A time to remember, or die. Through the mists of London's waterfront a young woman staggers, unable to remember who she is or how she got here. Across the Atlantic a career housewife boards an airplane, certain that her child is in trouble. For both Delia Swawyer and her daughter, Connie, a college year abroad in London has become a season in hell. Traumatized by a mysterious event, Connie is adrift, making up each step as she goes along, guarding a fat, blood-stained roll of money in her pocket. Delia, having left behind an unfaithful husband, finds an indifferent school administration, a list of similarily missing students, two overly helpful men, and a maze of clues and contradictions. What happened to Connie Sawyer? Determined to find out, delia cannot guess the danger she is courting: that someone close by also wants to find Connie—and make sure that she never remembers a thing....
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
