The Cat Who Blew the Whistle | Topics for Discussion & Projects

The Cat Who Blew the Whistle Key Questions

Frequently, reviewers comment upon Braun's technique of addressing contemporary social issues in her mysteries. For example, The Cat Who Moved a Mountain (1992) raises the question of real estate development versus preservation of the natural environment, a subject that also figures prominently in The Cat Who Came to Breakfast. In The Cat Who Blew the Whistle, Braun focuses upon the dysfunctional family, portraying three generations of one such family. Discussion groups might want to analyze the effects of authoritarian (and psychologically abusive parenting) as seen in Florrie Penn Trevelyan's estrangement from her father, Ozzie, and in the hostility of Letitia and Eddie toward their father, Floyd Trevelyan.

Discussants could also consider the effect of such parent/child relationships upon the type of spouse abuse Floyd inflicts upon Florrie, and which Ozzie seems to have inflicted upon Mrs. Penn. The contrast between these families and Quill's Siamese family also merits...
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