'The Cat Who Smelled a Rat', more than any of the other "The Cat Who' books, made Moose County, '400 miles north of everywhere' seem real to me. I could imagine myself so worried about accidental or deliberately set fires that I'd want 'before snow flies' to end and long for the big snowstorm to start, even if I were snowbound for a week, as human amateur detective Qwilleran tells a new resident she will be after the 'last drink' parties end. Lilian Jackson Braun was able to intrigue me and baffle me as I wondered what would make a woman board her five beloved cats and leave her home to seem to elope with a man who does not like cats. I have to believe that the author knows big cities and small towns and has experience with promoted ceremonies that don't happen the way they're reported in newspapers, on radio, and on television. I don't believe that a cat really can thrive eating only sardines, but I can almost see Winston so contented when the contents of those cans of his favorite fish. Read this book, and read the earlier books set in the big city, and read the other books set in Moose County. If you're like me, there can't be too much of Qwilleran and his feline companions, Koko who somehow knows who did what and knows how to point to the right clues, and Yum Yum who unties shoe laces.
