By Familiar Means

Written by Delia James

Narrated by Elise Arsenault

After discovering her mystical heritage-and being adopted by furry feline familiar Alistair-artist Annabelle Britton has decided to make picturesque Portsmouth, New Hampshire, her new home. Now, she can take the time to figure out her new abilities and welcome her grandmother, who is visiting Portsmouth, and her old coven, for the first time in thirty years.

But being a witch doesn't magically put money in the bank. When she's hired to paint the murals for a new coffee house, it seems like a wish come true. But then a series of spooky sounds and strange happenings convince the owners that their new shop is haunted. They want Anna and her coven to evict the restless spirit before the grand opening.

Annabelle is certain the haunted happenings at the shop are just hocus pocus. But when her search reveals hidden smugglers' tunnels beneath the shop-and a dead body-Annabelle, Alastair, and the coven suddenly find themselves in a cat and mouse game with a killer . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Jul 11, 2017
• ISBN: 9781541475809

Reviews for By Familiar Means

[ibeth_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I would have liked this story better if the main character didn't repeatedly do stupid things.

[murderbydeath · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not bad, not great. Nothing new, but pleasantly written with genuinely nice characters. Annabelle's grandmother is in town and she gets involved in the 'mystery' of course. She sometimes skirts the bleeding edge of what's fast becoming a 'grandma' trope in cozies: an 80 year old with the body of a 60 year old and the maturity of a 20 year old. There's a love triangle brewing too - not once has it been articulated, but you just know it's there, lurking. Annabelle takes on a mural commission and while touring the new premises, finds a secret tunnel with a dead body. Because it's not really a secret tunnel unless there's a dead body. The mystery plotting was...ok. I'm not sure anymore if whodunits are just being poorly plotted and written, or if the new trend is to make it obvious who the bad guys are, but keep the reader guessing as to which bad guy actually did the deed. If this were real life the culprits would have been labelled inept before page 50. Even in print, the false leads were weak beyond belief and the arrest made no sense. But even so, this wasn't an unenjoyable read. It was light and relaxing; I just won't go crazy for the next one.