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Summary
Summary
The prolific and delightful Marian Babson has penned another stupendous cozy for cat lovers. Vanessa has been rushed to hospital, having been found unconscious at the foot of the stairs. Was it an accident or something else? Now, smiling weakly, suffering from a head injury that has left her with complete amnesia about the fall, the events leading up to it, and even the people closest to her, here she is, back in their midst. Or is she? In fact, the real Vanessa is still in a coma and her devoted twin brother Vance, superbly disguised as a woman, has taken her place At the home of the reclusive millionaire who maintained Vanessa, Vance joins the self-absorbed retinue, determined to discover whether one of them had attempted to kill his sister.
There is an unsavory roue who claims to be Vanessa's lover and assorted women who declare themselves her best friends. Others keep silent but seem to be waiting for Vance to put a foot wrong.
Actually, Vance can handle all those. Only one thing really worries him: 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 will fall apart.
"Only the Cat Knows "is Babson's latest in a long line of wonderful mysteries offering her special mix of mayhem, murder, and cats "
Author Notes
Marian Babson Author Marian Babson was born in Salem, Massachusetts but spent the better part of her life living in London, England. Marian Babson a pseudonym for Ruth Stenstreem. Babson has held many jobs that included a librarian, manager of a campaign headquarters, a receptionist/secretary to commercial artists, and a co-editor of a machine-knitting magazine. She also served as secretary to the Crime Writers' Association.
Some of Babson's many titles include "The Multiple Cat" (1999), , "Miss Petunia's Last Case" (1997), "Fatal Fortune" (1987), "Death Beside the Seaside" (1982), "Murder, Murder, Little Star" (1977) and "There Must Be Some Mistake" (1975), Retreat from Murder, (2004), Only the Cat Knows, (2005) and No Cooperation from the Cat, (2012).
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
Publisher's Weekly Review
The diverting new feline-themed cozy from British author Babson (Please Do Feed the Cat) takes readers to a remote castle where a wealthy business tycoon, Everett Oversall, lives surrounded by a harem of female employees. One of them, Vanessa, takes a fall and lapses into a coma. Vanessa's twin brother, Vance, who happens to work as a female impersonator, is sure that someone tried to kill his sister, so he dons her clothes, fakes amnesia and infiltrates Oversall's compound. There, Vance-as-Vanessa encounters a host of eccentrics, all of whom might have been jealous of his sister, who was Oversall's personal assistant. The only trustworthy member of the household is Vanessa's devoted cat, Gloriana, who proves crucial in sniffing out whodunit. If character development is a tad weak, Vance's constant efforts to keep up his feminine persona will keep readers' attention. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
A twin impersonates his sister in hopes of solving her attempted murder. Vance--stage name Gloriana--is a female impersonator who has no problem taking his sister Nessa's place after she's pushed off a battlement at Friary Keep, home of wealthy businessman Everett Oversall. With the help of Nessa's doctor, he returns as a frail amnesiac, hiding his muscular body under a caftan, a turban and judiciously applied makeup. There are plenty of likely suspects in a house filled with Everett's ex-girlfriends and a rummy group of hangers-on. Only Nessa's Angora cat, also named Gloriana, knows that Vance is an impostor, but she can be bribed with delicacies to accept his presence. When Vance discovers a body in a monk's cell--perhaps of another of Everett's missing assistants--he realizes he's in danger. A slick cleanup operation disposes of the body, and several of Everett's minders try to convince Vance that the incident was a hallucination brought on by his injuries. Vance can only guess who hated Nessa enough to kill. Room searches, strange chanting and a mysterious monk all add to his confusion, but his strong connection to his twin keeps him searching for a solution that's nearly the death of him and his namesake. Babson continues her string of feline tales (The Cat Who Wasn't a Dog, 2003, etc.) with an unlikely but enjoyable Gothic mystery that keeps you guessing. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
