Tail & Trouble by Victor Catano

-Judy

When Gabriel's witch girlfriend doesn't return from her latest trip, he gets on the road and heads out to find her.  Sheila's coven is secretive and distrustful of Gabriel, so the only help he has is Sheila's familiar, a bulldog named Orson, who is psychically linked to both of them.

In Florida, they walk right into an elaborate plan to steal Orson.  A mysterious wizard named yareth is behind the plot, and he may also know where Sheila is.

Gabriel and Orson will have to fight for their lives as they navigate around all the magical roadblocks to force Yareth's hand.  They won't give up until Sheila is safe.

In the beginning, I was so frustrated because our main character isn't getting any answers.  No matter where he goes, he's greeted with the same 'I can't tell you' attitude.  Once Gabriel and Orson start to communicate, the story really starts to pick up speed.

As a familiar, Orson is perfect.  He's different than any other familiar that I've read.  I was thankful it wasn't another darn cat.  He has a great humor about him and the best part is that he realizes he's a dog and can get away with things that humans can't.  Not only that, but he makes sure that the humans are aware of his unique position.

Yareth is a wannabe warlock who stumbles on some power.  He's pretty evil and not likable at all.

As a cozy mystery, I enjoyed that this had some new things to offer.  I enjoyed it and I would love to read more by the author.  I hope there will be more in this series.

Catano does a great job of making the usual cozy mystery a unique experience and pulls everything together nicely.