Lilian Jackson Braun dies aged 97
9th June 2011
Bestselling crime writer Lilian Jackson Braun, famous for her The Cat Who stories featuring the detective Jim Qwilleran, has died at the age of 97.
The US author wrote her first novel, The Cat Who Read Backwards, in 1966 and went on to publish two more in the series over the next two years before taking an 18-year hiatus after refusing to add sex and violence to her books.
She returned to writing in 1986, with The Cat Who Saw Red and went on to write a further 25 books in the series before retiring in 2007 after the publication of The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers.
Her husband, Earl Bettinger, told the Associated Press that Jackson Braun formed a unique bond with her audience throughout her 40-year writing career.
'A woman from Germany called and said she was coming to America and said she would like to meet Jim Qwilleran. That's how real her characters were,' he added.