[sufue]

Fear Familiar is the first in the Black Cat romantic suspense series by Carolyn Haines, who is, I think, much better know for her Sarah Booth Delaney/Southern Belle mystery series. I debated whether to put this in the romance thread or the mystery thread, but in the end, SYKM lists it, so I went with mystery. Fear is free right now at Kindle US.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Fear-Familiar...dp/B06XRPCFZ1/

Spoiler:

When Eleanor Duncan rescues the unusual black cat from a university parking lot, she suspects he has run through at least eight of his lives. But it’s his ninth, and potentially last, that concerns her most. Alarming events appear to have followed him into her life. Eleanor is assaulted by a stranger and interrogated by the CIA. More terrifying is her husband’s seeming return from the dead.

A trip to veterinarian Peter Curry reveals an even deeper secret. Familiar is an escaped research animal. The secret he carries opens the door to conspiracy, danger, and romance. Peter and Eleanor are determined to save the black cat’s life and prevent his return to the lab. Their decision to help Familiar turns their world upside down—and begins the saga of Familiar, the black cat detective.

Familiar Trouble, also by Haines, is the first in the Familiar Legacy series, which features the son of the cat protagonist in the Black Cat series above. It is not listed in SYKM, but is published by the same press that SYKM considered acceptable for the Black Cat series, so I'm going ahead and including it in this post. Trouble is also free right now at Kindle US.

link: https://www.amazon.com/Familiar-Trou...dp/B072MPCVV2/

Spoiler:

BLOOD IS THICKER... Sometimes a unique talent is inherited—and such is the case for Trouble, son of Familiar the black cat detective. Trouble’s rather indolent life in the sleepy town of Wetumpka, Alabama is upended when a serial killer arrives on the scene. Trouble begins to apply the skills he learned from his dad and his hero, Sherlock Holmes.

When local bookseller Tammy Lynn is attacked at the site of an impact crater, Trouble realizes he must protect his human and solve the mystery of the Silk Stocking Killer.

Aiden Waters, a local deputy, has tracked the SSK to Wetumpka. Since his wife’s murder, Aiden won’t risk romance, but when Tammy is endangered, everything changes. Especially their hearts.