Jim Qwilleran

Q: "Who is Jim Qwilleran?"

"Jim Qwilleran, often called Qwill, is a veteran newspaper journalist and the main character of Lilian Jackson Braun's Cat Who... mystery series. He lives in the small town of Pickax, where he solves crimes with help from his two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum."

Q: "What order should you read the Cat Who... books?"

"The Cat Who... books should be read in publication order, starting with The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (1966) and continuing through 29 novels and several short story collections up to 2007."

Q: "How do Koko and Yum Yum help Qwilleran solve mysteries?"

"Koko, the male Siamese, has an uncanny knack for pointing Qwilleran toward clues, often by knocking books off shelves, staring at suspicious objects, or behaving strangely around key suspects. Yum Yum, the female, plays a smaller but still helpful role in the investigations."

Jim Qwilleran is a former big-city journalist who inherits a fortune and settles in Pickax, a small town 400 miles north of everywhere. Known to friends as Qwill, he writes a twice-weekly column for the local paper, the Moose County Something, and has a distinctive oversized mustache that seems to tingle when something is off about a situation. His two Siamese cats, Kao K’o Kung (Koko) and Yum Yum, are his constant companions and surprisingly effective partners in crime-solving.

Across 29 novels published between 1966 and 2007, plus several short story collections, Qwilleran stumbles into murders and mysteries throughout Moose County. Despite his wealth, he lives simply in a converted barn and prefers the company of his cats to high society. Koko in particular displays an almost supernatural ability to identify killers and locate evidence, though Qwilleran is never quite sure whether the cat is genuinely psychic or just unusually perceptive.

The series began with The Cat Who Could Read Backwards in 1966, went on a long hiatus after the third book, and then resumed in 1986 with The Cat Who Saw Red. From there, Lilian Jackson Braun published roughly one book per year until The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers in 2007. The cozy, small-town atmosphere and the entertaining dynamic between Qwilleran and his cats made the series a long-running favorite among mystery readers.

Reading Order

See the complete Cat Who… reading order for all books in the series.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Jim Qwilleran?

Jim Qwilleran, often called Qwill, is a veteran newspaper journalist and the main character of Lilian Jackson Braun’s Cat Who… mystery series. He lives in the small town of Pickax, where he solves crimes with help from his two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum.

What order should you read the Cat Who... books?

The Cat Who… books should be read in publication order, starting with The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (1966) and continuing through 29 novels and several short story collections up to 2007.

How do Koko and Yum Yum help Qwilleran solve mysteries?

Koko, the male Siamese, has an uncanny knack for pointing Qwilleran toward clues, often by knocking books off shelves, staring at suspicious objects, or behaving strangely around key suspects. Yum Yum, the female, plays a smaller but still helpful role in the investigations.

Reading Order#

Frequently Asked Questions

Reading Order