Catnapped is Gabriella Herkert's first book in her new Animal Instinct Mystery Series. The reader is introduced to Sara Townley, a legal investigator with a case to solve. A cat by the name of Flash is missing and a concerned party wants him found. This cat isn't just an ordinary house pet; he's the heir to a $2 million trust fund from his late owner Millicent Millinfield.

Millicent was the personal assistant and live in house guest to Stuart Masterson, a wealthy business man. After her accidental death, the cat stayed in his home with him. The concerned party, Jeff Randall, says Stuart Masterson is out of town and he is concerned because his cat is missing. He hasn't seen the cat in a while and he would like him found.

While putting together clues for her case, Sara returns home to find Connor McNamara in her kitchen. Sara met Connor in Las Vegas and ended up marrying him after only knowing him for one week. Connor is a Navy Seal and has been away on duty for the last four months since his quickie wedding to Sara. His sudden reappearance is rather shocking to her since she never expected to see him again. Instead of granting her a divorce, Connor decides they are going to cohabitate as husband and wife.

While investigating the missing cat case, Sara discovers that the Masterson family has a lot of secrets and perhaps some stolen money. Sara realizes that to solve her case she is going to have to unravel the yarn of lies the family has entangled her in. No one is who they seem to be and there is something sinister going on here.

After uncovering a couple accidental deaths that just don't add up, Sara starts to fear for her life. Instead of avoiding and pushing Connor away, she works together with him to solve the case. Will Sara and Connor's new marriage stand the test of a murder investigation or will this tear them apart?

CATNAPPED is a hilarious, fun, mystery that kept me interested throughout the whole book. The writing is comedic at times and you can't help but love Sara Townley. The premise of this book slightly reminded me of the Stephanie Plum series because of the girl investigator with man trouble concept. That's a good thing though!

CATNAPPED is a great book, the mystery is tightly plotted, and the characters are engaging. My only complaint is that the title and series name does not fit the storyline that well. There is romance, comedy, mystery, but almost no animals except for a few pages. I didn't mind though, because the book turned out to be surprisingly really good!

If you are a fan of Janet Evanovich, then I am sure you will enjoy this new series by Gabriella Herkert. I look forward to reading the next book in this series, Doggone, out in 2008.