Lilian Jackson Braun

What Pickax, the town "400 miles north of everywhere," needs is a new bookstore. Ever since the old one burned down, the townspeople have had to go elsewhere. As wealthy resident James Qwilleran says, "A town without a bookstore is like a chicken with one leg." But just as Pickax prepares to celebrate the ground breaking for a new one, a body is discovered in a nearby wooded area. Turning their attention from books to clues, Qwill, Koko, and Yum

Thelma Thackeray, an ancient movie star, has returned to her home in Moose County to have some fun before she dies. Her fame and fortune are put to good use as she renovates the old opera house and reopens it as a film club. But when the first performance turns deadly, Qwill and his feline snoops start to look behind the scenes for the culprit.