Delia James

After learning that she comes from a family of witches--and adopting a familiar named Alistair--artist Annabelle Britton has made beautiful Portsmouth, New Hampshire, her home. Together with her coven, this good witch is trying to put a stop to magic and murder most foul. When Anna takes Alistair to see local veterinarian Ramona Forsythe, they meet the most famous cat in town: Ruby the Attitude Cat, spokes-feline for a pet food brand. But then Ramona turns up dead, and Ruby goes missing. It show more seems like the murderer used magical means, so it's up to Anna and Alistair to catch a killer and cat-napper as only a canny cat can. A Witch's Cat Mystery 3 show less

Not a bad start for a new series. Nothing really new here, but the characters are fleshed out and likeable, the setting vividly created and the plot was unbelievably twisted (in more ways than one) and labyrinthine. I wasn't entirely clear what was going on until the end and even then I'd have liked to have known a few more details.

Artist Annabelle Britton decides to visit her best friend in the seaside town of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. But when she stumbles upon a smoky gray cat named show more Alastair, and follows him into a charming cottage, Annabelle finds herself in a whole spellbook full of trouble.

Soon, the mystery surrounding Alistair’s former owner, who died under unusual circumstances, grows when another local turns up dead. Armed with magic, friends, and the charmed cat who adopted her, Annabelle sets out to paw through the evidence and uncover a killer.

Alastair is awesome; in spite of his obvious magic, he still just acts like a cat. There isn't a moment of romance in this book, but the author is obviously toying with a stupid love triangle, which diminished my appreciation for the story, but I'll definitely read the next book and see what happens next. show less

I've been trying to make a dent in my TBR piles recently, mostly, if I'm being honest, because I'm waiting for the new books I've ordered to arrive. No matter my true motive, it's a good feeling knowing there's at least one or two fewer books languishing about.

This one had not only been loafing about on the hills of tbr, but it was the final book in a short-lived series, so the satisfaction of getting it read was doubled.

Unfortunately, that's about the only real satisfaction I received from show more reading Familiar Motives. The story itself was another 'meh' mystery - or else it was just me. It really might have been me. I liked the characters, I loved the cats, and the plot-line wasn't frivolous. But the pacing felt manic - not fast; manic - and the witty writing felt forced at times, adding to the manic feel. I skimmed large sections of internal narrative because the pacing left me feeling manic to get to the end.

When I did get to the end, I liked it. It was a good denouement, although the plot had too many pieces rather clumsily put together. But to be fair, that could have been a product of the skimming I did, so I'm giving that a pass.

While it wasn't a winner, I'm ok with that; the completist in my is happy that I haven't left a series unfinished, and the responsible adult in me is happy to see one more book off the TBR range. The reader thinks the book could have been better, but really, it didn't suck either. show less

Delightful story of a young woman who visits a friend only to discover her magical inheritance as she works with new found coven friends to solve a mysterious death.
Helped by Alistair, a cat who becomes her “familiar “, she starts a new life in her family’s hometown.