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Fear Familiar #15
Familiar Mirage
Proud and fierce as the windswept sands he ruled, Omar Dukhan was sworn to protect his people and to guard their ancient secret. To keep lovely scientist Beth Bradshaw from exposing it, he became her desert guide. But when Beth's life was threatened, Omar swept her to his desert hideaway and into his protection -- with a little help from a strange black cat!
Falling for her mysterious guide had been foolish. Falling for a desert king was hopeless. Yet Beth's desire for Omar knew no rules. Whoever he was, she was his to command -- for as long as he kept her alive....
Fear Familiar: Desert Mysteries
Falling for her mysterious guide had been foolish. Falling for a desert king was hopeless. Yet Beth's desire for Omar knew no rules. Whoever he was, she was his to command -- for as long as he kept her alive....
Fear Familiar: Desert Mysteries
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 2002
About the author
Caroline Burnes
67 books44 followersAlso 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 18, 2018
Familiar Mirage
July 15, 2002
Caroline Burnes takes readers and her crime-solving cat on an exciting Egyptian adventure in the latest Familiar mystery, "Familiar Mirage." Archeologist Beth Bradshaw is on the trail of a legendary lost city in Egypt. Omar Dukhan is sworn to keep it hidden. Posing as her desert guide, Omar is determined to prevent Beth from finding what she's looking for. He's not the only one. Can a certain feline detective play matchmaker and help Beth find who poses a bigger threat to her mission, and her life?
"Familiar Mirage" is a very different kind of Intrigue, a larger-than-life tale that sweeps readers into a grand adventure. Taking place entirely in a foreign setting (finally!), it's the perfect story for readers looking for a fun escape. It's not a very deep book, but it is loads of fun.
Burnes has come up with some interesting details that take advantage of her exotic locale in a story that is a welcome change of pace. The conflict between Omar and Beth adds to the drama. He has vowed to his people that he will keep the city a secret. If she doesn't find it, her professional reputation will be destroyed. This isn't one of those stupid misunderstandings, but a real conflict that leaves you wondering how they'll work through it. The author keeps readers on their toes trying to figure out who's a bad guy and who's not, until it doesn't look like anyone can be trusted. No one does strong heroines like Burnes, women who refuse to back down in the face of adversity, women who don't cry and wait for the hero to save them, and Beth's determination makes her worth rooting for. Readers who enjoy swarthy, mysterious men will relish Omar.
An exciting and dramatic tale, "Familiar Mirage" is an entertaining read and should whet reader's appetites for next month's sequel, "Familiar Oasis."
July 15, 2002
Caroline Burnes takes readers and her crime-solving cat on an exciting Egyptian adventure in the latest Familiar mystery, "Familiar Mirage." Archeologist Beth Bradshaw is on the trail of a legendary lost city in Egypt. Omar Dukhan is sworn to keep it hidden. Posing as her desert guide, Omar is determined to prevent Beth from finding what she's looking for. He's not the only one. Can a certain feline detective play matchmaker and help Beth find who poses a bigger threat to her mission, and her life?
"Familiar Mirage" is a very different kind of Intrigue, a larger-than-life tale that sweeps readers into a grand adventure. Taking place entirely in a foreign setting (finally!), it's the perfect story for readers looking for a fun escape. It's not a very deep book, but it is loads of fun.
Burnes has come up with some interesting details that take advantage of her exotic locale in a story that is a welcome change of pace. The conflict between Omar and Beth adds to the drama. He has vowed to his people that he will keep the city a secret. If she doesn't find it, her professional reputation will be destroyed. This isn't one of those stupid misunderstandings, but a real conflict that leaves you wondering how they'll work through it. The author keeps readers on their toes trying to figure out who's a bad guy and who's not, until it doesn't look like anyone can be trusted. No one does strong heroines like Burnes, women who refuse to back down in the face of adversity, women who don't cry and wait for the hero to save them, and Beth's determination makes her worth rooting for. Readers who enjoy swarthy, mysterious men will relish Omar.
An exciting and dramatic tale, "Familiar Mirage" is an entertaining read and should whet reader's appetites for next month's sequel, "Familiar Oasis."
September 30, 2021
Have read most of the fear familiar books and love the idea of a cat detective, great concept and enjoyable story if you are looking for some light weight entertainment on a rainy day highly recommend (can usually read these in 2-3 hours)
July 22, 2017
What a cat! Fun reading this!
March 20, 2020
Easy read in tough times.
July 30, 2011
I find the familiar books weird to read. This is the second or third one I've read and the cat's dialog is just written from a weird perspective or something.
Maybe I am expecting too much from these books but there was a lot that was hard to swallow in this one too (and I don't mean the cat).
Maybe I am expecting too much from these books but there was a lot that was hard to swallow in this one too (and I don't mean the cat).
July 17, 2012
I have read a few of the intrigue books and they all are decent and this one measured the same don't want to spoil the story for other intrigue readers lol buy the book:) I do own it and would borrow it if the swap was still open but sadly is not.
May 16, 2010
I can only say I love Familiar and all of his adventures!
February 21, 2014
This book was amazing! I always love reading about black cat detective Familiar! It's definitely worth reading!
February 25, 2016
My kind of cat
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews