I'm very happy to welcome Cosmo Merlin de Beaufort to Cozy Up With Kathy Today. You can find Cosmo on the pages of the Willowmere Mystery series. AXES & ALCHEMY is the second book in the series and was released last week.
Let me guess, dear reader. Now that you’ve discovered that there’s more to me than meets the eye, you have a few burning questions.
Rest assured, it’s only to be expected. Uppermost on your mind is certainly the mind-boggling conundrum what I, Cosmo Merlin de Beaufort, a cat of unusual beauty and illustrious past lives, am doing in a small town like Willowmere, Oregon. Surely a penthouse in Manhattan or an apartment close to the Champs-Elysées in Paris, even a castle in the Scottish Highlands would be more suitable for me.
How right you are. Maybe I will tell you another time about my past. First though I need to make sure that my biographer is deserving of my confidence. So far, she hasn't strayed from the truth, but it's early days. You never know when a human's imagination runs away with them!
I assume the second most important question on your mind - in some cases it might even have been the first - is whether you too have a wise, four-legged or winged mentor in your life.
The answer is: Yes, it’s entirely possible that your nonhuman family member is indeed your familiar, even if they don’t talk to you.
You see, not all powers are created equal, but animals and familiars have been watching over you for eons. To be fair, some of you are worthier than others - sadly we have learned that humans are not the most trustworthy of species, present company excluded, of course.
You have already proven yourself to be discerning, smart, lovable even. Otherwise, you would not be reading this. (And, yes, I can tell all this just by connecting with you through a blog post. This is a mere glimpse of the things I am capable of.)
But we were talking about your pets. Ask yourself these questions. How did your pet come into your life? Did your gaze lock somewhere at a rescue center or on the street? Did you see a picture of them? Did you feel an instant connection? A tug on your heartstrings?
Then, when you brought them home, what did you experience when you bonded? Was it a warm, fuzzy feeling when a tiny paw touched your hand or you fondled their ears or stroked a silky back? Didn't you relax? Breathe easier? Feel happy?
Isn't the sound of a meow or a bark or a chirp or bird song lifting your heart?
As for your trusted pet (or animal companions as I prefer to call us) watch over you? Do they curl up next to you when you’re unwell or heartbroken? Stand faithfully guard when you need protection?
Not to mention the many, many occasions when one of us has saved a human when there was a fire breaking out or filthy gas escaping.
Not all of us may be able to teach you valuable lessons like I do with Bex, but I am a feline of quite unusual powers, even among familiars.
But believe me, we all try to share with you lessons on how to be good, how to create a community, how to connect. Whatever happens in your life, as long as you have an animal companion you will never truly be lonely. That, my dear friend, that in itself is magic.
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Review
The Second Willowmere Mystery
Capturing the memories of Willowmere's oldest residents is a wonderful idea. Turning the recordings into a podcast seems like a novel way to share their wisdom. That is until the talk turns to hidden treasure in Willowmere. Whether pirate doubloons or the secret of alchemy itself, Bex Merriweather is right to be concerned. Even though the podcast is quickly removed0 treasure seekers appear and the nursing home is under siege! Bex's witchy warning system goes off giving her extreme hot flashes that have nothing to do with perimenopause and everything to do with someone else wielding magick. When a disliked townsperson is murdered there are too many suspects with a multitude of possible motives. With the help of her mentor, Cosmo, Bex will have to up her witch skills in order to protect the town and solve yet another murder!
Bex and Cosmo make a great team. While Cosmo teaches and trains, Bex infuses her own charm and spunk. I also enjoy how she investigates the mystery with her friends and especially how they get Ms. Vine to join in! The mystery is complex with lots of new characters and so many motives...almost too many. I like that there's a new venue in town, with new owners, but partway through the book they just seemed to fade away.
Woven into the murder mystery is a magickal one. Magickal items are left around the library. Yet, in the end the significance was never addressed. Who left the labradorite? Why? We don't know. Does it have something to do with what happened in the last chapter? Will it be explained in the next book?
Showing once again that women in midlife are powerful and purposeful AXES & ALCHEMY is a fun mystery that combines magick, murder, and community. I look forward to seeing what happens next, especially with the introduction of Fleur!
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Axes and Alchemy (A Cozy Midlife Witch Mystery) Willowmere Mysteries by Carmen Radtke
About Axes and Alchemy
Paranormal Cozy Mystery 2nd in Series
Setting - Oregon Independently Published
Publication Date: August 15, 2025
Number of Pages: ~230
Pirate loot and deadly feud … So much for a peaceful next chapter: Novice witch Bex Merriweather has her hands full running a leading library and secretly studying magic under the critical eye of her opinionated familiar and mentor, cat Cosmo. The last thing newly divorced perimenopausal Bex needs is more tasks needing her attention. But when a podcast connects a pirate treasure and voodoo magic with tranquil Willowmere and treasure hunters as well as occultists flock to the town, feuds erupt. When a dead body is found, Bex and Cosmo can’t discount the idea that greed and black magic had something to do with the murder. But can she protect her secret and the town without exposing the truth about her inheritance? And is somebody already on her trail – somebody wishing her ill? With only her cat and her trusted circle of friends, Bex sets out to catch a killer before the treasure of a long dead pirate claims another victim. Axes and Alchemy is the second case in this fun-filled series. Perfect for fans of cozy mysteries, magical mayhem, and heroines who believe it’s never too late for a new chapter—or a little witchcraft!
About Carmen Radtke
Carmen has spent most of her life with ink on her fingers and a dangerously high pile of books and newspapers by her side.
She has worked as a newspaper reporter on two continents and always dreamt of becoming a novelist and screenwriter.
When she found herself crouched under her dining table, typing away on a novel between two earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, she realised she was hooked for life.
The shaken but stirring novel made it to the longlist of the Mslexia competition, and her next book and first mystery, The Case Of The Missing Bride, was a finalist in the Malice Domestic competition in a year without a winner. Since then she has penned several more cozy mysteries, including the Genie and Adriana Darling ghost mysteries and the Jack and Frances series set in the 1930s.
Carmen now lives in Italy with her human and her four-legged family. Although she possesses no witchy powers, she’s known to be easily held spellbound by animals.
Author Links:
Website - https://www.carmenradtkeauthor.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/carmenradtkeauthor
Purchase Link - Amazon
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