The Diamond Cat [Mass Market Paperback]

Marian Babson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1996

The cat who swallowed more than a canary...

A lifetime of craving more cuddly companionship than her hectoring mother has led fortyish Bettina Bilby to board her neighbors' felines for a long holiday weekend: an expectant tabby, a pampered blue-eyed Balinese, a depressed ginger Persian with a cod-liver-oil addiction, and Adolf, an imperious mouser with a patchwork face.

But a freak storm sets the pigeon among the cats-- a carrier bird downed on the doorstep with a tiny load of large flawless diamonds. And Bettina's dilemma escalates, as Adolf gobbles up one of the gems and a succession of elegant but shifty strangers prowl the gardens, offending the cats, and bringing in their wake back-door bloodshed and murder.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Poor Bettina Bilby. Ever since her father's death, she's been living with her hectoring mother, without even a cat of her own to cheer her dreary life. And now a freak storm promises to ruin her long bank holiday weekend, trapping her inside, where she's at the mercy of a leaking roof and Mother Bilby's continuous carping-especially about Bettina's lack of sense in agreeing to take in four boarders for the weekend. The boarders are cats, of course-what would a Babson tale be without them?-and a lovely lot they are: irascible Adolf; pampered Bluebell; depressed Pasha; and Enza, so named because her owner opened the window one day and, well, in flew Enza. Then, in the midst of the storm, a carrier pigeon dies in the backyard, leaving Bettina to deal with its cargo of diamonds as well as with a steady stream of shifty strangers who, under transparent pretenses, try to gain access to the Bilby home. In her latest comic tale, Babson (Nine Lives to Murder) mixes high-tech theft, high-flying ransom and a denouement that finds Bettina savoring a sudden but welcome freedom. The Diamond Cat is a jewel.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"Marian Babson's name on a mystery is a guarantee of quality writing wrapped around an unusual crime."--Houston Chronicle

"Babson's latest exceptional plot will please cat fanciers, humorists, and mystery lovers...The fun continues."--Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 217 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; First Edition edition (June 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312956606
• ISBN-13: 978-0312956608
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #653,544 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #95 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery > Cat Sleuths

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cats and diamonds lead to mayhem and murder., May 28, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The Diamond Cat (Hardcover)

A glittering object drops to the floor. What's a hungry cat to do? Swallow it of course. That is part of the premise of THE DIAMOND CAT by Marian Babson. When a major storm hits a London suburb, a carrier pigeon is the victim. Needless to say, the four felines being boarded by a downtrodden spinster and her demanding mother are more than mildly interested. The bird is carrying a fortune in diamonds, mysterious begin to strangers haunt the neighborhood, and two murders ensue. This fast-paced book by American expatriot Babson will delight readers of traditional British mysteries and cat lovers alike.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Babson Does It Again, April 19, 2002

By 

Joseph Albanese "The Joe Show" (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Diamond Cat (Mass Market Paperback)

No matter how much you may happen to have an aversion to either mysteries and/or cats, one can't help but laugh out loud when the person telling the story is Ms. Babson.

This particular murder mystery is done just as straight-forwarded and written with the dry humor we've come to expect.

No one gives a more accurate picture of the English countryside and the people who live there than Marian Babson: her characters are well defined but she never gets wordy or preachy about it. It is the same with the deaths that take place in her novels: no gruesome details, just facts and good reading.

Do yourself a big favor and pick up this, or any of Ms. Babson's novels: you won't regret it.