Lilian Jackson Braun Books

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Lilian Jackson Braun was an American author that wrote mystery novels. Though, the mystery novels she wrote were more light-hearted than those of her peers when she was first starting out. Born in 1913 in Willimansett, Massachusetts to an inventor (Charles Jackson) and a homemaker (Clara Ward Jackson), she spent some time in Rhode Island, Brooklyn, and Detroit because of her father’s work.

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Writing was always a passion for the author. At first, she pursued the activity because it was fun. Then she started sending sports poetry to the Detroit News. She was just a teenager at the time.

In the years that followed, various department stores in Detroit made effective use of the advertising copy she wrote for them. She stayed with the Detroit Free Press the longest. By the time she left in 1978, she had spent three decades working as a Good Living Editor.

She was already a published author by this point. Her first novel came out in 1966. Titled ‘The Cat Who Could Read Backwards’, the novel was a critical success. The two novels that followed were equally well-received.

After waiting tables for a few days, Braun started her work as a copywriter for Detroit’s department stores. Then she made the jump to ‘Director of Public Relations’. Her first three novels were written during this period.

She had to take time off to write the books. She joined the Detroit Free Press soon after. Once the first three novels in her bibliography came out, they should have marked the start of a long and illustrious career.

However, that did not happen. After publishing her third book in 1968, the author disappeared. She stayed away from the publishing industry for 18 years, only emerging when the Berkley Publishing Group published ‘The Cat Who Saw Red’ in 1986.

The original paperback was supposed to introduce Braun’s work to a whole new market of readers. The gamble paid off. Berkley reprinted the author’s earlier works, giving Braun’s career the spark it needed.

According to Earl Bettinger, her husband, Braun left publishing because the industry had changed. Her peers were writing mysteries that incorporated sex and violence into their stories. Braun’s publishers wanted her to follow suit. She resisted the push because her stories were fun, warm, and light-hearted and she wanted them to stay that way.

Rather than surrendering to the will of the publishing arena, the author quit. She had a full-time job at a newspaper she loved. As far as she was concerned, she could live without the publishing industry. Once she came back, it did not take her long to conquer the mystery genre. She appeared on many bestseller lists.

But even though she became a household name among mystery fans, Braun was still a private person. She made every effort possible to keep her private life out of the limelight. She died in 2011 at the age of 97.

Her husband said that her only regret at the time was that she never finished ‘The Cat Who Smelled Smoke’. It was her last novel.

Lilian Jackson Braun Awards

Braun received Anthony and Edgar Award nominations.

Best Lilian Jackson Braun Books

Earl Bettinger was Braun’s second husband. Paul, her first husband, died. Braun, Paul, and Earl had a drink when Paul was alive. Paul called Earl one of the nicest people he had ever met. Braun’s best books include:

The Cat Who Could Read Backwards: Jim was a prizewinning reporter. But his luck had taken a turn for the worst. Now, he is hoping to make a comeback by taking up a position at the Daily Fluxion. Jim has to deal with George Bonifield Mountclemens, an art critic at the paper that just offered him a tiny apartment.

George had a raft of enemies. When his corpse was discovered, Jim realized that it was up to him to find the person that had stabbed the art critic. Fortunately, he has Koko, George’s cat, to guide him.

The Cat Who Saw Red: Jim was having a difficult time completing his gastronomical assignment. The setting, Maus Haus, was far from ordinary. The fact that the mansion was associated with an unsolved suicide was bad enough. Now, strange things were happening. When his old girlfriend vanishes, Jim has no choice but to act.

When Does The Next Lilian Jackson Braun book come out?

Lilian Jackson Braun doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers and was released on January, 2nd 2007. It is the newest book in the Cat Who... Series.

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