Part of Series
Trixie Dolan and Evangeline Sinclair, Babson's feisty elderly heroines, are back, just as bickering, inquisitive, and delightful as ever. The two former film stars are at leisure (temporarily, of course) but they have, again of course, expectations of juicy parts in a movie in the near future. Meanwhile, circumstances force a move to a penthouse suite in an only partially remodeled London warehouse. Currently the quarters are pretty primitive, but the two actresses cope bravely, not even minding the dangerous door in the kitchen that opens onto an unguarded three-story drop. They are rather pleased by it, in fact, since conversations from the strange and contentious assortment of tenants who occupy the rest of the building come right up to the ladies' eager ears and they become gleefully immersed in the troubles of their neighbors. Curiosity changes to unease, however, the more they learn. When a young woman's body is pulled out of the river, their suspicious are confirmed, and they are plunged into the center of a perilous series of events.
Author
Marian Babson, a pseudonym for Ruth Stenstreem, was born in Salem, Massachusetts, but lived in London for the greater part of her life. She worked as a librarian; managed a campaign headquarters; was a receptionist, secretary, and den mother to a firm of commercial artists; and was co-editor of a machine knitting magazine, despite the fact that she can’t knit, even with two needles. A long sojourn as a temp sent her into the heart of business life all over London, working for architects, law firms, the British Museum, a Soho club, and even a visiting superstar. She also served as secretary to the Crime Writers’ Association. She became a full-time writer whose many interests included theatre, cinema, art, cooking, travel, and, of course, cats, which feature in many of her mystery books. Her first published work was 'Cover-Up Story' in 1971 and 'Only the Cat' (2007) was her 44th novel. The publisher's tagline for her style is "Murder Most British," a style reflected in each of her novels. Any violence is not graphically described and the sleuths are usually amateurs. She re-used certain characters, such as the publicity firm Perkins & Tate, and a couple of ageing actresses, her books all stand-alone and can be read in any order. Gerry Wolstenholme September 2010
