The Cat Who Smelled a Rat

Title: The Cat Who Smelled a Rat
Author: Lilian Jackson Braun
Rating: Four Guitars

Sizzilin' Summary:
The Big One is coming late to Mouse County, and everyone is suffering from a drought. Also, the threat of fire is high in the air, also threatening to burn up the famous ten shaft-houses of Mouse County. But Eddington Smith, the old bookkeeper and friend of Qwill's, dies, and wheels start to turn. The bookstore is burnt down, a volunteer firefighter is shot, and arson is running high... and, like usual, Koko is doing his weird stuff.
Qwill's gotta figure out another mystery...

Rockin' Review:
Despite the summary above, the mystery did not take up a lot of the story. At the very least, it wasn't a very important part. And, at the end, I feel like the mystery wasn't wrapped up well. While some things were explained, not everything was. I wasn't sure how things added up to indicate this person or that. Some of it was Koko's behavior, of course, but not even that was completely explained. It was confusing at the end. It was more like the author was chopping off disagreeable characters. Not totally a bad move... some of those characters were unlikable, and definitely not faves of mine.
What's interesting is that one was introduced in the last book (which she has done before, but the last one to get this treatment got a few extra books first, though not too long). In that respect, it was a nice set-up that started in the last book. That was a good and interesting move, and well-done over more than one book. However, I'm not totally sure that was what was going on. It's interesting, though!
The book was good and well-done, however. It was more about Qwill's daily life and life in Mouse County, especially during the drought and waiting for the arrival of the snowstorm called "the Big One". It made for a more relaxing read. It didn't have too many parts that grabbed you and kept you in (though there were a few, primarily near the end), but it was still an enjoyable and good book.
So, all in all, it was a good and enjoyable book that's best for a relaxing read.