Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Murder At the Cat Show

Marian Babson
Fiction, Mystery

Marian Babson is a master of the genteel English murder. Not that the deaths in question are quiet - in this novel, the victim is clubbed over the head and shoved into the tigers' cage - but the novels themselves are more about the people than the victim. Often, there is no mystery to the identity of the murderer, or the protagonist is not the one who solves the case, but the novels are interesting in spite of - or because of - that.

In this novel, Doug Perkins has been hired to do publicity for a cat show. He doesn't care for cats, which as any cat lover can tell you means that the proper cat will find him before the novel's end. The show has bickering 'stage mom' cat owners, a pair of barely-tame tigers, and an emerald-eyed golden statue... a perfect setup for murder. Which, of course, happens to one of the most obnoxious members of the show - and the owner of the cat who has attached herself to Doug.

As with most of Babson's books, this one is under 200 pages and a quick read. If you like cats, give it a go, and if you loathe cats, the antics of the show members could be fairly amusing.

****/*****

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