Book 27, 2019

Catnapped by Gabriella Herkert

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Last night, I finished reading Catnapped by Gabriella Herkert. It was the first book in her "Animal Instincts" mystery series. However, it seems she only published one other book in the series. Too bad; I enjoyed this one.

Sara Townley is a legal investigator who is trying to forget her recent, impetuous Vegas wedding to a Navy SEAL. It's been four months since she's seen her husband, and she hasn't told anyone she got married. Not long after Sara is assigned to look into the disappearance of a cat with a seven-figure inheritance, Connor shows up, wanting to pick up their whirlwind relationship where it left off when he was deployed. Sara's life rapidly goes from boring to exciting. Connor's proximity has reawakened her inner sex-fiend, and chasing down a lead on the cat ends up with her stumbling over a dead body. While fleeing in terror, Sara manages to collide with a stout police officer, leaving her with a concussion and a black eye. At the hospital, things get more complicated when TWO husbands show up to claim her--Connor, and Sara's gay BFF, Russ, whom she had listed as her emergency contact. That's the least of her problems. What started out as a simple 'find a missing cat' case soon leads Sara into an ever-expanding web of missing persons, murder, disinherited family, missing money, identity theft, and blackmail. Lucky for her, she has a Navy SEAL for backup.

This story was downright funny. Sara got herself into so many pickles, and even she was surprised that Connor didn't blow his top over some of the more serious scrapes she got into. She was plucky, feisty, and witty, and I enjoyed her interactions with Connor, Russ, her co-worker Joe, and even the evil legal secretary, Elizabeth. The plot had so many twists and turns that I almost forgot about the poor, missing cat.

As for Sara, she's having a difficult time adjusting to having Connor around. She's independent and used to doing things by herself and for herself. She resents Connor's intrusion into her case, even as she also finds his steady presence reassuring.

Favorite lines:
♦ I went home to self-medicate with kung pao chicken. So, my career was going nowhere and hell was five degrees cooler than my apartment. I had a fan and a fortune cookie.
♦ ...the guy would lie on a blood test.
♦ Who was the guy in the alley? Why had he ended up dead? Was this about the money?...Was I making all of this up? Did I have any candy bars left?
♦ Here we were in our matching, up-to-no-good black outfits, casing my office, and he was still trying to take over.
♦ Like taking candy from a baby. A stupid baby.
♦ "I'm not sure confessing to breaking and entering, tampering with evidence, obstruction, and felony assault with meat loaf is such a great idea."

Overall, a very enjoyable read. Characters were fleshed out, except, perhaps for Connor, but Sara is still getting to know him. Russ was a hoot, and Elizabeth made a perfect villain (not a criminal, just Sara's work nemesis). I plan to read the next book in the series, for sure.