Marian Babson's contributions to the field of mystery and detective fiction lie in both her ten-year service as secretary of the Crime Writers Association from 1976 to 1986 and her steady output of mystery novels, better than a novel per year. The latter have found a wide readership on both sides of the Atlantic, even though reviewers have paid scant attention to her works. At her best, Babson brings to her fiction a keen observer's eye, a fluid, witty style, and an amusement at human foibles, as she explores with wry humor both the American scene of her origins and the British scene of her adoption. Her novels do not adhere to any particular formula: Babson has written in both classical mystery and suspense forms and has created two series with unusual detectives (a publicist who discovers a love for cats and criminal investigation, and two aging actresses who team...