Lilian Jackson Braun books in order

Q: "How many Cat Who... books did Lilian Jackson Braun write?"

"Braun wrote 29 novels in the Cat Who... series, starting with The Cat Who Could Read Backwards in 1966 and ending with The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers in 2007. She also published three short story collections set in the same world."

Q: "Why is there an 18-year gap between the third and fourth Cat Who... books?"

"After publishing three books between 1966 and 1968, Braun stopped writing the series. The reason for the hiatus is not entirely clear, though some sources point to publisher disputes. She returned in 1986 with The Cat Who Saw Red and then published steadily until 2007."

Q: "What order should I read Lilian Jackson Braun's books?"

"The Cat Who... novels should be read in publication order, starting with The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (1966). Characters and storylines develop across the series, so reading them in sequence gives the best experience. The short story collections can be read alongside the novels at any point."

Anthologies

Title	Published	Buy on Amazon
Sisters in Crime 3	1990	Buy
Mystery Cats	1991	Buy
Tar Heel Dead	2005	Buy
Feline Felonies	2006	Buy

Cat Who Short Story Collections Reading Order

Title	Published	Buy on Amazon
The Cat Who Had 14 Tales	1988	Buy
Short and Tall Tales / Qwilleran’s Short and Tall Tales	2002	Buy
The Private Life of the Cat Who…	2003	Buy

Cat Who… Reading Order

Title	Published	Buy on Amazon
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards	1966	Buy
The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern	1967	Buy
The Cat Who Turned On And Off	1968	Buy
The Cat Who Saw Red	1986	Buy
The Cat Who Played Brahms	1987	Buy
The Cat Who Played Post Office	1987	Buy
The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare	1988	Buy
The Cat Who Sniffed Glue	1988	Buy
The Cat Who Went Underground	1989	Buy
The Cat Who Lived High	1990	Buy
The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts	1990	Buy
The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal	1991	Buy
The Cat Who Moved a Mountain	1992	Buy
The Cat Who Wasn’t There	1992	Buy
The Cat Who Went into the Closet	1993	Buy
The Cat Who Blew the Whistle	1994	Buy
The Cat Who Came to Breakfast	1994	Buy
The Cat Who Said Cheese	1995	Buy
The Cat Who Tailed a Thief	1997	Buy
The Cat Who Sang for the Birds	1998	Buy
The Cat Who Robbed a Bank	1999	Buy
The Cat Who Saw Stars	1999	Buy
The Cat Who Smelled a Rat	2001	Buy
The Cat Who Went Up the Creek	2002	Buy
The Cat Who Brought Down the House	2003	Buy
The Cat Who Talked Turkey	2004	Buy
The Cat Who Went Bananas	2004	Buy
The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell	2006	Buy
The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers	2007	Buy

Lilian Jackson Braun (1913-2011) was an American author best known for her Cat Who… series of cozy mysteries. The books follow journalist Jim Qwilleran and his two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum, as they solve crimes in the fictional town of Pickax, located “400 miles north of everywhere.” Braun published the first three novels in the late 1960s, took an 18-year break, and then returned to the series in 1986 with enormous commercial success.

Before turning to fiction, Braun worked as a journalist for the Detroit Free Press, where she covered the crime beat and wrote a column about cats. These two interests came together naturally in her fiction. The Cat Who… books became bestsellers in the 1990s, and the series developed a loyal readership that appreciated the small-town setting, light tone, and the clever antics of Koko, a cat with an uncanny ability to point Qwilleran toward clues.

Braun published 29 Cat Who… novels, three short story collections, and contributed to several mystery anthologies over her career. She continued writing into her nineties, with her final novel, The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers, appearing in 2007.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Cat Who... books did Lilian Jackson Braun write?

Braun wrote 29 novels in the Cat Who… series, starting with The Cat Who Could Read Backwards in 1966 and ending with The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers in 2007. She also published three short story collections set in the same world.

Why is there an 18-year gap between the third and fourth Cat Who... books?

After publishing three books between 1966 and 1968, Braun stopped writing the series. The reason for the hiatus is not entirely clear, though some sources point to publisher disputes. She returned in 1986 with The Cat Who Saw Red and then published steadily until 2007.

What order should I read Lilian Jackson Braun's books?

The Cat Who… novels should be read in publication order, starting with The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (1966). Characters and storylines develop across the series, so reading them in sequence gives the best experience. The short story collections can be read alongside the novels at any point.

Anthologies#

Cat Who Short Story Collections Reading Order#

Cat Who… Reading Order#

Frequently Asked Questions

Anthologies

Cat Who Short Story Collections Reading Order

Cat Who… Reading Order