The Cat Who Saw Red by Lilian Jackson Braun

Something is amiss Maus Haus. Not just the mystery of an unsolved “suicide” which hangs over the old mansion, but something ominous in the present day residence. When Qwilleran moves in to work on his new gastronomical assignment, strange things begin to happen. First it’s a scream in the night, then a vanishing house boy. But when his old girlfriend disappears, something has to be done. Qwilleran, Koko and Yum Yum set out to solve the mystery - and try to find a murderer!

A fun, easy, quick read made even better, by the antics of the Siamese. This story in particular, had a slightly grisly twist at the end. But Qwilleran and Koko and Yum Yum are familiar territory... I've read several books from this series and enjoy them a lot. Particularly these days, I appreciate the clean writing without steamy passages ever more. I also love that the cat plays detective and that his hooman respects him for it.

This happens some time after the first books. Lilian wrote it over 20 years after the first books, and it shows.

The following might be a spoiler, but it doesn't say anything about the mystery in the book, so I don't count it as a spoiler. It's just sort of a trigger warning for sensitive cat lovers reading this book.

I'm sorry to say but Joy's cat didn't make it. I was hoping he would, but, no.
I'm glad to say that Coco and Yum yum do. And they just went on a walkabout, no-one kidnapped them for animal testing or tried to kill them or anything like that. I was horrified when I read that bit, and even though I was pretty certain the cats would survive, I was really scared something horrible would happen to them.