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Whiskers & Smoke
A British widow exchanges houses and cats with her sister and travels across the Atlantic to Edgemarsh Lake, New Hampshire, where her temporary cat, Errol, helps her track down an arsonist. Previous title: A Trail of Ashes. Reprint.
214 pages, Paperback
First published December 31, 1985
About the author
Marian Babson
60 books90 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 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 4, 2023
While this was a good mystery, IMO. and I was invested in the characters, the writing style was intermittently disruptive to me as I read. I particularly appreciated the depiction of Errol! It was a quick easy read!
May 14, 2022
I had put off starting this because while I love what Babson does with cats I am less enamored of the way the views Americans. This one was no exception. Babson was American but was an Anglophile and moved to the UK as I recall. One book hinged on the recognition of a phrase as a piece of American slang-- and it was a phrase I'd never heard. I suspected it was much outdated. Anyway, the plot is okay, there's a cute cat, but the British family suffers culture shock at the American way of life and the solution is . . . well, a bit haphazard it seemed to me. It wasn't awful, it wasn't great.
February 14, 2013
The cat was interesting. But when I finished I wondered why I bothered.
May 23, 2025
I kept feeling like something was going to happen? But mostly it doesn't now 2 sections sort of start in the middle of something without any lead up? Dunno if it's a misprint or not. Plus a man forces his way into the house and it's treated as alright?
DNF'd at pg 106/107?
DNF'd at pg 106/107?
October 10, 2024
It was a good buffer book, I picked it up at a small bookstore and it fit the fall vibe for sure. It was a nice little read but the ending was bland & not as suspenseful as I wanted it to be.
December 27, 2025
I saw this book in a random cafe, I saw a cat on the cover, picked it, finished reading in 3 visits, I loved it. ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
May 29, 2013
Marian Babson has written a number of mysteries, but those featuring cats are among her readers' favorites because she knows how to capture their eccentricities so well. "Whiskers and Smoke" is a great kitty cosy mystery, perfect for a rainy afternoon.
English Mum Rosemary Blake has two children, a cat named Esmond, a husband named John, and a comfortable, if not glamorous life. Everything changes in an instant when her husband is forced off the road by a drunk driver. He dies in the accident, and Rosemary has to take stock and regroup in the fog of grief. Her daughter Tessa falls and breaks her arm, and this accident is the last straw. Against her better judgment, Rosemary agrees to swap houses with a family near Boston and just along the road from her sister Celia. The swap promises that both families will have a comfortable home-away-from-home, each complete with a cat. For the Blakes in New England, their new housemate is a cat named Errol (as in Flynn), and he shares the film star's swashbuckling attitude. The heat, humidity, strange driving patterns, and local accents threaten to make Rosemary, Tessa, and Timothy a little crazy; but they begin to settle in with the help of American ice cream. Errol turns out to be an oversized Maine Coon cat with swagger and a huge appetite.
Celia has her own secrets. Her husband Patrick has fretted himself into a skeleton over his business and their obvious money problems, and their son Luke has made an unlikely friend in Dexter who seems fascinated with fire. The boys are attending a local summer day camp, and Rosemary's two convince her they should also go. Neighborhoods in Boston and Concord, New Hampshire, have been plagued by a series of arsons; and the strange location, local news, and jet-lag force Rosemary into uneasy nightmares. Neighbor Pixie Toller arrives to introduce the Blakes to the "Welcome Wagon" custom; she, other neighbors, and the camp counselors help the family make small but crucial adjustments to the summer heat and life at the summer camp. Neighbor Noah Peterson is a jarring note, however; he accuses Errol of parenting kittens via his precious cat Pitti-Sing. The near-quarrel is interrupted by another fire when the bonfire constructed for the Fourth of July is lit early.
Fires, the sound of fire engines, people who seem obsessed with fire, and Rosemary's own nightmares keep her on edge. The Fourth of July Town Picnic and celebrations happen without a hitch, but the random fires continue after the holiday. Errol becomes Rosemary's most reliable alarm system when he hears sounds and senses changes she thinks she imagines. Despite Errol's help, the surroundings, humidity, and paranoia over the arsons close in on Rosemary. Will she be able to get her children safely back to England? Will the aggravating neighbor Noah become more friend than foe? Will the arsonist be found before the neighborhood falls victim? These and other mysteries remain to be answered in "Whiskers and Smoke", a mystery made for cat-lovers but a pleasant story with unusual aspects to appeal to a broader range of mystery fans as well.
English Mum Rosemary Blake has two children, a cat named Esmond, a husband named John, and a comfortable, if not glamorous life. Everything changes in an instant when her husband is forced off the road by a drunk driver. He dies in the accident, and Rosemary has to take stock and regroup in the fog of grief. Her daughter Tessa falls and breaks her arm, and this accident is the last straw. Against her better judgment, Rosemary agrees to swap houses with a family near Boston and just along the road from her sister Celia. The swap promises that both families will have a comfortable home-away-from-home, each complete with a cat. For the Blakes in New England, their new housemate is a cat named Errol (as in Flynn), and he shares the film star's swashbuckling attitude. The heat, humidity, strange driving patterns, and local accents threaten to make Rosemary, Tessa, and Timothy a little crazy; but they begin to settle in with the help of American ice cream. Errol turns out to be an oversized Maine Coon cat with swagger and a huge appetite.
Celia has her own secrets. Her husband Patrick has fretted himself into a skeleton over his business and their obvious money problems, and their son Luke has made an unlikely friend in Dexter who seems fascinated with fire. The boys are attending a local summer day camp, and Rosemary's two convince her they should also go. Neighborhoods in Boston and Concord, New Hampshire, have been plagued by a series of arsons; and the strange location, local news, and jet-lag force Rosemary into uneasy nightmares. Neighbor Pixie Toller arrives to introduce the Blakes to the "Welcome Wagon" custom; she, other neighbors, and the camp counselors help the family make small but crucial adjustments to the summer heat and life at the summer camp. Neighbor Noah Peterson is a jarring note, however; he accuses Errol of parenting kittens via his precious cat Pitti-Sing. The near-quarrel is interrupted by another fire when the bonfire constructed for the Fourth of July is lit early.
Fires, the sound of fire engines, people who seem obsessed with fire, and Rosemary's own nightmares keep her on edge. The Fourth of July Town Picnic and celebrations happen without a hitch, but the random fires continue after the holiday. Errol becomes Rosemary's most reliable alarm system when he hears sounds and senses changes she thinks she imagines. Despite Errol's help, the surroundings, humidity, and paranoia over the arsons close in on Rosemary. Will she be able to get her children safely back to England? Will the aggravating neighbor Noah become more friend than foe? Will the arsonist be found before the neighborhood falls victim? These and other mysteries remain to be answered in "Whiskers and Smoke", a mystery made for cat-lovers but a pleasant story with unusual aspects to appeal to a broader range of mystery fans as well.
May 7, 2008
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.
December 14, 2008
This is the other side of the story begun in Paws for Alarm. Both of them are really really good cozies with interesting details and a good story .
July 27, 2011
A nice, simple little mystery. I think this falls under the heading of "cozy"--a fast read, and enjoyable. I wish the cat characters had played a bigger role, but they were still fun.
October 12, 2014
Boring.
Families exchange houses.
Families exchange houses.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews