About the Book

Book: The Search for the Shadow Cat Author: Kurt Mahler Genre: Magical Realism Fantasy Release Date: October 20, 2025 Venture into a lush, mystically supercharged natural world where the fate of an entire animal kingdom hangs in the balance in The Search for the Shadow Cat, the captivating third installment of the Jaguar Oracle series. After a long absence from the Rio Grande Valley, the majestic jaguar named Oracle returns for a perilous quest to restore the three feline tribes—bobcat, ocelot, and long-lost jaguarundi: the “shadow cat.” With Patch the raccoon, Plod the horse, Bog the toad, and the child named Miracle, Oracle navigates a richly-drawn landscape, pressing through pain and perplexity to rediscover ancient wisdom that will awaken creation, from a jabber of green jays to secretive turtles to trees holding on to treasured knowledge. Along the way, Oracle finds an unexpected ally in a conflicted young entrepreneur, while a hermit holds the key to unlocking the jaguar’s destiny. Blending magical realism, mythology, and environmental advocacy, this pulse-pounding adventure will captivate readers with its tale of courage, honor, and the power of reclaiming our forgotten roots.

Book Excerpt

Gem opened her beak. For all the whirling wind she still could not easily catch air. She breathed in with straining ribs and spoke in a desperate exhale. “Your words may be true, but they just as much may be false! At best your words are fifty-fifty! And what do you know of this jaguar? You haven’t even met him! How can you be so sure about someone you don’t even know?” The spirit laughed scornfully, a derision that drove a family of cactus wrens and a lone chachalaca from their night roosts in hysterical fear; they flew headlong into the night with no sense of direction other than the compelling need to be far from the spirit’s wrath. Then the spirit inhaled, and out of his mouth came a lazy river of smooth words, as smooth as the surface of ice warmed by a midday sun, a smoothness giving no clue to the hardening to come at twilight. “Oh, my dear Gem, my dear, dear Gem. I do know him. Indeed, I have known him all his life. He is Oracle of Sian Ka’an, of the manrealm Yucatán. I am old friends with his house—one might say his original friend. I make my home in his kind.  

Missed Any Excerpts, Go Here

Excerpt One: https://www.simpleharvestreads.com/posts/the-search-for-the-shadow-cat-book-spotlight/ Excerpt Two: https://www.guildmaster97.com/posts/the-search-for-the-shadow-cat-epic-book-launch-and-excerpt/ Excerpt Three: https://www.artistwriterandstudentohmy.com/posts/the-search-for-the-shadow-cat-book-spotlight/ Excerpt Four: https://www.fictionbooklover.com/posts/the-search-for-the-shadow-cat-book-spotlight/ Excerpt Five: https://lakesidelivingsite.wordpress.com/2025/09/06/the-search-for-the-shadow-cat-by-kurt-mahler/ Excerpt Six: https://coverloverbookreview.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-search-for-shadow-cat.html Excerpt Seven: https://nannie3.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-search-for-shadow-cat.html?m=1  

About the Author

Kurt helps those who built someone else’s dream finally build their own. As a speaker, advisor, and award-winning poet, he draws from twenty years of lived experience in forty nations. He is a sought-after voice on five continents, advising expats in places as challenging as Cuba, Persia, and North Korea. He has published multiple books , hundreds of articles, and well-respected poetry. Kurt and his wife Karen have been married since 1993 and raised their family in Afghanistan, where they founded a community development agency. They are Americans living in the Emirates with ties to the Gulf Coast, the Rio Grande Valley, Central Texas, Louisiana, and New England. He writes in the poetic tradition, inspired by the wonder of creation, the mysteries of the Ancient Faith, and the drama of the nations. Guiding sources for his work include the Hebrew prophets, the Desert Fathers, Dante, Milton, George MacDonald, C.S. Lewis, and Tolkien.