The End of the Monthly Book Reports

After many years, I’ve decided to stop doing monthly book reports. I got very few readers, but I will not leave the true bibliophiles desolate. When a book hits me hard, I will write about it. I’ve already blogged about my favorite writers/series so won’t belabor the point. I may touch upon a specific writer however. Right now I feel like writing about Marian Babson.

Ruth Marian Stenstreem wrote mysteries under the name Marian Babson. Her books are a joy. Although she was born an American, she has spent most of her life in London. Since she is now 90, I don’t think there will be many more books, as the last one she wrote was in 2012.

A lot of her books have cats in them, so you know the appeal for me. As a real Anglophile AND an ailurophile, these books suit me down to the ground.

She has two series of mysteries and the rest are stand alones. All of them are worth reading. The first series involves Trixie Dolan and Evangeline Sinclair. They are two “friends” who are aging actresses who are a bit past their prime, but can still have a good time. They live and travel together, but don’t necessarily get along. They have several ex-husbands between them, one who was mutual. When the chips are down, however, they stand together. When a man is involved in the mystery, they fight for the right of ownership. A lot of fun. There are 7 in this series.

The second series is about the PR business firm of Perkins & Tate. The books are written in first person from the point of view of Doug Perkins, with a bit of input from his partner Gerry Tate and their secretary Penny. It was the second book in the series (Murder at the Cat Show) that had a LOT of cats in it, and even though Doug was never a fan of cats, he finds himself at the end of the story with a cat of his own, Pandora. She doesn’t feature much in the last two books, but as with all Siamese, she makes her presence known. There are only 4 books in this series and I wish there were more.