Jim Qwilleran, former crime reporter and owner of a huge bushy mustache, has made it with the Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum to the twenty-fourth book in this mystery series. This book was a great addition to the series, and I enjoyed that the ending was not what I expected. (Although I will point out that I can be fooled by just about anything.)
It is June, and Qwilleran is at loose ends, since his girlfriend Polly Duncan, the head librarian in Pickax City, is on vacation with her sister Down Below. He opts to head to the old Limburger Mansion in Black Creek, now repurposed as the Nutcracker Inn. The Inn (run by old friends, and staffed by students from Moose County Community College, otherwise known as MCCC) is next to Black Creek, which runs through the Black Walnut Conservatory, closed to all but recreational use. Qwilleran and the cats install themselves on the third floor, and discover old black walnut furniture in the turret. Since one of the five screened porch cabins along the creekside has become vacant (due to the involuntary death of the mysterious occupant), Qwilleran and the cats move to Cabin Five. Koko is interested in books about pirates, and Qwilleran gets invited to be a guest speaker at an MCCC Luncheon.
I enjoyed reading this book, and look forward to the next four or five books left in the series.
From The Recamier 