Central Kansas Library System

In this delightful new novel featuring Jim Qwilleran and his lovable cats, Koko and Yum Yum, the rites of spring are celebrated with the fine art of bird calling...and a fateful act of murder. It seems that this spring, a cat's fancy may turn to crime-solving...

All the world's a stage--and now Jim Qwilleran's apple orchard has become the stage--for a real-life murder scene. The much-disliked director of the Pickax Theatre Club's Shakespeare production, Hilary van Brook, is found dead after the closing-night cast party...and with the help of his super-smart Siamese, Qwill must cast a suspicious eye on all the players--especially the ones pussyfooting around behind the scenes.

James Qwilleran and his talented team of feline sleuths, Koko and Yum Yum, investigate the supposedly accidental death of a cast member in a car crash on the eve of the Theatre Club's performance of Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest."

With his companion Polly in Paris, Qwill keeps himself occupied by writing an absurdist play called "The Cat Who Got Elected Dog Catcher." Meanwhile, things are spicing up in Pickax. Huge inheritances from old families are suddenly and mysteriously pouring in to town, but nobody is quite sure why. Except Koko, that is- -and she's not telling. Then things get really interesting when one resident drops dead from an apparent bee sting. Can Qwill...