The Cat Who Saw Red (U)

Something is amiss at Maus Haus. Not just the mystery of an unsolved "suicide" which hangs over the old mansion, but something ominous in the present-day residence. When Qwilleran moves in to work on his new gastronomical assignment, strange things begin to happen. First it's a scream in the night, then a vanishing houseboy. But when his old girlfriend disappears, something has to be done. Qwilleran, Koko, and Yum Yum set out to solve the mystery--and find a murderer!Publishers WeeklyNewsman Jim Qwilleran, now restaurant critic for the Daily Fluxim, believes that his former sweetheart and a houseboy have been murdered. With the help of his Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yumwho use his typewriter, snare his apartment in yarn and sniff murder sceneshe sets on the trail. It turns out that the presumption of murder was hasty, but along the way there are other mysteries to unravel, including an apparent attempt to poison Koko and Yum Yum. This book has many breezy, amusing touches, particularly descriptions of the tenants of Qwilleran's building, mostly connoisseurs, potters and aspiring wits. Although Braun (The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern occasionally verges on the cutesy, she offers here a delightful tale. (April)