Cartoon of the Day: Seasonal Work

Marian Babson: R.I.P.

Mystery author Marian Babson passed away recently at the age of 88. American born, Marian Babson, whose real name was Ruth Stenstreem, lived in London for most of her life. She wrote traditional mystery novels from 1971 onward. She also served as secretary to the Crime Writers’ Association.  She was a full-time writer whose many interests included theatre, cinema, art, cooking, travel, and, of course, cats, which feature in many of her mystery books. Her first published work was Cover-Up Story in 1971. In all she wrote over 45 mysteries. The publisher's tagline for her style is "Murder Most British," a style reflected in each of her novels. She was awarded the CWA Dagger in the Library in 1996.

I was lucky to meet her several times over the years at Malice Domestic (she took the QEII/she didn't fly) and in England. I remember a particular lively train trip in 1987 when she took me to a CWA meeting in St Albans. Such fun.

You might be interested in this link to a real crime story that involved Marian in 2015. "Award-winning American Crime writer who has penned almost 50 whodunnits solves her own crime after discovering her carer stole 27,000 pounds from her bank account."  And this was at age 86!

Here's a link to her books. I'll be re-reading her Christmas book The Twelve Deaths of Christmas (1979) this week.

R.I.P., Marian

Cartoon of the Day: Holiday Texting

Christmas Mysteries: Authors S-Z

Here is the final post of my Christmas Crime Fiction Lists. Christmas Mysteries: Authors S-Z. And, to all a Good Night!

Here are the links that complete this list:
Check out Christmas Crime Fiction, Authors A-D,  Authors E-H,  Authors I-N and Authors O-R. As always, let me know if I've forgotten an author and title. Have a great holiday!

Christmas Mysteries: Authors S-Z

Sample, Cindy. Dying for a Dance
Sanders, Lawrence. The Fourth Deadly Sin
Santangelo, Elena. Poison to Purge Melancholy, Double Cross
Saums, Mary. When the Last Magnolia Weeps
Sawyer, Corinne Holt. Ho Ho Homicide
Sayers, Dorothy L. The Nine Tailors
Scherf, Margaret. The Gun in Daniel Webster’s Bust
Schumacher, Aileen. Framework for Death
Schweizer, Mark. The Alto Wore Tweeds, The Christmas Cantata
Sedaris, David. Holidays on Ice
Sefton, Maggie. Fleece Navidad
Sellars, M.R. Perfect Trust
Serafin, David. Christmas Rising
Shaber, Sarah. Shell Game (UK title: Burying Ground)
Shannon, Dell. No Holiday For Crime
Shelton, Connie. Sweet Holidays; Holidays Can Be Murder
Sibley, Celestine. Spider in the Sink
Simenon, Georges. Maigret's Christmas
Slater, Susan [anthology] Crooks, Crimes and Christmas
Sleeman, Susan. The Christmas Witness
Smith, Barbara Burnett. Mistletoe From Purple Sage, 'Tis the Season for Murder (with Fred Hunter)
Smith, Frank. Fatal Flaw
Smith, George Harmon. The Christmas Angel
Smith, Joan. Don't Leave Me This Way
Smith, Terrence. The Devil and Webster Daniels
Smoak, Amanda. Generals' Row
Soles, Caro (ed) Blood on the Holly
Sparks, Kerrelyn. Sugarplums and Scandal (anthology)
Sprinkle, Patricia. A Mystery Bred in Buckhead
Stagge, Jonathan. The Yellow Taxi
Stanley, J. B. The Battered Body
Stout, Rex. And Four to Go
Strohmeyer, Sarah. Bubbles All the Way
Swanson, Denise. Murder of a Barbie and Ken; Murder of a Stacked Librarian
Symons, Julian. The Detling Secret
Talley, Marcia. Occasion of Revenge
Taylor, Elizabeth Atwood. The Cable Car Murder
Taylor, Sarah Stewart. O' Artful Death
Temple, Lou Jane. Death is Semisweet
Tesh, Jane. Mixed Signals
Thames, Nancy. Waiting for Santa
Theorin, Johan. The Darkest Room
Thompson, Carlene. The Way You Look Tonight
Todd, Charles. The Walnut Tree
Tooke, John. On the Twelfth Day of Christmas
Tope, Rebecca. Trouble in the Cotswolds
Tourney, Leonard D. Knaves Templar
Tremayne, Peter. The Haunted Abbot
Trent, Gayle. Clause of Death
Trocheck, Kathy. A Midnight Clear, Fatal Fruitcake (written as Mary Kay Andrews)
Underwood, Michael. A Party to Murder
Unsworth, Barry. Morality Play
VanLeeuwen, Jean. The Great Christmas Kidnapping Caper
Victor, Cynthia. What Matters Most
Viets, Elaine. Murder With All the Trimmings
Wainwright, John. The Life and Times of Christmas Calvert...Assassin
Wait, Lea. Shadows on a Maine Christmas.
Walker, Persia. Darkness and the Devil behind Me
Waller, Gail & Jim Gilber. A Kudzu Christmas
Walsh, Thomas. The Resurrection Man
Ward, Donald. Our Little Secret
Washburn Livia. The Christmas Cookie Killer, The Gingerbread Bump-Off
Webb, Peggy. Elvis and the Blue Christmas Corpse
Webber, Heather. Trouble Under the Tree
Weir, Charlene. A Cold Christmas
Welk, Mary. Deadly Little Christmas, A Merry Little Murder
Wenger, Christine. It's a Wonderful Knife 
Wildwind, Sharon. First Murder in Advent
Williams, David. Murder in Advent
Willig, Lauren. The Mischief of the Mistletoe
Windsor, Patricia. The Christmas Killer
Wilson, Gahan. Murder for Christmas: 26 Tales of Seasonal Malice
Wingfield, R.D. Frost at Christmas
Wishart, David. Last Rites
Wolzien, Valerie. Deck the Halls With Murder, 'Tis the Season to be Murdered, We wish You a Merry Murder
Wright, Eric. The Man Who Changed His Name
Yaffe, James. Mom Meets her Maker 
Zelvin, Elizabeth. Death Will Get You Sober 
Zoltack, Nicole. Mistletoe, Marriage, & Mayhem.

For the complete list, be sure and check out Christmas Crime: Authors A-D,  Authors E-H,  Authors I-N, and Authors O-R.

Cartoon of the Day: The Line-Up

Happy Caturday!

Cartoon of the Day: Gamblers Anonymous