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A Perkins & Tate Mystery #2
Murder at the Cat Show
Public relations firm Perkins and Tate can't afford to be choosy about the jobs they take. So when Doug Perkins is asked to do the PR for a glorified feline extravaganza, he doesn't hesitate. But it isn't long before he wishes he had hesitated. There are some very valuable cats on exhibit-- even a few feline celebrities. The robbery of a gold statue sets nerves on edge, but the theft pales in comparison to the gruesome murder that follows. Someone has knocked unconscious the show's organizer and pushed her into a cage with a pair of feral tigers-- with predictably fatal results. Now it's up to Doug to find an elusive killer who appears to have nine lives of his own.
6 pages, MP3 CD
First published January 1, 1989
276 people are currently reading
204 people want to read
About the author
Marian Babson
62 books88 followersMarian 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
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
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
August 27, 2019
Just had to reread this when I saw it has finally been reissued in ebook. As delightful as the first time read and each other time. Even though this being a cozy the murder mystery is very thin, the setting and characters make up for it. My favorite is all the cat personalities, from beautiful empty headed star to tough guy Tom, and the whole cat show scene.
August 1, 2020
Much better than the first in the series. Unlike the first installment, where almost no one was likable, in this book, all but the ultimate villain seemed at least slightly endearing. And of course, what's not to like with cats?
May 7, 2020
This book was a cat lover's delight. I hadn't read the first book in the series, but I had absolutely no problems figuring out the characters. For once, the main character wasn't trying to do the police's job of solving the crimes. He was simply reporting on the investigation.
January 20, 2022
This was too much fun. Perkins is a bit of an ass but I am all about stories where Not A Cat guy falls head over heels for a cats. There is a murder mystery! Our main character doesn't solve it, it's kinda like watching the mystery getting solved from a minor suspect's POV. Ridiculous and fun!
November 8, 2018
Very good. Not so much for the mystery elements, but it is a perfect rendering of how someone becomes interested in cats.
March 15, 2024
Perkins & Tate is a struggling Public Relations firm. "Struggling" may be too kind a description
Now they have been asked to do the Public Relations for a special cat show, in London. Its theme is "Cats Through The Ages" There are half a dozen celebrity cats, all of whom are working - making money for their owners. They are in a row with a gold statute based on Dick Whittington's Cat (solid gold with emerald eyes) and an ancient statute of Bastet, the Egyptian Cat God, at one end and a pair of Siberian Tigers at the other end. That's in addition, of course, to the regular cat show with all the judges, ribbons, competitors and three kids who are trying desperately to get into the show.
The cast of characters is certainly entertaining, Not all of them are human, either. Doug Perkins is the firm's on-site representative. He and the show organizer's cat, Pandora, quickly become attached. Mrs. Chesne-Malvern, Pandora's owner, doesn't approve and tells Doug to leave Pandora alone. Doug Perkins might accept this - after all, she's the one writing the checks - but Pandora doesn't care what that woman says. Want a list of the humans and their cat? It's more fun to let you find them as the story goes along.
Then the gold cat is stolen. The next day Mrs. Chesne-Malvern is murdered and her body shoved into the cage with the tigers. The security guard is attacked and left in a coma. Then just to keep things on an uneven keel, the police inspector handling the case dislikes and is afraid of cats.
In the end it's tigers who get the proper revenge for the theft, the murder of Mrs. Chesne-Malvern and the attack on the guard. The cat owners find themselves becoming friends, the cats are content and the kids reclaim Champ - the Manx that one exhibitor claims for his own. Satisfactory.
Now they have been asked to do the Public Relations for a special cat show, in London. Its theme is "Cats Through The Ages" There are half a dozen celebrity cats, all of whom are working - making money for their owners. They are in a row with a gold statute based on Dick Whittington's Cat (solid gold with emerald eyes) and an ancient statute of Bastet, the Egyptian Cat God, at one end and a pair of Siberian Tigers at the other end. That's in addition, of course, to the regular cat show with all the judges, ribbons, competitors and three kids who are trying desperately to get into the show.
The cast of characters is certainly entertaining, Not all of them are human, either. Doug Perkins is the firm's on-site representative. He and the show organizer's cat, Pandora, quickly become attached. Mrs. Chesne-Malvern, Pandora's owner, doesn't approve and tells Doug to leave Pandora alone. Doug Perkins might accept this - after all, she's the one writing the checks - but Pandora doesn't care what that woman says. Want a list of the humans and their cat? It's more fun to let you find them as the story goes along.
Then the gold cat is stolen. The next day Mrs. Chesne-Malvern is murdered and her body shoved into the cage with the tigers. The security guard is attacked and left in a coma. Then just to keep things on an uneven keel, the police inspector handling the case dislikes and is afraid of cats.
In the end it's tigers who get the proper revenge for the theft, the murder of Mrs. Chesne-Malvern and the attack on the guard. The cat owners find themselves becoming friends, the cats are content and the kids reclaim Champ - the Manx that one exhibitor claims for his own. Satisfactory.
October 10, 2020
An unpretentious and genuinely fun whodunnit (except you sort of know who it was all along and just go along for the ride). The cat psychology was better than most animals-solve-crimes books. In this one cats care about attention and treats and leave other nuances to humans. The characters are fairly straight forward and the reader's sympathies duly elicited.
Some annoying gender stuff but kept light enough that it might have been irony. I'm open to reading more of these and I enjoyed every fur-centric, purring minute of my time reading this one. Also the man meets cat inevitable relationship was nicely played (even if I had mild niggles over some details of cat behaviour and "discipline")
Some annoying gender stuff but kept light enough that it might have been irony. I'm open to reading more of these and I enjoyed every fur-centric, purring minute of my time reading this one. Also the man meets cat inevitable relationship was nicely played (even if I had mild niggles over some details of cat behaviour and "discipline")
February 15, 2024
A fun little book! I like how the cats are as important of characters as the people. The mystery actually takes a bit of a backseat behind the personal interactions and character developments here, and our main character Perkins really doesn't do too much when it comes to investigating, but he still gets to witness everything going on so we as the reader can do the usual of coming up with our own ideas. I liked this one!
July 20, 2020
Abandoned at Chapter 7. The mystery was just starting, and another review says the murder doesn’t happen until Chapter 9. Not the best book to choose if you want a quick on-your-toes mystery. It also gets really confusing with which cat belongs to who and who the characters are. Not very likely to finish.
January 25, 2024
I bought this for 25 cents at the library book sale, only because of the cat on the cover. I was going to give it only 2 stars, but it's no one's fault that I decided to read it, so I decided on 3 stars. This is not a genre that I normally read (a cozy mystery), but if you like them, you might like this book.
August 15, 2018
An enjoyable, quick read. I guessed who-done-it early on, but the characters were amiable enough to keep me reading. It was well-paced, if a bit predictable. I enjoyed how he described the cats' behavior and personalities.
December 22, 2024
Great fun for cat lovers
Perhaps Babson’s most memorable, introducing Pandora the puss, a whole pride of cats and kitties, and a menangerie of humans too. Good fun and a neat mystery.
Perhaps Babson’s most memorable, introducing Pandora the puss, a whole pride of cats and kitties, and a menangerie of humans too. Good fun and a neat mystery.
January 1, 2025
A cozy mystery with cats. Sold.
As delightful as expected. Adored all the cat personalities and following along as Perkins fell for Pandora.
In saying that, the overall story was just okay for me.
Review Date: 1 January 2025
As delightful as expected. Adored all the cat personalities and following along as Perkins fell for Pandora.
In saying that, the overall story was just okay for me.
Review Date: 1 January 2025
February 7, 2017
A cute little cozy with a jacket that is purrfection!
Library recommendation after I finished The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths.
Library recommendation after I finished The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths.
March 5, 2018
Hard to follow while listening on audio, but the narrator Steven Crossley is always entertaining.
January 12, 2019
哈哈哈哈哈哈猫奴养成，最后收了一只暹罗猫哈哈哈哈哈哈，猫真是太可爱了。
February 11, 2019
Audiobook performed by Steven Crossley
August 30, 2019
A light read that made me smile .
February 29, 2020
cute, these books are really cute.
May 6, 2020
Breezy little mystery..
Unfortunately not really to my taste. I prefer police procedural with quick murders. No one is murdered here until the ninth chapter.
Unfortunately not really to my taste. I prefer police procedural with quick murders. No one is murdered here until the ninth chapter.
December 31, 2020
This was what is called a cozy mystery and it was cute. The cats added to it.
July 29, 2021
Amusing cat owner characters and devastating moment when little Burmese mother cat challenges a tiger to defend her kittens. :)
September 21, 2022
4.0 Another fun light read
June 21, 2023
Great!
I really liked this one! I haven't read it before so it was a lot of fun. Definitely for car lovers.
I really liked this one! I haven't read it before so it was a lot of fun. Definitely for car lovers.
January 2, 2025
Overall a very cute story (and I love the cat show angle). It was the perfect cozy read to kick off the new year.
January 13, 2020
hardcover
January 16, 2023
Good fuzzy fun.
June 12, 2025
4/5 stars!
My review here:
https://goldenageofdetectivefiction.c...
My review here:
https://goldenageofdetectivefiction.c...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews