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Only the Cat Knows
Vanessa and her twin brother Vance are very close. So when someone pushes Vanessa down a flight of stairs and puts her into a coma, Vance wants revenge. He decides that masquerading as Vanessa will lead him to the villain. With her clothes, her makeup, and what he knows about his beloved sister, he pulls it off very well and is on the verge of learning what he needs to know. ..Until he discovers a serious threat that might destroy all his efforts. There is one pair of eyes he can’t pull the wool Gloriana, Vanessa’s beautiful Angora cat who regards her “mistress” with a dark suspicion. If the cat can’t be won over, then the whole deadly charade is likely to fall apart…
224 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
42 people are currently reading
175 people want to read
About the author
Marian Babson
62 books87 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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
January 22, 2024
Interesting moments, overall kind of far-fetched.
The cat is amazing.
The cat is amazing.
September 8, 2025
Vanessa apparently falls from a turret and has significant injuries. Her brother Vance, also her twin rushes to her side to discover no one knows how she fell and no investigation has been done. So, being the world’s finest female impersonator he takes her place at the compound of the conglomerate she works for. A very interesting tale.
April 7, 2010
This was a first time read of Marian Babson for me. I chose the book for our first Cozy Mystery Theme Read because of the cat on the cover. This was a stand-alone mystery not a part of a series which may be why I didn't like it better. The story line was that a woman fell and is in a coma close to death. Her twin decides to take her place and see if he can find out what happened to her. From what information you are given he must be a female impersonator as his career. The sister lives and works in some kind of a compound. The details are very sketchy and it almost sounds like they are prisoners there as several times Vance portraying Vanessa is locked in his room. The whole story moves rather slowly as Vance is pretending to have amnesia because he doesn't really know any of the people that his sister works with. As I said, it was okay but not really something that I will remember or want to reread in the future.
January 4, 2014
This was definitely the worst mystery I've ever read. The setting was a mystery. I read the book cover to cover and I'm not even sure where the story takes place. Maybe England? There's an "organization" that serves as the premise for the characters. Having completed the book, I can't even say what that organization is, it's purpose, or even it's name. It was just a weird mystery. I had the "who-done-it" question answered, but still other questions remained unanswered. I'm so mad at myself for even wasting my time on this crap.
April 11, 2019
I found this in a collection of books featuring cats at the library! It turns out the author has written lots of crime and cat books- I probably won’t read any more though! The best characterisation in the whole story was that of the cat Gloriana! Her love of human food and her vocal communication skills! The humans were cardboard cyphers of people with only 1 feature of personality each eg the angry one, the jealous one etc. Still the cat and the strange twin plot kept me reading but it didn’t really make much sense even at the end!
August 30, 2013
Don't read this. It's a dreadful "murder" "mystery". I read it purely because my mother had it out from the library and I had nothing to read over lunch one day. Umm, the main character's sister works for a weird organisation, and gets attacked, and her brother (who is coyly referred to by Babson as a "female impersonator") goes undercover, as her, to work out what happened. Cue set pieces and horribly one-dimensional characters and a very swift, entirely unbelievable, ending.
September 24, 2017
One of Marion Babson's cat mysteries. This time a twin goes undercover to find out why someone wanted to kill his sister. (she survives) and so does the cat. Fun read, although not one of Babson's best.
September 19, 2019
Vanessa is very ill, in a coma and her twin brother Vance is determined to discover what happened to her. He disguises himself as a woman (actually he is a drag queen entertainer) and goes to the home where Vanessa was found. He says that he's much better but has complete amnesia about what happened. He meets and successfully passes himself off as Vanessa to all the people in the house; her cat, Gloriana, is much more suspicious. This was a good mystery. The characters are interesting and Vance gets quite caught up in the drama of the household. (Vaness was working for a reclusive billionaire.) There are women hanging about, "kept" by Everett Oversall. There's Everett's son - Shadow. An older woman in a wheelchair, a nasty man who claimed to be Vanessa's lover, guards, doors that can be locked by staff electronically, a murder, and a possible ghost "monk." I liked Vance and his devotion to his sister.
June 12, 2023
I only enjoyed scenes with the cat in them. Most of the characters for me weren't likeable. The book I have is called Only The Cat. On the cover the cat has one sapphire eye and one yellow eye. The book describes her having sapphire eyes, so I'm not sure what happened there.
Also for the title to be called Only The Cat, when you read it, you'd imagine it's more about the cat, but it's not really.
Also for the title to be called Only The Cat, when you read it, you'd imagine it's more about the cat, but it's not really.
December 28, 2024
Only the cat (and the crim!)
Vance takes the place of his ‘identical’ twin sister Vanessa to find out who has tried to kill her, and why. Pseudo-girl meets ‘Goldfinger’ and his entourage in a gothic castle complete with killer dogs, sullen retainers, ghostly monks, secrets galore and a cat. Even allowing for twinship credulity a la Shakespeare, this is a highly entertaining novel as Babson piles on the gothic memes and the plot and kitty litter thicken.
Vance takes the place of his ‘identical’ twin sister Vanessa to find out who has tried to kill her, and why. Pseudo-girl meets ‘Goldfinger’ and his entourage in a gothic castle complete with killer dogs, sullen retainers, ghostly monks, secrets galore and a cat. Even allowing for twinship credulity a la Shakespeare, this is a highly entertaining novel as Babson piles on the gothic memes and the plot and kitty litter thicken.
October 9, 2019
This is not one of Marion Babson's better books, really only 2.5 *, but it's still a fun read, as long as you don't mind completely suspending your disbelief. As with many of her books, the cat is a big part of the story, though thankfully she is not an author who has psychic cats who talk to their humans.
June 18, 2021
A woman is severely injured in an accident, but her twin believes it's murder. I can't tell you even one more thing without "spoiling" the biggest - most unlikely - surprise in the book. Even so, I'm being generous by giving this book 3 stars. But it was fun to read and I like cats, so . . .
July 15, 2025
It seemed to be interesting at the start a little odd, but that’s OK. Love the presence of The Cat, however, how boring and undeveloped the story is and then you get to the end and it’s like huh that’s it? Not really worth the time.
May 15, 2022
Too silly for words
July 5, 2023
If you like a mystery without much excitement then this book is for you. I found it boring.
October 26, 2023
A satisfying mystery with numerous suspects kept me guessing until the last chapter. I had to hurry and finish to know who tried to kill our heroine.
June 12, 2024
I have read several books by Ms. Babson, and they have all been easy reads as well as entertaining.
July 29, 2024
Weird, random, but surprisingly new
August 21, 2024
2.5 stars. Somewhat amusing in spots, but not very good character development, story, or mystery. I did like the cat!
September 17, 2025
3.5. cute cozy mystery. maybe was a little to short but overall pretty good
October 24, 2025
1.5/5 - I finally finished it. I love the interactions with the cat, but that was the only thing I loved about it. The wearing of the kaftan and turban was so unnecessary, these traditional clothing hold history and meaning to people so it's extremely insensitive for Vance and Vanessa to use them as props to play 'dress up'.
CW/TW: Confinement, Death, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, *Cultural appropriation, Classism, Mention of Hanging, Sexual Harassment
*Cultural Appropriation
"Especially with the full-length kaftans we both loved. I knew she had a full wardrobe of them—I had provided it myself. My early years as an entertainer on the cruise ships plying the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and even more exotic locations had provided great shopping opportunities and I had stocked up with costumes and kaftans for both of us."
Vance I think is supposed to be seen as 'well-traveled' because he has been to countries he deems 'exotic' and bought back with him 'Costumes and Kaftans' as what I would say are 'souvenirs' for him and his sister (Vanessa) to wear as an accessory and not traditional clothing with a lot of history.
"I removed my turban and eased off the bandages that had been stitched together into a sort of
helmet so that I needn’t try to wrap and unwrap the long length of bandage by myself."
While the turban is used as a plot device to disguse Vance, it is a sacred symbol for Sikh people, who often face discrimination for wearing it. For Vance to use this symbol of honor, self-respect, and courage as a tool for deception is extremely disrespectful.
CW/TW: Confinement, Death, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Kidnapping, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, *Cultural appropriation, Classism, Mention of Hanging, Sexual Harassment
*Cultural Appropriation
"Especially with the full-length kaftans we both loved. I knew she had a full wardrobe of them—I had provided it myself. My early years as an entertainer on the cruise ships plying the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and even more exotic locations had provided great shopping opportunities and I had stocked up with costumes and kaftans for both of us."
Vance I think is supposed to be seen as 'well-traveled' because he has been to countries he deems 'exotic' and bought back with him 'Costumes and Kaftans' as what I would say are 'souvenirs' for him and his sister (Vanessa) to wear as an accessory and not traditional clothing with a lot of history.
"I removed my turban and eased off the bandages that had been stitched together into a sort of
helmet so that I needn’t try to wrap and unwrap the long length of bandage by myself."
While the turban is used as a plot device to disguse Vance, it is a sacred symbol for Sikh people, who often face discrimination for wearing it. For Vance to use this symbol of honor, self-respect, and courage as a tool for deception is extremely disrespectful.
October 11, 2009
"Only the Cat Knows" by Marian Babson
(from back cover)
Vanessa and her twin brother Vance are very close. So when someone pushes Vanessa down a flight of stairs and puts her into a coma, Vance wants revenge. He decides that masquerading as Vanessa will lead him to the villain. With her clothes, her makeup, and what he knows about his beloved sister, Vance pulls it off very well. Then all his efforts are threatened by the only one he can't fool: Glorianna, Vanessa's gorgeous white Angora cat, knows darn well who is--and who isn't--the mistress she adores.
MY THOUGHTS: As Vance dresses and acts the part of his sister, Vanessa, he is trying to figure out who is responsible for his sisters near death. He encounters Monica, who seems to run the whole household. Kiki and Lana who seem to be friendly but do they have something else in mind. And of course there is Ivor who seems to want a romantic involvement. Bud, who is head of security, and keeps watch over Vanessa/Vance. And of course there is Madame who seems to want to help and have information but keeps it to herself. You also have a mysterious chanting and a ghostly monk roaming around the house. And who is the head of this home/corporation? Mr. Oversall of course. They all have something to contribute to the mystery of Vanessa. But none seem to be talking right now. Even the cat, Glorianna has some things to say about all this. She keeps leading Vanessa/Vance to clues. This is all leading to a dramatic ending of who pushed Vanessa down the stairs and why. This book reminds me of a movie or play on stage. Very good book. But you'll have to read the book to find out!
(from back cover)
Vanessa and her twin brother Vance are very close. So when someone pushes Vanessa down a flight of stairs and puts her into a coma, Vance wants revenge. He decides that masquerading as Vanessa will lead him to the villain. With her clothes, her makeup, and what he knows about his beloved sister, Vance pulls it off very well. Then all his efforts are threatened by the only one he can't fool: Glorianna, Vanessa's gorgeous white Angora cat, knows darn well who is--and who isn't--the mistress she adores.
MY THOUGHTS: As Vance dresses and acts the part of his sister, Vanessa, he is trying to figure out who is responsible for his sisters near death. He encounters Monica, who seems to run the whole household. Kiki and Lana who seem to be friendly but do they have something else in mind. And of course there is Ivor who seems to want a romantic involvement. Bud, who is head of security, and keeps watch over Vanessa/Vance. And of course there is Madame who seems to want to help and have information but keeps it to herself. You also have a mysterious chanting and a ghostly monk roaming around the house. And who is the head of this home/corporation? Mr. Oversall of course. They all have something to contribute to the mystery of Vanessa. But none seem to be talking right now. Even the cat, Glorianna has some things to say about all this. She keeps leading Vanessa/Vance to clues. This is all leading to a dramatic ending of who pushed Vanessa down the stairs and why. This book reminds me of a movie or play on stage. Very good book. But you'll have to read the book to find out!
June 6, 2016
This is a mystery in which the fraternal twin of Vanessa (Nessa), who is a female impersonator by trade, decides he is going to find out who tried to kill his sister by impersonating her. Using the ruse that she has suffered amnesia as a result of her injuries, "Vanessa" returns to the fortress-like domain that served not only as her place of work but home. However, Vance/Vanessa discovers that he has to contend with his sisters beautiful if not imperious Angora cat who, of course, could easily blow his cover.
I feel this story line could have been a real hoot but it did not turn out that way in this book. The majority of the reading was Vance/Vanessa sitting around in her quarters, recuperating, and sharing catered meals with Gloriana the Angora cat and then going downstairs in the evenings for very boring dinners with the rest of the staff. The real Vanessa is not even encountered except at the beginning when Vance has rushed to her side in the hospital but she is on life support and in a coma. Not till the very end do we get a glimpse of the real Vanessa as she wakes from her coma. The only real parts I liked was when Vance slapped Dr. Anderson around a few times because of his seemingly reluctance to keep Vance up to date on Vanessa's recovery and then what seems as going back on his word not to blow his cover.
I feel this story line could have been a real hoot but it did not turn out that way in this book. The majority of the reading was Vance/Vanessa sitting around in her quarters, recuperating, and sharing catered meals with Gloriana the Angora cat and then going downstairs in the evenings for very boring dinners with the rest of the staff. The real Vanessa is not even encountered except at the beginning when Vance has rushed to her side in the hospital but she is on life support and in a coma. Not till the very end do we get a glimpse of the real Vanessa as she wakes from her coma. The only real parts I liked was when Vance slapped Dr. Anderson around a few times because of his seemingly reluctance to keep Vance up to date on Vanessa's recovery and then what seems as going back on his word not to blow his cover.
November 12, 2012
I'm not much of a mystery reader, but this one was pretty good. It was light and witty and lacked gruesomeness which I appreciated. The plot seemed far-fetched with a man pretending to be his twin sister while she is incapacitated, but authors can do anything they want, right? The mystery itself was also well concealed, I never suspected the culprit, but maybe I'm just not very good at suspecting seeing as I don't often read mysteries.
August 30, 2014
An interesting setting and an unusual premise - a twin goes undercover, masquerading as his sister, in order to discover who pushed her off a tower in an attempt to kill her. Yes, the twin is a female impersonator! His attempt to pass himself as off as his sister is aided by the invention of complete memory loss as a result of the fall.Only his sister's cat knows that he is not the she he proclaims to be.
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August 24, 2011It's not easy pretending to be your own twin sister, but when a murder attempt leaves Vanessa in coma, Vance is determined to go under cover and find out who wants his sister dead. Good thing Vance is the best damn female impersonator in the business. Now if only he can get Nessa's cat to like him . . .
September 16, 2013
Started reading this & freaked out a little. A lady falls / gets pushed off a wall, so her twin brother - a female impersonator - dresses up like her, pretends to have amnesia & moves into her unit to solve the crime. Also none of the people his sister lives and works with realise he's an imposter ... Awkward.
September 14, 2014
A Professional female impersonator's identical twin sister is in a comma from a suspicious fall and he takes her place to find out what really happened. This mystery is refreshingly different and has several twists and turns along thr way with a few chuckles added in as he is nearly found out a couple of times. I liked it very much.
March 25, 2013
I would not classify this as a cozy mystery and it didn't come off as a light read, either. The premise of a twin impersonating his sister should have been more interesting than it was. The characters were mostly all unlikeable.
December 28, 2013
While the story was fairly quaint, I really had trouble with the transvestite brother taking his twin sister's place. The voice just did not ring true to me and I had problems accepting that the character was actually a male.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews