than the actual mystery. Not the norm for Braun's books. ( )

felt like at a curtain call when the actors take their bows at a play that’s left the audience underwhelmed, when everyone’s so impatient getting ready to leave that there’s no standing ovation or 2nd curtain call ( )

not worth a review. These stories are going downhill fast. If it weren't for George Guidall's melifluous tones on the audio, they wouldn't be worth listening to. No plot that I could find, just a patchwork of jumpy pieces. If you haven't read the series go back to the early ones and enjoy. ( )

Were these the original cozy mysteries? Maybe. They certainly are cozy! A wealthy bachelor with a luxuriant mustache and his two Siamese cats (one eerily prescient) solve a diabolical double murder in the quaint town of Pickax.

I read a bunch of these books in my teenage years, so catching up with the characters in this particular small town was a little like a literary homecoming, nostalgic and oddly comforting. I could probably listen to most of the series and be perfectly contented with my commute for the next several months. ( )