A whisker away from death... A summer in England sounds like a great idea for the Harper family—and the house exchange makes it so affordable. Now they've swapped their New England home for a lovely cottage in a village near London. Why, the house even comes with a cat, a shy marmalade named Esmond! Everything seems purrfect...until someone tries to kill Mr. Harper. Now the genteel village feels sinister, the snooty next-door neighbor is acting suspicious and the house is filled with its real owner's secrets. Numerous attempts on Mr. Harper's life convince his wife Nancy they can't pussyfoot around. They need to investigate, starting with what the mousey orange cat knows...
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
