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The Cat Who Brought Down the House is one of the later Cat Who novels from Lilian Jackson Braun, and the formula by this point is in late comfortable form. Jim Qwilleran and his Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum are in Pickax, the small Moose County town that has become their permanent setting, and a former silent-film star's arrival in town brings the inevitable amateur investigation.
Braun by this point is writing more slowly and more anecdotally. The plot resolves quickly. The pleasure is mostly hanging out with the regulars (Polly Duncan, Andrew Brodie, the Mooseville community) and reading the small idiosyncratic chapters Braun specializes in.
Three stars. Recommended only to series regulars. New readers should start with The Cat Who Could Read Backwards, which is the strong opening of the series and a much better introduction.
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