THE DIAMOND CAT

Marian Babson writes a witty, delightful mystery in which the cats are just a scratch below the people in importance and a bank holiday turns into a scrabble over diamonds and murder. Juanita MacMahon's warm alto flows through the narrative punctuated by excellent changes of voice for each character. Mrs. Bilby's shrill voice is so exasperating that this listener wanted to throttle her. Bettina, her daughter, remains remarkably sane, and MacMahon portrays her with a calm and pleasant voice with only a few mutterings under her breath. Babson and MacMahon make a great team that compares favorably with the more familiar cat stories by Jackson Braun, narrated by George Guidall. P.G. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/NOV 00]