The Multiple Cat - Hardcover

Marian Babson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0754039617 ISBN 13: 9780754039617

Publisher: Chivers Press, 2000

Synopsis

The latest in Marian Babson's delightfully dippy series of mysteries where bitchiness, gossip and cats are centre stage. When Annabel Hinchby-Smythe is mistaken for a top interior designer and invited to redecorate a reclusive millionaire's London flat, she little realizes what the deception will lead to. Initially she hopes that her entree into Arthur Arbuthnot's secret world will provide her with titbits to feed to the gossip columns, and indeed his shabby mansion flat houses a motley and largely disagreeable group of relatives and hangers-on. Only Sally, a cat rescued from the streets, seems to have a place in Arbuthnot's affections, although she is loathed by everyone else. As Annabel wrestles with the mysteries of material samples, the level of tension within the cavernous flat rises. Family members are at each other's throats, lawyers come and go, and Arbuthnot's housekeeper succumbs increasingly to hysteria. Anything could happen, and does: the millionaire's body is discovered in his inner sanctum. The family are quick to cover up any suggestion that it might be a murder, but Annabel is profoundly suspicious. And then the bombshell drops: Sally is the main beneficiary of the will, and whoever looks after her controls the fortune. All too aware what this means for the cat's life expectancy, Annabel spirits her away; the Arbuthnot entourage, however, are not to be thwarted, and soon any number of Sally lookalikes are being recovered by the greedy relatives. Between posing as a designer, meeting the insatiable demands of Xanthippe's Diary, acting as a cat refuge service, and solving a murder, Annabel Hinchby-Smythe has recourse to rather more martinis than usual. The Multiple Cat is a funny and charming crime novel, which will appeal to cat-lovers and mystery-lovers alike.

About this title

About the Author:

Marian Babson was born in Massachusetts but has lived in London for the greater part of her life. She is now a full-time writer.

From AudioFile:

In this thin, rambling mystery the only character with integrity and personality is Sally, a stray cat adopted by a reclusive millionaire. The human heroine is Annabel Hinchby-Smythe, who impersonates an interior decorator to acquire gossip for a scandal sheet and becomes a de facto, but inept, detective. Diana Bishop has mastered the arch tone and aristocratic style so characteristic of Annabel. She does her best to make her seem vital and interesting. But to be fully effective in rendering this tale, she needs to improve her meowing. This is a classic murder story with scheming relatives, suspicious employees and elegant surroundings, not to mention appealing felines. D.L.G. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Chivers Press
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0754039617
• ISBN 13: 9780754039617
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272