Lilian Jackson Braun books in order
American mystery writer
- Lived
- 1913–2011
- Country
- United States
- Books
- 35
- Series
- 1
Lilian Jackson Braun published 31 novels, 1 novella and 3 short story collections, beginning with The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (1966). The series is The Cat Who... (29 books, starting with The Cat Who Could Read Backwards).
Updated September 2026
The Cat Who... books in order (29)Series page
Reading order: 1 The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (1966) · 2 The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern (1967) · 3 The Cat Who Turned On and Off (1968) · 4 The Cat Who Saw Red (1986) · 5 The Cat Who Played Brahms (1987) · 6 The Cat Who Played Post Office (1987) · 7 The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare (1988) · 8 The Cat Who Sniffed Glue (1988) · 9 The Cat Who Went Underground (1989) · 10 The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts (1990) · … all 29 below
- 1.
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (1966)
- 2.
The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern (Jun 1967)
- 3.
The Cat Who Turned On and Off (1968)
- 4.
The Cat Who Saw Red (1986)
- 5.
The Cat Who Played Brahms (1987)
- 6.
The Cat Who Played Post Office (1987)
- 7.
The Cat Who Knew Shakespeare (Jun 1988)
- 8.
The Cat Who Sniffed Glue (1988)
- 9.
The Cat Who Went Underground (1989)
- 10.
The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts (1990)
- 11.
The Cat Who Lived High (1990)
- 13.
The Cat Who Moved a Mountain (1992)
- 14.
The Cat Who Wasn't There (1992)
- 15.
The Cat Who Went Into the Closet (1993)
- 16.
The Cat Who Came to Breakfast (1994)
- 17.
The Cat Who Blew the Whistle (1995)
- 18.
The Cat Who Said Cheese (1996)
- 19.
The Cat Who Tailed a Thief (1997)
- 20.
The Cat Who Sang for the Birds (1998)
- 21.
The Cat Who Saw Stars (1999)
- 22.
The Cat Who Robbed a Bank (2000)
- 23.
The Cat Who Smelled a Rat (2001)
- 24.
The Cat Who Went Up The Creek (2002)
- 25.
The Cat Who Brought Down the House (2003)
- 26.
The Cat Who Talked Turkey (2003)
- 28.
The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell (2006)
- 29.
The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers (Jan 2007)
The Cat Who Knew a Cardinal (1991)
The Cat Who Went Bananas (2005)
Where to start with Lilian Jackson Braun
Start here
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards
Lilian Jackson Braun's most-read book and the first of the 29 The Cat Who... books.
Standalone novels in order
More Mystery Cats (1993)
The Cat Who Smelled Smoke (2008)
Novellas in order
The Private Life of the Cat Who--: Tales of Koko and Yum Yum from the Journals of James Mackintosh Qwilleran (2003)
Short story collections in order
The Cat Who Had 14 Tales (Cat Who...) (1988)
Qwilleran's Short and Tall Tales (2002)
Two Cats, Three Tales (2006)
About Lilian Jackson Braun
Lilian Jackson Braun was an American writer known for her light-hearted series of The Cat Who... mystery novels. The Cat Who books features newspaper journalist Jim Qwilleran and his two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum, first in an unnamed midwestern American city and then in the fictitious small town of Pickax located in Moose County "400 miles north of everywhere". Although never explicitly located in the books, the towns, counties, and lifestyles portrayed in the series are generally accepted to be modeled after Bad Axe, Michigan, where Braun resided with her husband until the mid-1980s.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Lilian Jackson Braun FAQ
- How many books has Lilian Jackson Braun written?
- Lilian Jackson Braun published 31 novels, 1 novella and 3 short story collections that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Lilian Jackson Braun's books in?
- Read each series in its own order: start The Cat Who... with The Cat Who Could Read Backwards. The other books stand alone and can be read in any order.
- What is Lilian Jackson Braun's last book?
- The Cat Who Smelled Smoke (2008).
- What is Lilian Jackson Braun's most famous book?
- The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (1966) is Lilian Jackson Braun's most widely read book.
- Are Lilian Jackson Braun's books connected?
- 29 books belong to 1 series (The Cat Who...); the other 6 books stand alone.
Authors like Lilian Jackson Braun
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.