By Familiar Means

Annabelle Britton found out that she has a mystical heritage and has become the companion to a familiar, Alistair who can come and go as he pleases in an instant. Annabelle has come back to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to settle down and spend her days doing what she loves, creating art. She never expected murder to be a part of her new life. Her newfound powers, however, are still in their infancy. Her Grandma BB is visiting with her old coven, for the first time in thirty years, and Annabelle is learning hidden family secrets she never knew existed.

When Annabella is hired to paint murals for a friend’s new coffee house, it is a wish come true and just in the nick of time. However, the new building is riddled with eerie sounds and strange happenings that have convinced at least one of the new owners that the new shop is haunted. They want Annabelle to find out by whom and get rid of them if she can. After a search using her powers shows that there are multiple secrets hidden in the new shop, they follow a trail that leads them to a body in an old tunnel under the shop, with Alistair leading the way.

Her friends Miranda and Jake are suspected of being the killers, but Annabelle doesn’t believe it until she begins to hear stories from the couple’s past. Not certain who to trust or believe, Annabelle, jumps into the investigation to clear her friends of the suspicions, and possibly herself.

---

Series: A Witch’s Cat Mystery – Book #2
Author: Delia James
Genre: Witch/Paranormal Mystery
Publisher: Berkley
Page Count: 335

Rating:

Annabella is a lively character whose quirks are enhanced by those around her. She is bright, attractive, and endowed with a unique magical ability, to feel the energies of places and those who passed through them. Sometimes the power gets the better of her, and she is exhausted by the need to control it. As an apprentice to a powerful Wiccan, Annabelle is learning control, but sometimes she doesn’t want to control her power, she wants to let it out and allow it freedom. Her Grandma BB is lovable if a bit distressed and somewhat resentful of the past, yet she always tries not to allow the past to interfere with the future except where her granddaughter is concerned. She is perceived as a bit scatter-brained at times, but she is truly a grandmother to be loved and listened to and one that adores her granddaughter. Together with the help of their coven, they unmask the murderer.

Delia James is a fantastic writer; her characters come alive, enabling the reader to picture them in their mind’s eye with little to no trouble. The settings are charming and filled with the sights one expects from a New Hampshire destination. The pace of the story is fast enough that the reader will lose track of time, and before they know it, they will have reached the last page. The ending is very satisfying; the killer unmasked with a flourish and action-packed. This book and series are a must-read for anyone that enjoys magic, paranormal, or ghost stories. Highly recommended.