A Perkins & Tate Mystery Books in Order

The Perkins & Tate books follow a London public relations firm that keeps getting pulled from spin into sleuthing. Douglas Perkins and Gerry Tate are not detectives by trade. They are publicity men, which means their first instinct is usually to calm clients, manage appearances, and stop embarrassment from spreading. That gives the series its particular flavor. In these books, murder is often tangled up with bad press, awkward scandals, and events that are supposed to look smooth from the outside.

The first book, Cover-Up Story, sets the pattern neatly. Perkins & Tate take on a rising country singer whose tour is already shadowed by rumor, unruly companions, and a domineering stage mother. Then death makes the assignment much harder. From the start, Babson is interested in what happens when people who are paid to tidy public messes discover that the private mess is much worse.

That is where the fun lives.

Murder at the Cat Show is probably the clearest example of the series at full stretch. Doug and Gerry are hired to publicize a grand cat event, only to find themselves dealing with a stolen golden statue, difficult personalities, and a very dead organizer. Later books widen the field. Tourists Are for Trapping moves into group travel, frayed nerves, and a disappearance after an earlier suspicious death. In the Teeth of Adversity turns a celebrity dentist's office into a crime scene after a model dies in the chair. Each case begins with a practical problem a publicist might actually be called in to solve, and then tips into something darker.

Doug is usually the main viewpoint, and that helps the series feel grounded even when the plots get lively. He is observant, a little weary, and often more decent than the situations around him deserve. Gerry is a strong foil, and later books even bring in Pandora the cat, because this is Marian Babson and a cat is rarely far away for long. The supporting casts are full of promoters, clients, organizers, tourists, and other people whose nerves start to fray the moment things go wrong.

This is amateur detection with invoices and press releases.

If you like British mysteries that mix workplace comedy, social observation, and brisk plotting, Perkins & Tate is an easy series to enjoy. The books are short, sharp, and good at trapping ordinary professionals in very abnormal situations. They also read well in order, because you can watch the firm, the partnership, and Babson's dry sense of fun settle into place from one case to the next.