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Rating: 
Summary: Paws for Alarm
Review: Great book, goes well with the other she wrote.
Rating:
Summary: PAWS FOR ALARM is a reprint of DEATH SWAP [1984]
Review: It's the companion volume to WHISKERS AND SMOKE [original title: A TRAIL OF ASHES]. The Harper family of New Hampshire has swapped houses with an English widow, Rosemary, for the summer. Nancy Harper has reason to be grumpy. Her scholarly husband, Arnold, is too eager to get down to research in London. Her twins come from the Calvin of "Calvin and Hobbes" mold. Certainly she loves her husband and children, as can be seen during those times she fears she's lost them, even though they do their best to drive her crazy.Arnold can be a dreadful tease, but is that any reason for his series of near-fatal accidents? Was Rosemary's husband's death an accident after all? Can the Harpers find out what's going on before Arnold has his final "accident"? How many letters telling Rosemary what damages those Harper imps have caused is poor Nancy going to have to write? If only Donald and Donna could be as polite and well-behaved as Esmond, Rosemary's cat. Yes, you will find those Babson scenes of awkward social situations in this book. (What do you say when you find an acquaintance caught doing what One Should Not Be Doing? How do you keep your cool when your Loved Ones -- and you're using the term very loosely at the moment -- are making a bid to totally gross you out in public?) Ms. Babson has written better stories, but this one is still a pretty good read.
Rating:
Summary: PAWS FOR ALARM is a reprint of DEATH SWAP [1984]
Review: It's the companion volume to WHISKERS AND SMOKE [original title: A TRAIL OF ASHES]. The Harper family of New Hampshire has swapped houses with an English widow, Rosemary, for the summer. Nancy Harper has reason to be grumpy. Her scholarly husband, Arnold, is too eager to get down to research in London. Her twins come from the Calvin of "Calvin and Hobbes" mold. Certainly she loves her husband and children, as can be seen during those times she fears she's lost them, even though they do their best to drive her crazy. Arnold can be a dreadful tease, but is that any reason for his series of near-fatal accidents? Was Rosemary's husband's death an accident after all? Can the Harpers find out what's going on before Arnold has his final "accident"? How many letters telling Rosemary what damages those Harper imps have caused is poor Nancy going to have to write? If only Donald and Donna could be as polite and well-behaved as Esmond, Rosemary's cat. Yes, you will find those Babson scenes of awkward social situations in this book. (What do you say when you find an acquaintance caught doing what One Should Not Be Doing? How do you keep your cool when your Loved Ones -- and you're using the term very loosely at the moment -- are making a bid to totally gross you out in public?) Ms. Babson has written better stories, but this one is still a pretty good read.
Rating: 
Summary: Zero character development
Review: This is the first book by Marian Babson that I have read, so perhaps someone who has read her other books might appreciate this one more than I do. I don't find any of the characters in this book intriguing or sympathetic. The story is told in the first person by Nancy Harper, a wife and mother who seems to have very little love in her heart for her husband and children. This woman and her scholarly husband swap homes for three months with an English woman whose husband has recently died; the English woman takes their home in New Hampshire and they take her home in a small English town. At this point, the American family then has an "adventure" which consists mainly of someone trying to do away with the husband. If I had the chance, I'd do away with him too. And his grumpy wife. And their annoying twins. The only character I'd spare would be the cat, who only features in a few scenes anyway. Established fans of Marian Babson may like this book quite a bit, but if you're a newcomer to this series, it might be a good idea to start with a different book.
Rating:
Summary: Zero character development
Review: This is the first book by Marian Babson that I have read, so perhaps someone who has read her other books might appreciate this one more than I do. I don't find any of the characters in this book intriguing or sympathetic. The story is told in the first person by Nancy Harper, a wife and mother who seems to have very little love in her heart for her husband and children. This woman and her scholarly husband swap homes for three months with an English woman whose husband has recently died; the English woman takes their home in New Hampshire and they take her home in a small English town. At this point, the American family then has an "adventure" which consists mainly of someone trying to do away with the husband. If I had the chance, I'd do away with him too. And his grumpy wife. And their annoying twins. The only character I'd spare would be the cat, who only features in a few scenes anyway. Established fans of Marian Babson may like this book quite a bit, but if you're a newcomer to this series, it might be a good idea to start with a different book.
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