Paws for Alarm

by Marian Babson

A whisker away from death...

A summer in England sounds like a great idea for the Harper family-- and the house exchange makes it so affordable. Now they've swapped their New England home for a lovely cottage in a village near London. Why, the house even comes with a cat, a shy marmalade named Esmond! Everything seems purrfect...until someone tries to kill Mr. Harper.

Now the genteel village feels sinister, the snooty next-door neighbor is acting suspicious and the house is filled with its real owner's secrets. Numerous attempts on Mr. Harper's life convince his wife Nancy they can't pussyfoot around. They need to investigate, starting with what the mousey orange cat knows...

Genres: Mystery, Cats, Cozy, Audiobook, Cozy Mystery

220 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Marian 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

Reviews

[Leo · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Was rather meh, didn't get the cozy vibes and didn't particular like the characters which I feel is a must for me in a cozy mystery

[Mayda · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Harper family trades homes for the summer with a newly widowed woman from England. Arnold needs to do research there, and the widow wants to spend time with her sister. It’s a wonderful idea, until the murderous attempts on Arnold’s life begin. At first, the strange occurrences seem like accidents, but then other things add up and equal attempted murder. It’s a quick read, and pretty interesting. The story’s main entertaining factor, though, are the twins, Donald and Donna. Without their antics, the book would have been a little flat.

[Jooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

I can't really relate the title with the story, but for a rather short story it was quit good. It contained a nice balance between suspense, drama, parenting problems, mystery and humor. I mean: surviving 3 attempts of murder is really serious but then:
Him: "Admit you sometimes treat me like a rat's ass"
She: "Well, sometimes you act like a rat's ass".

[Corinne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I kept listening to this audiobook, trying to figure out what the point was. I particularly disliked the main character, Nancy, who was incredibly nasty to her husband and children. Altogether, it is a disappointing book by an accomplished author.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely not one of this author's best books. None of the characters are particularly likeable, and the plot was really far-fetched, though it was obvious from the start who was responsible for the murderous attempts on the main character's husband's life.

[Bunny Merrill · Rating 1 out of 5]

Terrible. Main character was so awful I hoped she would get murdered. Couldn't even finish.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. Personally, I wasn't sure how much I liked the main character. Which isn't always a bad thing but in this case there wasn't much else in the book to make up for it. Probably won't be reading any more of this series.

[Margaret Fast · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite a dreadful book but I did read it all. Wanted to discover if there actually was a coherent plot. Questionable. Characters one-dimensional. Writing indifferent. Was in the pile that Sarah was giving away.

[Miranda Cummings · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished it in hopes it would get better. It never did. I couldn’t stand any of the characters except the cat, who, unlike the cover would have you think, played no actual role in the story.

[Bsmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

For starters this isn’t anything mystery or puzzling, this book is slice of life.

I don’t disagree that the characters are unlovable but I don’t think that’s something to take down the markings, I think they are realistic and written really well in a realism setting.

The synopsis really emphasis the cat (Esmond) but I think there is like 4 pages where the cat is even written, he’s just there, nothing to do with the plot.

The ending and reveal was incredibly underwhelming and seemingly not fleshed out in any way.

Read this if you want a slice of life story of someone’s boringly heterosexual relationship on a holiday home swap because it is written in beautiful reflection of realism.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Harper family goes to England on a house swap. They even have an English pet, a cat named Esmond. But then someone tries to kill Arnold Harper. Three times. And the death of the owner's husband, John Blake, also begins to look suspicious.

Turns out another new resident of the town, Hazel, is in witness protection. Her husband ratted on the mob, and there's a contract out on him. The problem is that anyone who shows any kindness to Hazel is assumed to be her post-plastic surgery husband.

But it all gets worked out in the end.

[Lila · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy Babson's cats. In this mystery, an American family swaps homes and come to a semi-detached house while the husband hopes to do research in London. However, he mysteriously experiences multiple murder attempts designed to look like accidents. The story features a mannerly British cat who comes with the house.

[Mary Kay Kare]

Look, I know Babson has never been much for reality, but this book is enough to make me give her up permanently. She must know some pretty peculiar people if she thinks those people work as an American family. And, really? She thinks that story works as a denouement? I turned the page expecting to see it shot down & the real explanation given, but nope, it was done. Sheesh.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring. Premise sounded good & intriguing but the book fell flat. No real mystery, no suspense. Not much action either for the cat serving as the basis for the book. Won't waste time on another nook by this author.

[Barbara J. Stepens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bizzare

Well, not your typical British murder mystery!
What a script, never saw it coming!!
Actually, very British!!
Must read, American or British, it will surprise you, and you will be glad you took the time to relax and read it from cover to cover!

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun, light read. I admit I bought the book because I thought a cat would be a primary character – and it wasn’t. Still, it was an interesting, light mystery with some funny characters that kept me guessing until almost the end.

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was very hard to discover the murder in this story. It seemed to be mostly about domestic issues.

[Phil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute little mystery.

[Rusty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taking a trip to England for a few months sounds like a wonderful adventure until someone begins trying to kill your husband. Arnold finds himself at the wheel of a car with no brakes, a clutch that won't work and the vehicle out of control with his family. An accident or did the renting agency give them a bad car? Then he is attacked by a group of rugby players on the train platform, one of whom comes at him with a knife. Lastly, he is waiting in line for a bus when someone gives him a shove in the back into the path of a bus. What is happening to this poor American who has come to England to pursue his research. Has he suddenly become accident prone or is someone out to murder him? The truth is a tangle that he and his wife need to unravel in order to have a peaceful time in jolly old England.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

A cat cozy. While I don't mind the genre (or other cozy mysteries) occasionally in between more noir stories, this one didn't resonate well with me.
Not dialog-driven, and the characters on their adventure in England had about as much drive as a three-legged horse. I wanted to like the story enough to see what happened and whodidit, but its boringness just kept escalating until I just couldn't make it (past page 80-something). The lady has some passive-aggressive issues, their children are boring, and all the people they seem to run into in England (except the football hooligans) seem just weird old ladies with weird old ladies complicated social games.

[Bronwyn Rykiert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a bit of an ordinary story with a little crime/mystery in it. I was a bit slow and did not see where it was going. The Harper family, Arnold and Nancy, have exchanged their home in the US for a home in England. Before long Arnold is having accidents that he feels are not accidents, it took him awhile to talk Nancy around to his way of thinking, then they start a little investigation to find out what is happening and was the accident who killed the man of house they are staying in an accident or not?

[Charlee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book for the most part. The only real issue I had was with the main character. I would go from disliking her, to starting to warm up to her, to disliking her again. I also would refrain from calling this a cat cozy as it isn't. The cat has very little to do with the book and almost makes you wonder why it's titled as it is.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy light mysteries, and Marian Babson's cat books fit the bill. You won't figure out whodunit, but just sit back with a cup of tea and enjoy the atmosphere. ***I have read other books of hers, but have found them slightly more disturbing and less fun than the ones that feature cats.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and fun mystery. Also sad. This is what happens when people go travelling! This is the first of a two part duo. This one deals with the family who comes to England and the other one Smoke and Whiskers is the family who goes to the U.S.

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Murders are numerous in this book. Which husband is the “real” target? No one can be certain but I think I’ll refrain from doing an international house swap, unless I can have a police report first.

[Susan]

very good cozy mystery...not much on cat, though

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could've been a really good book with all sorts of tension building. Instead it was pretty random and unconnected with the solution coming from nowhere.
Pity

[GaiB · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun light mystery read with interesting characters and a bitchy narrator. In the tradition of Agatha Christie in that the clues are there and the challenge is intellectual.