Order of Book Series
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Marian Babson Books in Order

Marian Babson has written 53 books, published between 1973 and 2012. The first book is Pretty Lady (1973) and the newest is No Cooperation from the Cat (2012). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
53
Published
1973–2012
Pages on record
8,699 in 45 of 53 books
Reading time
145–217 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 8,699 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 45 of 53 titles with a page count on record.

See all 53 books in order Printable Marian Babson checklist

Marian Babson was the pen name of Ruth Marian Stenstreem (1929–2017), an American mystery writer born in Salem, Massachusetts, who spent most of her life in London. The novels are short, at a median of 188 pages across 53 catalogued books, and cats turn up in many of them; the publisher's tagline for the work was Murder Most British. The Trixie Dolan & Evangeline Sinclair mysteries pair two actresses as sleuths, with the Perkins & Tate books alongside. Babson took the Crime Writers' Association Dagger in the Library in 1996 and an Agatha Award.

How many Marian Babson books are there?

Marian Babson has 53 books, released between 1973 and 2012. They include 3 series and 38 titles listed outside any series.

Marian Babson Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 53 Marian Babson books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Pretty Lady by Marian Babson (1973)
  2. Cover of The Stalking Lamb by Marian Babson (1974)
  3. Cover of Unfair Exchange by Marian Babson (1974)
  4. Cover of Murder Sails at Midnight by Marian Babson (1975)
  5. Cover of There Must Be Some Mistake by Marian Babson (1975)
  6. Cover of Untimely Guest by Marian Babson (1976)
  7. Cover of Murder, Murder, Little Star by Marian Babson (1977)
  8. Cover of Tightrope For Three by Marian Babson (1978)
  9. Cover of The Twelve Deaths of Christmas by Marian Babson (1979)
  10. Cover of So Soon Done For by Marian Babson (1979)
  11. Cover of Dangerous to Know by Marian Babson (1980)
  12. Cover of Line Up for Murder by Marian Babson (1980)
  13. Cover of Queue Here for Murder by Marian Babson (1980)
  14. Cover of Bejewelled Death by Marian Babson (1981)
  15. Cover of Death Beside The Sea by Marian Babson (1982)
  16. Cover of Death Warmed Up by Marian Babson (1982)
  17. Cover of Paws for Alarm by Marian Babson (1984)
  18. Cover of Death Swap by Marian Babson (1984)
  19. Cover of The Cruise of a Deathtime by Marian Babson (1984)
  20. Cover of A Fool For Murder by Marian Babson (1984)
  21. Cover of Whiskers & Smoke by Marian Babson (1985)
  22. Cover of Reel Murder by Marian Babson, book 1 of the Trixie Dolan & Evangeline Sinclair Mystery series (1987)
  23. Cover of Death in Fashion by Marian Babson (1987)
  24. Cover of Murder on a Mystery Tour / Weekend For Murder by Marian Babson (1987)
  1. 1
    Pretty Lady1973 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1973128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Stalking Lamb1974 · 191 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1974191
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Unfair Exchange1974 · 190 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1974190
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Murder Sails at Midnight1975 · confirmed 1/4
    1975–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    There Must Be Some Mistake1975 · 186 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1975186
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Untimely Guest1976 · 188 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1976188
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Lord Mayor of Death1977 · 200 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1977200
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Murder, Murder, Little Star1977 · confirmed 1/4
    1977–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Tightrope For Three1978 · 181 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1978181
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Twelve Deaths of Christmas1979 · 180 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979180
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    So Soon Done For1979 · 180 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1979180
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Dangerous to Know1980 · 168 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1980168
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Line Up for Murder1980 · 200 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1980200
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Queue Here for Murder1980 · 171 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1980171
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Bejewelled Death1981 · 173 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1981173
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Death Beside The Sea1982 · 177 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1982177
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Death Warmed Up1982 · 184 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1982184
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Paws for Alarm1984 · 204 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984204
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Death Swap1984 · 159 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984159
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Cruise of a Deathtime1984 · 181 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984181
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    A Fool For Murder1984 · 176 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984176
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Whiskers & Smoke1985 · 214 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1985214
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Trail of Ashes1985 · confirmed 1/4
    1985–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Reel MurderTrixie Dolan & Evangeline Sinclair Mystery #11987 · 180 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987180
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Death in Fashion1987 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Murder on a Mystery Tour / Weekend For Murder1987 · 182 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1987182
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Cover-Up StoryA Perkins & Tate Mystery #11988 · confirmed 1/4
    1988–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Tourists are for TrappingA Perkins & Tate Mystery #21989 · 208 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1989208
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Murder at the Cat ShowA Perkins & Tate Mystery #31989 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1989192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Guilty Party1989 · 182 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1989182
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Marian Babson books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Trixie Dolan & Evangeline Sinclair Mystery in order

8 books
  1. 1. Reel Murder
  2. 2. Encore Murder
  3. 3. Shadows in Their Blood
  4. 4. Break a Leg, Darlings
  5. 5. Even Yuppies Die
  6. 6. The Cat Who Wasn't a Dog
  7. 7. Not Quite a Geisha
  8. 8. No Cooperation from the Cat

A Perkins & Tate Mystery in order

4 books
  1. 1. Cover-Up Story
  2. 2. Tourists are for Trapping
  3. 3. Murder at the Cat Show
  4. 4. In the Teeth of Adversity

Brimful Coffers in order

3 books
  1. 1. Canapés for the Kitties
  2. 2. Miss Petunia's Last Case
  3. 3. Please Do Feed the Cat

Standalone books

38 books

38 Marian Babson titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Marian Babson books in order?

You only need to read Marian Babson books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Marian Babson

Start with Pretty Lady (1973), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Marian Babson book?

No Cooperation from the Cat (2012) is the newest Marian Babson book released so far.

Is there a new Marian Babson book coming?

No next Marian Babson book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Marian Babson has won

Wikidata records 1 award for Marian Babson. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Dagger in the Library1996Won

Marian Babson at a glance

Died
Marian Babson died in 2017, according to Wikidata.
Last book
The newest book credited to Marian Babson on record dates from 2012.
Release pace
Marian Babson books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
8,699 pages across the 45 of 53 books with a recorded length, a median of 188 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Marian Babson books, 19 of 53, were published in the 1980s.

What the Marian Babson books are about

50 of the 53 Marian Babson books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective is tagged on 26 of 50. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.