"Five Furry Familiars" By Lynn Cahoon: Review/Giveaway

Review by Sharon Marchisello

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it.

Five Furry Familiars is the fifth book in Lynn Cahoon’s Kitchen Witch paranormal cozy mystery series, but it’s the first one I’ve read.

The protagonist is Mia Malone, owner of Mia’s Morsels, a catering company in the fictitious mountain community of Magic Springs. When the story opens, Mia’s largest customer, the Lodge, has hired a new manager, Frank Hines. Instead of outsourcing catering, Frank decides to hire a catering manager and handle all their events in-house. To earn a steady paycheck so she can keep her business afloat, Mia takes the job at the Lodge. Her roommate, Christina Adams, and boyfriend Trent’s mother, Abigail, take over running Mia’s Morsels.

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At the end of the first chapter, a young man named Todd Thompson shows up, saying that he is Christina’s fiancé. This doesn’t sit well with Christina or her current boyfriend, Levi, who is Trent’s brother and Abigail’s son. Although Christina tells Todd she won’t marry him, he persists until she agrees to have dinner with him the following evening and catch up as old friends.

When Christina arrives at Todd’s rental cabin for dinner, he doesn’t answer the door, and she senses something is wrong. She phones Mia, who advises her to call the police, and they find Todd stabbed to death. The suspect pool is small—mainly just Christina and Levi. Mia doesn’t believe either could be a killer, so she vows to help the police find out who did it.

Their lives are further disrupted when someone drops off a basket of kittens on Mia’s doorstep. Although they’re adorable, she can’t keep them because she already has a familiar, Mr. Darcy, a cranky older cat who is inhabited by a spirit named Dorian. And Trent has a new familiar, a tiny Maltese puppy, who has the potential to become a hellhound.

I don’t read a lot of paranormal stories, and since I hadn’t read the earlier books in the series, I was a little confused about the magic world: its rules, who had powers, what kind of power, etc. Fortunately, the mystery was straightforward and unraveled in the usual mortal way.

Recommended for animal lovers—there’s definitely an “Aww” factor—and readers of paranormal mysteries.

To enter to win a copy of Five Furry Familiars, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "familiars,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen March 9, 2024. US residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. If entering via comment please include your email address so we can contact you. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! A new episode went up last week.

You can click here to purchase this book.

Sharon Marchisello recently signed a three-book contract with Level Best Books for a cozy mystery series involving a woman who does animal rescue. Her first two mysteries were published by SunburyPress: Going Home (2014) and Secrets of the Galapagos (2019). She has also written a nonfiction book (Live Well, Grow Wealth), travel articles, and short stories. She earned a Master’s in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California and is active in Sisters in Crime. She lives in Peachtree City, GA, where she does volunteer work for the Fayette Humane Society and the Fayette County Master Gardeners.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.