Mills & Boon Intrigue series brings you stories filled with secrets & seduction...FAMILIAR ALWAYS KNOWS BEST!
Molly Harper's sister had been killed and her baby niece had been kidnapped. Now, the only man she could depend on to help her solve the crime and bring Baby Kate to safety was Thomas Lakewood.
Trouble was, Thomas was the prime suspect. But Molly and Familiar were convinced he was innocent. And in a race against time, could Molly, Thomas and Familiar join forces to clear his name and find Baby Kate before their chances for a future were destroyed forever?
Also writes as Carolyn Haines Caroline Burnes started her writing career as a photojournalist for Southern newspapers at the age of 12. She came from a "newspapering" family and as a child was teased because of her writing ambitions.
"That girl’s got ink in her blood," the back-shop printers at the George County Times, the weekly newspaper in her hometown, would say as she stood on a bucket and helped lock up the old pages of type set on a linotype machine.
Growing up in the small town of Lucedale, Mississippi, Ms. Burnes found refuge in reading. The magic of the written word, particularly the strange and wonderful worlds of fiction, was rivaled only by her love of horses.
"If I could have had a chance to be a cowgirl, I might never have written a word," Ms. Burnes said. "As it was, a typewriter was a lot easier to come by than a horse, especially since both of my parents were journalists."
Ms. Burnes earned her B.S. degree in journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi and began a career of covering politics, features and hard news across the South. A love of short fiction led her to write short stories, several of which received critical praise and attention. In 1988 Ms. Burnes took a career shift and began writing romantic mysteries for Harlequin Intrigue under the pseudonym Caroline Burnes.
In 1988 A Deadly Breed, a mystery involving horse racing in Mississippi, was published by Harlequin Intrigue, and since then she has published nearly 30 books with Harlequin Intrigue, which have been translated into nine languages.
"So many of my books feature animals," Ms. Burnes said. "Creating fictional animal characters gives me a chance to share my love of animals with my readers."
Ms. Burnes came to writing as a reader. "Since I began to write seriously about 15 years ago, I haven’t been able to read as much as I’d like. I’ve also become a much harder reader. A writer has to really work to pull me into the story and out of my very demanding life. If I had one wish, it would be for more hours in each day, more time to read and write and to ride my horses.
"I’m not a cowgirl by any stretch of the imagination, but I do have three fabulous horses who give me tremendous pleasure. I mostly ride English and do a little backyard jumping, but lately I’ve started team penning. Once again, the problem is that the cows are smarter than I am!
"I just have to be careful when I fall to land on something soft and not my hands," she said. "Brain damage is unlikely, but I need my fingers to be able to write." Ms. Burnes lives on a five-acre farm with her three horses, Miss Scrapiron, Mirage and Cogar; three dogs, Corky, Sweetie Pie and Maybelline; and five cats, Poe, Miss Vesta, Gumbo, Maggie the Cat, and Chester.
I always loved the Harlequin Intrigue line. The “Fear Familiar” series was one of the first I used to follow. Familiar Escape is the 20th book in the series. It’s been awhile since I read #19, but I saw my library had it as an e-book and I couldn’t resist. I, also, noticed the author is re-releasing the series. I knew I had to go back to it and I’m so glad I did. It was like re-visiting an old friend.
This series focuses on a feline amateur sleuth named Familiar. Familiar doesn’t have special powers, nor does he talk to humans. He does narrate parts of the book so we get to hear what he’s thinking, but he doesn’t verbalize to people. He’s simply a cat that solves crimes
Besides Familiar, there are other characters in the book. LOL Our main characters are Molly and Thomas. Things start off rocky since Thomas has been arrested for murdering Molly’s sister, but – with some convincing from Familiar, Molly believes he’s innocent. They team up to not only clear Thomas’ name, but to find Molly’s infant niece who disappeared after Molly’s sister is murdered. The police have already written baby Kate off as being murdered as well. Molly isn’t buying it since no body has been found.
As their investigation progresses, Molly and Thomas don’t know who they can trust except each other and Familiar. It doesn’t take long for the couple to grow closer and closer.
The story is heavy on the mystery with a little romance thrown in – just the way I like it. This was a very quick read for me. It’s well-written and the characters come to life on each page. I’m looking forward to catching up with Familiar in his next adventure.
Once again, Familiar is the star of the story!! without Familiar, the storyline would have been okay, in fact, a little better than some of the other Familiar books I have read.
Ah, a breath of fresh air in the world of Harlequin Intrigue and his name is Familiar, black cat detective! I absolutely adored this book! Definitely worth reading!