The Wizard's Cat

The Wizard's Butler #2

by Nathan Lowell

It started with a dandelion.
Innocuous. Ubiquitous.
Who knew it was a warning?

After claiming his big bonus, things are coming up roses for Roger Mulligan. A job he loves. A house that feels like home. Money in the bank. A solid roof over his head and job security.

But when he finds a dandelion on the pristine grounds of Shackleford House, he starts down a twisted, garden path. Old man Shackleford says the fairies have a problem, the pixies keep falling down on the job, and the house seems to grow weaker by the day.

He's soon tossed into a confusing mixture of fact and fantasy, accompanied by Shackleford's cousin and - of all things - a stray cat. Surrounded by the fantastical, it's hard to tell magic from mundane.

Genres: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Magic, Cats, Fiction, Contemporary

344 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 7, 2025

About the author

Nathan Lowell has been a writer for more than forty years, and first entered the literary world by podcasting his novels. His sci-fi series, The Golden Age of the Solar Clipper grew from his long time fascination with space opera and his own experiences shipboard in the United States Coast Guard. Unlike most works which focus on a larger-than-life hero (prophesized savior, charismatic captain, or exiled prince), Nathan centers on the people behind the scenes--ordinary men and women trying to make a living in the depths of space. In his novels, there are no bug-eyed monsters, or galactic space battles, instead he paints a richly vivid and realistic world where the "hero" uses hard work and his own innate talents to improve his station and the lives of those of his community.

Dr. Nathan Lowell holds a Ph.D. in Educational Technology with specializations in Distance Education and Instructional Design. He also holds an M.A. in Educational Technology and a BS in Business Administration. He grew up on the south coast of Maine and is strongly rooted in the maritime heritage of the sea-farer. He served in the USCG from 1970 to 1975, seeing duty aboard a cutter on hurricane patrol in the North Atlantic and at a communications station in Kodiak, Alaska. He currently lives in the plains east of the Rocky Mountains with his wife and two daughters.

Awards & Recognition
2008 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction for Full Share
2008 Podiobooks Founder's Choice Award for Double Share
2008 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction for South Coast
2009 Podiobooks Founder's Choice Award for Captain's Share
2009 Parsec Award Finalist for Best Speculative Fiction for Double Share
4 out of 10 Books on Podiobooks.com Top Overall Rated by Votes (2. Double Share, 3. Quarter Share, 5. Full Share, 8. Half Share) -- as of Jan 4, 2009
6 out of 10 Books on Podiobooks.com Top Overall Rating (1. Ravenwood, 2. Quarter Share, 3. Double share, 4. Captain's Share, 5. Full Share, 7. South Coast) -- as of Jan 4, 2009

Reviews

[H (trying to keep up with GR friends) Balikov · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lowell’s new series is back with Book 2. All the key characters from Book 1 (The Wizard’s Butler) are back.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

"“You’re seriously going to give an internet psychic your fortune and this house?” “No,” the old man said, sitting back a bit with a smile. “I’m going to leave it to the only person in the world who has the talent to relate to and understand what this house means. The house, because the house matters. The money? Because it takes a lot of money to keep it in the family.” “And that family, my dear,” Fidelia said, “is you.”"

Joseph Shackleford – The old wizard
Fidelia Necket – another mage
Barbara Griffin – a distant relative who has some magic about her and we met in Book 1
Naomi Patching – a nearby relative of Shackleford who wants the House
Shackleford House – Home to pixies and others
Roger Mulligan – the butler who has taken on a great burden

Things are revealed slowly (and the cat’s presence is no more than that for over half of the book). Shackleford House is evolving and also under attack. By what? By whom And, when? All are important issues and not all are resolved in this “to be continued” series.
3.5*

[Dave Stone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely delightful (maybe a bit short)
The Wizard's Butler was the first Nathan Lowell book I'd ever read. I've since read every other book he's written waiting for this one. Usually no book can withstand that level of expectation, but this one bears up really well.
I just want the next one right now, and that doesn't seem likely.
------
I looked it up, and I read Butler (for the first time) in 23. This comes as a shock to me because it feels like I read it much longer ago. Nathan Lowell and his fictional worlds have become such a rich part of favorite books list. It seems like he's been in my life longer to account for the size of the impact he's had.
I really did like this book, and I hope he continues this series, but one book every 5 years isn't going to cut it.

[Buddhangela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Verrrrry slow start

I loved The Wizard’s Butler and looked forward to this new release, but I almost gave up on it after the first few chapters because nothing was happening. All really mundane. Then it gets interesting, and boom, that’s it. The end. So disappointed.

[Joseph Golden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great sequel, but now I want more!

This is everything I love about the first book with just enough new story to satisfy me. But seriously Nathan, that ending just left me hungry for more. I am hoping the wait for book 3 is shorter than the wait for book 2.

[Catmoor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the previous book and perhaps I looked forward too eagerly to this one. The subtlety of language so appealing before is now brought out and analysed, which I think was a mistake. That said, I'm well aware the author's health issues caused a long hiatus in the book's completion and the last quarter seemed to be back on a par with the beginning. Even with all that, I am looking forward to the next book, which is clearly needed to bring matters to a fuller close.

[Mike Hanford · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed! Eagerly waited for another instance of Mulligan, and all that surrounds him. And, the notion of a cat in the story was a wonderful extra. Glaciers move faster than the first 80% of the book. Natter, natter, natter! What’s happening? Nothing, nada, zilch. Finally, the cat makes a real appearance! There is a single cat-driven event. And then, fade out to the end. The “wizard” and the cat have no interaction. Should be titled: “The Butler’s Cat”. If you are interested, start at the end of the book, and save a huge chunk of time.

[Jerome’s Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gentle setup for book three

I was delighted to get the second book in this series, and see the characters move on with their lives. Angry and rootless after leaving the army Mullugan finds peace when he takes a job as a butler, and discovers a magical world. In this book he needs magical help to deal with arcane pests, and acquires a sidekick I still enjoy the way the main character is a secondary character in the main adventures- all the main adventure happens off stage to the other characters- but would have liked the plot to be stronger to make this a more complete book. Hoping for book number three.

[Teresa Carrigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable sequel to The Wizard's Butler. The first book was one of my comfort reads, and odds are good this book will be reread often as well. The ending is a reasonable soft landing and I look forward to an eventual third book in the series.

[Paulina Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhere in the 3.5-4 star range.

I didn’t find this installment as convincing as the first. I mostly wanted Barbara to stop being hung up about Roger being a butler. If she had any sort of romantic feelings for him, it might make sense that she is so persistent about it, but the story is setting her and Molly up together instead. It just got old. We would get past one element of it and the next chapter would come and bring yet another instance of Barbara awkward about Roger being the butler. On top of that, I kept waiting for there to be any sort of character progression and never really got any.

Still had a fun little world and I’m really glad to see Mr. Lowell writing again.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just an engaging story and one I highly enjoyed. Will be watching for the next one to be released.

Rating: 4.5⭐️

The Wizard's Cat is a great sequel to the wonderful urban fantasy novel, The Wizard’s Butler by Nathan Lowell.

Picking up right after the dramatic events of that book, Shackleford House should be settling back into its original shape but that’s not the case.

As Roger notes immediately as he goes through his day as butler to Shackleford himself, in his multitude of duties, the house seems “off”. A bit of dust there, a dandelion there, unheard of when everything is maintained meticulously by pixies and fairies.

But as more things go awry, the narrative building suspense and mystery, it’s up to Roger, cousin Barbara, and a new character to solve the problem and come to the aid of the House.

Lowell builds on Roger’s character development as well as Barbara’s along with the House’s, giving the story and group a fuller sense of them as a unique family, with Roger, perhaps as a fundamental element as a non-talented person but a important grounded member here.

Gideon is equally impressive in his role, one that will be more fully explored in future stories. As one would expect from a magical being of his years.

Barbara is interesting but still needs some more layers. Or maybe interaction with other characters in central roles here. I really like her when she’s discussing roles and jobs with Roger as his profession as a Butler was making her uncomfortable at one point.

Just an engaging story and one I highly enjoyed. Will be watching for the next one to be released.

Read the series in order they are written. No romance or violence. Great characters and terrific writing.

Cover Art: Alexandre Rio

The Wizard’s Butler:
The Wizard’s Butler #1
The Wizard’s Cat #2

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth the wait, and a pleasure to be back in this world. Even if the cat talked a bit. I hate how they always make the cat talk.

[Mrs L Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it can't wait to see what happens next.

[Dan Kenkel]

This book is being read on my iPad using the Kindle app. It's been a couple of years since I last read a book rather than listen to them.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started the year with the first in this urban fantasy series which turned out to be a surprise five star from the kindle deals page. Very happy to end the year with the five star sequel. I hope Lowell doesn't take another five years to write the third. I love his writing because he doesn't do battles and violent conflict even in his sci-fi, I understand. He's all about his characters and figuring it out day by day. Almost the cozy, low stakes stories that get me through these shitty days. Also, his main characters are likeable. I tend to DNF books where everyone is loathsome. I need somebody to get behind. Anyway, I like the world building in this series so much I intend to try one of his SF, even though they are generally not up my street. #1 must be read before this one.

[Laura Stephenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating present day fantasy series

An ex-military man without a job becomes a butler for a strange man. The man apparently thinks he is a wizard. In this part of the series, the magical house gains a very interesting cat. This is a series about and mundane person entering a magical house, and having to feel his way about living a very different life with things that don't make sense to him. I greatly enjoy the characters and, of course, the cat. This is a fun series to read with the cat on your lap listening to the rain hitting the window pane. I will definitely read the next book in the series.

[K · Rating 1 out of 5]

Severely underwhelming and disappointing follow-up. 71% in, the plot is pretty much nowhere to be found. The book consists mainly of Mulligan asking everyone what they want for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Repeatedly. Barbara seems mainly preoccupied with Mulligan calling her "miss". There are paragraphs upon paragraphs of dialogue rehashing this and why Mulligan is a butler. An overall tiresome read. The other two main characters are MIA through most of the book. Probably fell asleep listening to the neverending litany of dishes Mulligan is set to prepare. I absolutely loved The Wizard's Butler and was so excited to see this sequel pop up. 5 years between books and the author shows up with this drivel. Btw, the plot shows up at around 95-98% into the book although it's short-lived and unclear.

[Sean Randall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read and re-read Butler a number of times. There's something ineffable about it that just keeps me coming back. So when I saw there was a book 2 I pounced.

I was not disappointed, either. With all the cozy charm of book 1, this second installment kept me firmly spellbound. I picked it up because I wanted to revisit the people, but I found myself as hooked and drawn-in as with the first story. I just can't quite get enough.

[Franziska Tinner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a disappointment

What can I say, book 2 "The Wizard's Butler" by Nathan Lowell is/was a disappointment. To many unnecessary conversations and all the head bobbing that goes along with it. A constant and excessive back and forth between Roger and Barbara, saying very little which would benefit the progression of the story. And a lot of "Barbara laughed, Roger smiled" used as an aid at moving the story itself along.

Sadly, with all the chatter, laughing and smiling, the story itself stopped growing about half way through the book. I kept waiting for it to start up again sometime midways, or at the very least when Barbara finally had all her objections layed to rest. Roger ever so Butler like, had answered all her questions, eased her "teen-angsts" (Barbara is many years past being a teenager!) and related questions. But the story had stopped being enjoyable.

It's unfortunate that Nathan Lowells wonderful writing style sidetracked him so suddenly and irreparably. The story stopped being enjoyable. I so admire his abilities to almost literally representing each character and with the events moment by moment, unlike any I have had the pleasure reading in my 80 plus years. Reading Nathan's story literally makes me be a part of everything that happens in his story. The characters feelings, experiencing it as you read. This fabulous writing style however, can lead the writer into a trap, a trap difficult to escape. The trap here is, that Nathan was trying to fill the absence of two main characters in his story, difficult to fill while the length of this absence was as of yet undetermined. He filled that time with Barbara and Roger's getting to know one another, with non-stop chatter and the corresponding smiles, laughs and all the facial expressions, and a timeline of Butler Rogers' duties, which he performed always most exactly and on time.

I could almost feel when the Nathan Lowell must have eventually felt the trap and in spite of trying to overcome it, he had long run out of fresh laughs, fresh adjectives describing their interactions, different ways of describing the Butler's duties while his employer was absent. Lowell was however stuck. Stuck, not knowing when Mr Steavenport and Fidalia would be returning to his story.

Lowell, unfortunately never recovered, her shook off trap, not even bringing in a talking cat. Yes, the cat that is in the title of this book. But he (the cat =he) falls way short being a Wizards cat, short even of being magic and talented himself. I began wondering if there was a book 3. So much I actually went looking for it under the authors name and titles listing. No book three.

The story ends suddenly, unresolved in many ways. It's unfortunate that, I truly enjoyed his special style of story telling, the intimacy he had, and expressed so well in book one, with his characters. Barbara seemed to be a difficult nut to crack for him, that intimacy he so enjoyed with the Butler and his Master, that seemed to elude him with Barbara, and that made book two fizzle.

Read it anyway! Most of it is amazing👍, and it is very possible that I am just too critical a reader🙄. If you enjoyed book one, do get book two and judge for yourself. 😅

[Judith A · Rating 4 out of 5]

What’s with the ending?!

I would have given this book a 5. It was a lot of talking and little action, but it was still a very good book - until I got to the ending. What a dumb ending! How could I end up reading 2 books within a very short span of time that had “cliff hangers” that just weren’t? I mean a cliff hanger is supposed to be when a book ends in the middle of an action: someone about to, well, fall off a cliff or get killed or caught in the middle of a fight. Action is not 2 people or a person and a […] (no spoilers) talking. It’s possible the ending wasn’t supposed to be a cliff hanger, which would be good, in a way. It sucked as one. It’s possible the author really meant the series to end like it did. I have a feeling, though, there will be a follow-up. I just hope it doesn’t take umpteen years.

Ok. So, read the book, if you want. It’s not about the wizard. It’s about Mulligan and the wizard’s successor. It’s not fast paced. It’s got a tiny, tiny hint of romance. It has a problem that needs to be resolved. It’s got a few unexpected actions. As a matter of fact, I think you’ll enjoy the book all the way up to the ending. Then, you’ll be saying, “What the…?” There’s no conclusion, no resolution, just a discussion with a surprising statement.

Then, again, you might think it’s great. Might just be me that didn’t like it.

[Harold M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read nearly all of Nathan Lowell's books (except the Tanath Fairport adventures), and this one is the first one I haven't felt I need to re-read again. Although I am in the process of re-reading it because I think I missed something.
It was slow in the first 1/4 of the book, and nothing really happens to Shackleford or Deliah, and given that Mulligan has had over a year at the house, shouldn't the dandelion been more of a sign that something is wrong? And then when Mulligan bows, we don't need the "Jeeves bow" every single time, we know from book 1, he tries to mimic the Jeeves bow, so maybe the first time we read it should be it.
The thing with Molly wasn't expanded on enough, nor was the one bit of drama with the cat, house, and the cousin. I wish there had been one last "battle" with the house, the cat and Mulligan or at least more explanation between Gideon and the Imps.
I know Nathan has had health problems, but it seems like it was either it was over worked by Nathan or the editor had more to say than before. I am really hoping book 3 closes the loop quickly, and we don't have to wait another 2 years for the next version.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writers can be the victims of their own success. Arthur Conan Doyle, for example, blamed Sherlock for killing his dreams. Nathan Lowell, a successful self-published author of laid-back fantasies and space operas, had his biggest hit in the spring of 2020 with The Wizard’s Butler. His hero was a Muggle butler in contemporary New England working for an old wizard with a cursed amulet. His audience demanded a sequel. He knew he had to write it, but he didn’t have a story. Then, there was COVID and other health problems, but finally, five years on, a story came together, and presto, we have The Wizard’s Cat. Lowell may be hoping it fails, so he doesn’t have to make it a trilogy.

A few things amused me. To let Roger solve the mystery, Lowell needed to get the old people from the first book offstage; so he sent them to Europe. Why not? And if you are worried about Roger’s lack of a love life, Lowell does a fast three-card shuffle and avoids the issue. The plot develops at an agonizingly slow pace, but Lowell readers are used to that. I was afraid he wouldn’t have a finish, but his last paragraph has an uncharacteristic zinger.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a day-in-the-life, in a minute-by-minute format. The first part of this had a few things happen. Barbara comes back into the story and Shackleford and Delia make their relationship a little more formal. Molly, Roger's running partner, has a larger part in this book. There is just something about her that seems a bit off though. There is a huge amount of repetition with detailed explanations of food prep and presentation, running prep and the route (which doesn't change), how Barbara and Roger try to be less formal in their relationship, among other items. Also, the fact that the house seems to have some level of infestation. Which is where the cat comes in. That entire introduction of who the cat is, and his subsequent activation into the house is a bit bizarre. There is a bit of action around 80% into the book (yep 80) but that's about it. While there is additional information provided, there are also a few editing issues that were a bit frustrating, for me at least. I'll consider book 3 mainly because it felt like this one ended without a good reason and there are a LOT of unanswered questions.

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second book of the series. Roger Mulligan was down on his luck at the start of the last book. He was a disgraced EMT, PTSD bedeviled former soldier and in desperation answered an ad to serve as a butler. The woman who hired him was the niece of the old man, who seemed to think that he was a wizard. If Roger served for 1 year, he would get a $1 million dollar bonus. At the beginning of this book, the year has passed, and against much resistance on the part of the not so nice niece, he has received his bonus, making him financially stable. But Roger likes his job. At some point in the future, he would like to go to butler's school and get more training. He likes the old man, Shackleford, and likes the old house.
Then one day coming back from his run, he notices a dandelion in the otherwise perfectly manicured lawn. Something is amiss. Then he starts noting a cat who seems to follow him in the mornings. A cat who by all rights shouldn't be able to even get on the grounds of the house.

Good story line, well written. Worth the long wait. Keep up the good work, Nathan.

[Joy Martin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I loved the first book, and I hate to say I was disappointed with this one. The cat was barely a part of the book and really didn’t engage much with anyone except Mulligan and only in the last 50 pages with anything besides just a look. The middle of it was probably 100 pages too long and felt like a lot of unnecessary speculation and dialogue that never resulted in any progression. One of the things I loved about the first book was it didn’t have any romantic entanglements and this one hinted at something towards the end that I could’ve done without and seemed to check unnecessary box. And while the book is titled the wizard’s cat, Shackleford was absent a good part of the book and most of the “wizards” had hardly any interaction with the cat at all.
I could see the potential for an interesting story but this fell short. I loved the first book as one of my favorite cozy feel good reads for the year. However, I’m unlikely to pick up any more in the series based on this one.

[Roy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perhaps 3.5 stars.
I have been a Nathan Lowell fan for many years and I thoroughly enjoyed The Wizard's Butler. I was a bit disappointed by this sequel. There were some very good elements to the story, a good beginning, and a nice ending. But the story in-between seemed to go on for too long without much of anything going on. This is not unpleasant and Lowell is a master of the commonplace every day style of writing evident in all his books I have read. But the pace here is glacial even compared to the easy going style and pace of his other works. So, part of the charm of his stories is this very aspect, but there was too much here as compared to his other works. Out of curiosity, I re-read The Wizard's Butler after reading this sequel to confirm my impression, that is, that the Butler seemed to have better integrated a story line with cozy fiction quality so familiar in Lowell's work.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed The Wizard's Butler and so picked up this one right after finishing the first.

The story is fine. It's an interesting mystery about what is happening to the house.

I don't think it's a spoiler to say the main climax happens about 88% through the story, takes a chapter to resolve, and then it ends a couple of chapters later. It's almost like the author either got tired of writing this story, ran out of ideas for character development past the awkward butler-boss relationship, or hit a deadline and needed to wrap it up. All that to say, it was a fairly unsatisfying end. Not unhappy, just "meh".

Usually, it's obvious if there will be another story to tell by the end, but I'm not sure with this one.

A bit embarrassing to say, but Mulligan makes housekeeping look so simple, I've taken to adopting some of his routines. :|

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall I liked The Wizard’s Butler better, but I did enjoy this book, and I hope there’s a third entry to the series at some point. Clearly there’s a set up for more to happen. If I didn’t subscribe to the author’s newsletter it’s possible I’d like this book a bit less because the wait was so long and this entire book is about setting up and developing whatever’s going to happen next with very little else, and no indication of what a next book might be and when it might follow. I do get the author’s newsletter and I do know something of the circumstances that delayed this book and may delay or diminish the possibility of a third book, so I’m inclined to feel generous and happy that this book exists.

[Trudy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic magical house with the perfect Butler!

Book 2 was absolutely delightful! I hope there may be another episode to follow up on the characters. The story did not end with a cliffhanger nor did it have an open ending. After falling in love with the Shackleford House I feel as if I want more books added to the series. I know things will all work out but I want to follow up to see how it all comes together 🤷🏽‍♀️. I enjoyed this duology. The butler (Roger) is a perfect fit for all the things he gets accomplished. The wizard (Shackleford) & Fidelia make a great couple. Barbara is learning the business and will be successful. Gideon is the problem solver for the House! All the characters make the story believable and I desire more 💜💜💜!

[Eden · Rating 5 out of 5]

2026 bk 3. I slid right into this one from the first in the series. Mulligan is still butler to the Wizard - but now he is employed by the Wizard and not the niece, who has been vanquished for a time. The wizard continues his search for a successor and Mulligan introduces him to the internet, genealogy searches and the wonders of DNA and there is success. A long lost cousin, a youngish woman, is introduced to the House and the wonders of the world she didn't know. To make her transition more comfortable, the wizard hires her to research the house, think about the future possibilities for the house, and to learn the ropes. While he heads off to a Board meeting in Europe, she and Roger begin search into a mysterious cat, a funky spell, and expanding their knowledge of the neighborhood. WEll done sequel and I badly need a third in this series, and a 4th, 5th, and 6th.

[Mary Soon Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

An agreeable sequel to the lovely "The Wizard's Butler," though not, for me, as deeply appealing as the first book. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I found the cat the most beguiling element of the story. The main character, Roger Mulligan, one-time army medic, now butler, remains highly likable.

Three and a half out of five familiar stars.

About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).