Book 76, 2016
Oct. 7th, 2016 11:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chez_jaeI should have gone to bed at a decent hour last night. Instead, I was up too late finishing By Familiar Means. It's the second book in Delia James' "Witch's Cat" mystery series.
Anna is elated to be hired to paint murals on the walls of the new building her friends Jake and Miranda bought. They're outgrowing their small coffee shop and need a bigger space. When Anna accompanies them to the new building, she is drawn to the basement, where she insists it goes deeper. They discover a hidden trap door, which leads to a tunnel, and the three of them go exploring. Unfortunately, Anna falls over a dead body, and now Jake is the prime suspect in the man's murder.
Compounding matters is the fact that Anna's grandmother, the original Annabelle, has come for a visit. Tensions run high between Grandma BB (as she likes to be called) and Anna's mentor, Julia. Anna finds herself trying to mediate, asking questions about the murder victim, learning more about her own magical abilities, and trying to keep up with her magical familiar, the cat Alistair.
The story moved along at a fast pace, and several suspects were introduced. There was a nifty twist at the end that I didn't see coming, and I'm enjoying the potential romance between Anna and Sean...who is a bartender and not a cop, detective, sheriff, FBI agent, etc.
:D
Favorite lines:
♦ Yes, I'm not only a witch with a witch's cat; I have a magic wand. It's not quite as magic as those souped-up models the Hogwarts kids carry.
♦ But when has a warning like that ever actually stopped an Irishman?
♦ It's hard not to feel warm and fuzzy about a place with generational cats.
Wonderful! Five stars:
*****
Anna is elated to be hired to paint murals on the walls of the new building her friends Jake and Miranda bought. They're outgrowing their small coffee shop and need a bigger space. When Anna accompanies them to the new building, she is drawn to the basement, where she insists it goes deeper. They discover a hidden trap door, which leads to a tunnel, and the three of them go exploring. Unfortunately, Anna falls over a dead body, and now Jake is the prime suspect in the man's murder.
Compounding matters is the fact that Anna's grandmother, the original Annabelle, has come for a visit. Tensions run high between Grandma BB (as she likes to be called) and Anna's mentor, Julia. Anna finds herself trying to mediate, asking questions about the murder victim, learning more about her own magical abilities, and trying to keep up with her magical familiar, the cat Alistair.
The story moved along at a fast pace, and several suspects were introduced. There was a nifty twist at the end that I didn't see coming, and I'm enjoying the potential romance between Anna and Sean...who is a bartender and not a cop, detective, sheriff, FBI agent, etc.
:D
Favorite lines:
♦ Yes, I'm not only a witch with a witch's cat; I have a magic wand. It's not quite as magic as those souped-up models the Hogwarts kids carry.
♦ But when has a warning like that ever actually stopped an Irishman?
♦ It's hard not to feel warm and fuzzy about a place with generational cats.
Wonderful! Five stars:
*****
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Date: 2016-10-11 11:25 pm (UTC)