Tue 23 Apr 2013
Reviewed by Allen J. Hubin: LYDIA ADAMSON – A Cat in the Manger.
Posted by Steve under Authors , Bibliographies, Lists & Checklists , Characters , Reviews[10] Comments
Allen J. Hubin
LYDIA ADAMSON – A Cat in the Manger. Signet, paperback original, 1990.
A Cat in the Manger is the first in a series about sometime NYC actress and moretimes catsitter Alice Nestleton by the pseudonymous Lydia Adamson. This is a fanciful tale requiring hyperextension of disbelief, with a heroine of little appeal and an ending without the impact it could have had.
Alice goes to Long Island to cat-sit for Harry and Jo Starobin, as she had done frequently before. This time, however, someone has hung Harry on the back of a door. Another corpse quickly turns up, just as motiveless a killing as the first.
The police think robbery, but the Starobins were penniless — except for the $381,000 discovered in Harry’s safety-deposit box. And where has Ginger Mauch, who worked for the Starobins, gone off to, and why?
Vol. 13, No. 1, Winter 1991.
[UPDATE.] It is now known that Lydia Adamson is the pen name of mystery writer Frank King, who besides 21 books in his/her Alice Nestleton series (see below), also wrote 12 books in a series starring Dr. Deirdre Quinn Nightingale, veterinarian, and three books about birdwatcher and ex-librarian Lucy Wayles, not to mention five works of crime fiction under his own name.
The Alice Nestleton series —
1. A Cat in the Manger (1990)
2. A Cat of a Different Color (1991)

3. A Cat in Wolf’s Clothing (1991)
4. A Cat in the Wings (1992)
5. A Cat by Any Other Name (1992)
6. A Cat with a Fiddle (1993)

7. A Cat in a Glass House (1993)
8. A Cat with No Regrets (1994)
9. A Cat on the Cutting Edge (1994)
10. A Cat in Fine Style (1995)
11. A Cat on a Winning Streak (1995)
12. A Cat Under the Mistletoe (1996)
13. A Cat in a Chorus Line (1996)

14. A Cat on a Beach Blanket (1997)
15. A Cat on Jingle Bell Rock (1997)
16. A Cat on Stage Left (1998)
17. A Cat of One’s Own (1999)
18. A Cat With the Blues (2000)
19. A Cat With No Clue (2001)
20. A Cat Named Brat (2002)
21. A Cat on the Bus (2002)
April 23rd, 2013 at 11:21 pm
The coverage of cozy mysteries on this blog such as those in this series has been rather spotty, but any author who’s published as many mysteries as “Lydia Adamson” really deserves to be mentioned here.
This in spite of the fact that my opinion of the series is about the same as Al’s. I read this one, too, and said to myself, there’s nothing to be found here, let’s move on. And so I did, but the attraction of cats and mysteries is a lot more powerful than I realized at the time.
And Frank King ought to be commended for knowing that and building a sizable career for himself on those grounds. Twenty-one mysteries in a single series is an achievement to be proud of, don’t get me wrong about that at all.
April 24th, 2013 at 6:57 am
I see Steve is trying to stir things up on MYSTERY FILE by discussing that most dreaded subject of all, the theme and subject that all hardboiled lovers fear: THE CAT MYSTERY NOVEL.
The only known anecdote is to quickly read a Dashiell Hammett or John Carroll Daly story.
April 24th, 2013 at 7:48 am
Walker,
As a cat lover myself, I’d run to read “Black Alibi” by Woolrich. The best of both worlds without the cozy!
April 24th, 2013 at 8:45 am
I love cats, but I don’t see the point in having them solve mysteries. They don’t- ask any cat of your ken .
Cozies, real cozies that just gurgle on to some sort of end, are not mysteries .
Only those that are really BAAAD and full of surprises under a thin cozy veneer can qualify.
The Doc
April 24th, 2013 at 9:51 am
To ignore cozies is to miss out of some fun great books, but just like noir, most of cozies are crap. A cozy fan could help us sort through the junk and find the best of the form.
I have tried. https://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=8965
I find the problem with cozies is the same as noir, both are very limited by its formula.
I know the comments above are somewhat tongue in cheek, so this is not aimed at anyone, but I am here to learn about all mysteries. Mysteries in books, TV, film, radio, comics, pulps, and any other form where it exists. I am interested in all sub-genres including dime novels, traditional, cozy, hardboiled, pulp, adventure, comedy, romance suspense and genre mashups.
I want to learn more about cozies just like I have here with Ellery Queen. If only so I can cut straight to the good ones and not waste my time with the rest.
April 24th, 2013 at 9:48 pm
I’ve been at the helm of MYSTERY*FILE for maybe 40 years now, in one format or another, and I can tell you this. I learn something from every page of every zine I’ve published, from every article on the main M*F website, and from every post on this blog.
In other word, everything you say, Michael, goes for me as well.
April 25th, 2013 at 6:47 am
A “heroine of little appeal” yet the series ran to 21 books. This is surely a comment on something.
April 25th, 2013 at 11:47 am
Neither Al nor I were the intended audience, but as I said up top, author Frank King knew what he was doing.
Or he stumbled upon a good thing without realizing it, and kept it going for as long as he could. As an author, sometimes you just have to be in the right place at the right time.
June 5th, 2013 at 7:17 am
I just finished reading A Cat in the Manager. I enjoyed it, and I want to order more Alice Nestleton mysteries. It was easy reading and kept reading. I didn’t want to put the book down.
June 14th, 2013 at 7:48 am
The cats here do NOT solve the mystery like in some cutie-pie series where they do. These are much more realistic, thought not hardboiled. Alice is a cat-owner and an under-employed NY actress who makes money by cat-sitting–not an unrealistic scenario. A lot of the attraction of this series is the author’s knowledge and sharp critique of the NY theatre scene. Cats are present, may sometimes be clues, but do not pad around solving the mysteries.