Tourists Are for Trapping [Hardcover]

Marian Babson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1989

Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey...And Ye Olde Homicide

Larkin's Luxury Tours number 79 is a traveler's nightmare. The problems had started in Zurich, Switzerland when one of the group died under mysterious circumstances. Now the remaining tour members have landed in London, tight-lipped, fearful, and ready to ask for their money back. It's up to Doug Perkins, of the PR firm of Perkins and Tate, to restore their spirits. Naturally, for the restoration of spirits, he arranges a pub crawl, and with the help of his cat Pandora, he's jollying them back into being happy campers...at the best hotels of course. Then foul play strikes again. Now, Doug, assisted by Pandora's feline ability to smell a rat, needs to find out which tourist hides a preference for bed, breakfast, and murder...

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British public relations partners Doug Perkins and Gerry Tate make a third appearance here, called in to soothe the disgruntled American tourists on Larkin's Luxury Tour #79. It seems that one of the group, an elderly math professor, died accidentally while the tour was in Zurich. Meeting the travelers in London, Perkins finds them edgy, morose and in a state of collective shock. Then he discovers that the professor's death was a murder, and that the tight-lipped group is staging a conspiratorial cover-up. When another member disappears, Perkins's troubles multiply. Fattened with unrelated subplots, this sluggish book springs to life only in the last few pages when Perkins intuitively divines the reasons behind some nefarious deeds. But neither Perkins's irrepressible good humor and staunch perseverance nor the antics of his spirited cat Pandora are enough to salvage this lackluster story, doomed by pallid characters and a low-key, never fully developed mystery.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

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

"What can a reviewer say about Marian Babson? If you haven't read at least one of her books, you have definitely missed the boat. She is consistently witty."-Mystery News

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 170 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr; 1st edition (November 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031203444X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312034443
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,976,931 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Always Enjoyable, September 16, 2004

By 

Louis M. Perdue (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tourists are for Trapping (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is typical Marian Babson, although a little lighter weight than normal. There are, as usual, plenty of characters to sort out BUT unlike most of her other books, most of them stay in the background or fade quickly into the background. That was a little disappointing to me but I still enjoyed the antics of Doug Perkins (of Perkins & Tate, a PR firm) and his cat Pandora. Pandora is a treat and, in this book, has as much personality as any of the characters.

The mystery revolves around the death of a member of an American tour group working its way through Europe and now in London. The tour company is a client of the PR firm and Doug is called upon to sooth the moods of the remaining members of the tour. The mystery is secondary to the descriptions of the dynamics of the tour group but it was fun to figure out who the culprit was and the mystery is wrapped up rather quickly and neatly.

If you are a fan of Babson's, add this to your list to read. If not, don't start with this one because it does not do justice to her usual higher standards.