Murder at the Cat Show was Ms. Babson's second published novel, which may explain the one incident that surprised and dismayed me. Other than that, it made me laugh several times. I liked Doug Perkins well enough from the previous book, Cover-Up Story, but I like him even better as he finds himself learning why cat fans are cat fans.

Perkins & Tate (Public Relations) Limited's current clients are a cat exhibition, 'Cats Through the Ages'. While it's mostly thanks to Perfection Hosiery that the exhibition can go on, organizer Rose Chesne-Malvern brought in Doug's firm to make sure cats other than the Perfection Hosiery mascot, Lady Purr-fect, will get their fair share of publicity. As the show's PRO (Public Relations Officer), Doug is having to spend more time with Mrs. Chesne-Malvern than he'd like. To put it bluntly, yet keep it clean, the organizer is a termagant, a shrew, and a battleaxe.

Among the non-living cats that will be on display is a hollow gold statue by famed Hugo Verrier, his interpretation of the statue of Dick Whittington's cat that's at Highgate Hill. The Golden Cat's eyes are genuine emeralds. (Dick Whittington was a real-life Lord Mayor of London who died in 1423, but the story about him and the cat who made his fortune is folklore. If you've never read the story, please do so. It's charming.)

Of all the working cats that will be part of the exhibit, Doug is most nervous about a pair of Sumatran tigers, Pyramus and Thisbe. These colorful, outsize cats have an equally colorful owner, Carlotta Montera, who was a Latin American revolutionary in her youth. (She and her husband still can't go home.) We know this is a murder mystery. Will the tigers turn out to be the murder weapon?

Other noted female owners and their cats are Helena Keswick, of Keswick Catteries. Her Burmese, Mother Brown, and her current kittens are adorable (Their sire, Father Thames, will not be in attendance. Don't bother asking how much for one of the highly desirable kittens. They're already sold.) Then there's Betty Lington, whose Silver Fir ('Silly Fur'), a star of film and TV, is as stupid as she is gorgeous. Mrs. Chesne-Malvern's 8-months-old Siamese, Pandora, is also on display.

Moving on to noted male cat owners, we have Kellington Dasczo, who has written books about his pathetic childhood, then a biography of Pearlie King, the black alley cat he adopted. The other is Marcus Opal, who is hoping to found Precious Jewel Cattery Manx cats now that he has found his perfect stud, Precious Black Jade. For some reason, the yellow-eyed black tom HATES Marcus. He's much nicer to Doug, although he seems to be imploring the PRO about something. Doug wishes he understood. Roger Chesne-Malvern, Rose's husband, isn't Pandora's owner, but he is attending the exhibition. He's allergic to cats. Let us hope those shots he's been taking are working.

Dave Prendergast is another PRO. The product he's hawking is an excellent new cat litter, but its name is mortifying: 'Pussy No-Poo'.

Doug's partner, Gerry Tate, and their young secretary, Penny, will be around. The other named member of the cast is a boy named Brian. He and his younger sister and brother really, really want to see the cat show. Doug is a soft touch for these kids. He's also a soft touch for Pandora, who is neglected by her owner.

The Inspector who is brought in after the golden cat disappears is merely 'the Inspector'. He's not a can fan, poor man.

NOTES:

Chapter 1 Mentions: Bast, Dick Whittington, and the Cheshire Cat

Chapter II: We learn about a fake film Mother Brown appeared in, with an interesting murder method in the plot.
Mentions: Puss-in-Boots and the Colossus of Rhodes

Chapter III:

a. We're taught the trick for being able to say something as cringe-worthy as 'Pussy No-Poo' with a straight face.

b. Doug finds out why the Siamese is named Pandora.

Chapter IV: Look here for the scene with the twits shooting the 'Purr-fect Year' calendar.

Chapter V: These are fictional cats. In real life, cats shouldn't eat onions.

Mentions: Charing Cross Underground and Pepsi

Chapter VIII: Here's the scene where Rose Chesne-Malvern takes Pandora from Doug over Pandora struggles.

Chapter XI mention: Lloyds of London

Aside from the one incident that dismayed me, I found this book very amusing. A cat hater would probably prefer to skip it, but cat lovers should enjoy most of it. Even if you're not a cat fan, there's plenty of character interaction and description to keep you happy. Okay, the murder is practically incidental and not much time is spent trying to solve it, so if you read mysteries for the plot, Murder at the Cat Show is not the book for you.
It was definitely right my alley, though. ( )

The murder was so incidental to this plot that it was simply a device to get this PR guy at a cat show. Sure, you enter the world of cat shows, which is chock full of odd and eccentric people. So, of course, our PR guy has to be completely indifferent to felines. And, of course, by the end, he has to be pwned by one, most appropriately a Siamese. What I don't understand is this author has five other books published, or at least she did in 2003 when this was printed. I have to wonder if this was her first. Yawn. ( )