When Catherine Cooper settles in the Hamptons on the heels of a nasty split from her long-time husband, the luxurious coastal community seems like the perfect place to get back on track in style. But as Cat soon discovers, starting fresh on the East End can be deadly . . . Cat Cooper never imagined selling off her in-demand marketing firm would mean going from the pinnacle of success to a … success to a walking hot mess. Gouged from an unexpected divorce, Cat suddenly finds herself struggling through a new career as a business-savvy life coach for the hopelessly adrift in East Hampton and contending with Heather Holland—a spiteful neighbor who will do anything to bully her out of town. But her second act may very well continue behind bars when Heather’s dead body turns up next to a shattered punchbowl . . . and Cat’s pinned as the murderer.
But given Heather’s mean girl reputation, any one of the guests at her invite-only luncheon could have committed the crime before planting Cat’s punchbowl next to the body. Determined not to trade designer duds for an unflattering prison jumpsuit, Cat sides with her best friend Gilley to scour chic boutiques and oceanfront mansions in search of the criminal who framed her. With a stoic detective looking to get her in cuffs, it’s up to Cat to catch the real killer and land on her feet once again . . .
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After a messy divorce, Catherine Cooper moves to the Hamptons for a fresh start as a life coach. Unfortunately, things are off to a rocky start. While attending her neighbor Heather’s lunch party, they get into a heated argument in front of all the guests. When Heather is found dead hours later, she immediately becomes the main suspect. With the help of her friend Gilley, Cat is determined to catch the real murderer before she ends up in jail. Coached to Death is a fantastic start to a new series. The plot is engaging, complex, and nicely paced. Cat was a feisty, likable main character. Her friendship with Gilley was one of my favorite things about this book. Gilley was such a lovable character. He had me laughing out loud a couple of times, and I loved his fun, over the top personality. The last few chapters of the story were action-packed and kept me on the edge of my seat. The ending left off on a bit of a cliffhanger and I can’t wait to get my hands on the second book. I recommend this book to readers looking for a slightly darker and unique cozy mystery. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this story! The protagonist and her best friend are hilarious and have a great ‘bestie’ relationship. The setting is charming, and the murder mystery is complex and not easy to guess. The secondary characters are appealing, and I’m very interested in seeing where the author goes with a couple of them in the second book. I highly recommend this cozy mystery!
The sister of the Psychic Eye cozy series, Cat, pairs up with the sidekick from the Ghost Hunter Mysteries, Gilley, in the first book in the Life Coach Mysteries, Coached to Death.
Heather is what happens when a bully grows up. She becomes even more vindictive and vicious. After all, what had Cat done other than build her new mansion next door? Heather decides to return the favor by humiliating Cat at a party with all of the East Hampton socialites in attendance.
At least, Cat has a dinner date with the suave Maks, who is also her newest tenant. Plus she has her first client’s messed up life to fix. Unfortunately, when Heather is bashed in the head with the punchbowl that Cat brought to the party, handsome Detective Steve suspects Cat. It could be because Cat threatened to leave Heather “a bloody mess” before storming out.
I’ve read every book in the Ghost Hunter series. My favorite part is Gilley, whose humorous take on life is the best part of any book he is in. It was a sad day for me when he mentioned that M.J. and her new husband, Heath, have given up ghost hunting. However, this new series has the same humor and distinct characters. It’s just missing the paranormal subject matter.
Coached to Death is a good first book in this new cozy mystery series. I believe it is the only cozy exploring life coaching. Also, Cat is a strong female lead with a backstory of starting and running a successful marketing firm. Plus she is rich, which always helps.
Still, the star here is Gilley. He is still fluttery and anxious. But he seems more adult and less frantic with no ghosts to worry about. Of course, his over-the-top humor is always welcome. If you like funny cozy mysteries, you should pick up this book. 4 stars!
Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.
In this first book of the series Cat Cooper has sold off her marketing firm and has decided to become a Life Coach for people who feel all is hopeless. Now that she is divorced Cat feels like she needs to start over and reinvent herself. Her first client could really use her help so she puts all her effort I to helping the young woman and looks forward to seeing what progress she will make. Meanwhile she is invited to her neighbor Heather’s house for a luncheon the only problem she soon learns that she has been set up and made to look like a fool in for t of all the guests. Cat immediately leaves and decides to soak her horrible day away along with drinking a few glasses of wine. Cat soon learns that Heather was killed and it looks like the punch bowl that Cat brought to the party is the culprit. With all the changes going on in her life right now she isn’t sure if she can deal with being a murder suspect. Cat knows that if she wants to clear her name she herself must investigate and reveal who the killer is. This was a great start to what I hope is a long series, I’ve read this authors other series and I’m happy that she pulled Cat from one of those and given her, her own series!!!
Coached to Death by Victoria Laurie is the first book in a new mystery series that actually includes two characters from her other two series, the Psychic Eye series and the Ghost Hunters series.
Ms. Laurie has written a well crafted plot that moved along at a quick pace as she introduced Catherine Cooper, Abby Cooper’s sister, and Gilley Gillespie, MJ’s partner. Catherine struck me as a strong and determined woman who has reinvented herself in the Hamptons. Gilley is sweet, tech smart and offered some humorous moments to lighten the tension during the story. There were several twists, suspects, an assassin, and the mob which kept Catherine and Gilley pursuing every clue in spite of the danger. It also looks like there may be potential for a love triangle for Catherine in future books. A complex mystery that will keep readers engaged from beginning to end.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All of the above opinions are my own.
What a cute book – loved the cover, the story, the characters, the setting and everything in between. It’s definitely worth checking out!
You can check out my booktube video review at https://youtu.be/V9X2DfpvDaI
or read my review on my blog at https://lisasiefert.com/book-review-coached-to-death-by-victoria-laurie-a-cat-gilley-life-coach-mystery-book-1/
I listened to the audio version of the book and had a really good time.
A great mystery, interesting and fun characters and the heroine and her sidekick are great.
I was disappointed
Good start to a series. Catherine is recently divorced and sold her former company for a nice sum. She bought property in the Hamptons and plans to work as a life coach. As a new resident and business owner … she is trying to network and be an essential part of her community but seems to be thwarted by one woman in particular, Heather. When Heather dies at a function … Catherine seems to be one of the major suspects.
It has been so long since I have read a cozy mystery, I have been in the romance world for about five years, I have forgotten just how much I loved and missed these type of stories. I have read from Victoria Laurie before but it’s been quite a while since then and it wasn’t my book. I do remember her writing and enjoying it.
And Coached To Death did NOT disappoint me and has shown so much promise, that I can’t wait for the next installment.
Cat Cooper is a successful business owner, who has recently relocated to the Hamptons after a divorce from a man I was so glad she got rid of! She has the perfect house and job along with a best friend that everyone wishes they could have. But nothing is ever perfect. Her hateful neighbor is a woman who spoils everything when she ends up dead and Cat becomes the prime suspect. When it becomes certain that the locals aren’t looking up any other alleys than Cat’s, it is up to this duo to find the true culprit and bring them to justice. You will find yourself wondering just who is Mr. Maks, her love interest and Gilley. But I will keep those questions to myself since I don’t want to spoil anything.
I didn’t know this was a spin-off of another VL series, as those characters show up in this book. I really loved Cat’s personality because is not only smart, but savvy and sassy. And the side characters are just as expressive and flourished as she is. The book pacing is good and steady, nothing lagged to where I’d loss my interest. Fabulous start to a new series!
I can’t wait for the next installment! I absolutely recommend!
ARC generously provided by Netgalley, the publisher and author!
I’ve been a fan of this author for a very long time, so I was excited to hear she had a spin-off series in the works. Cat and Gilley are two of my favorite side characters, and it’s wonderful to see them again. In this series-starter, Cat has had to start over in a new place since her divorce, but it doesn’t take long to realize she isn’t well-liked because of one resident. Unfortunately, that one resident dies, and Cat is the prime suspect. I really enjoyed this book. The author’s trademark excellent writing, fun style, and interesting characters all make a comeback on this book. The only thing that didn’t strike an excellent chord with me was Cat at times. I’ve never seen her as dippy or easily flustered like she seemed in this book; she always seemed more unflappable to me. However, that didn’t detract much at all from my enjoyment. This was a fun, cozy-ish mystery that I do recommend! I received a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
I was a fan of Victoria Laurie’s previous series and was really missing them when, much to my delight, she started a new series. In this new series the characters are Abby Cooper’s sister Cat (Catherine) from the Psychic Eye series and Gilley, from the Ghost Hunter series. Oh, what a wonderful match. Cat and Gilley are best friends and what a team they turn out to be. Cat is starting over after going through a very messy and painful divorce – she sells her very successful business, builds a house in the Hamptons and sets out to become a life coach. When she finds herself set up for humiliation by a hateful neighbor who wants her out of town, she reacts badly. soon the nasty neighbor is found dead, the murder weapon? Cat’s punch bowl that she had brought to the event where the dust up occurred. Of course Cat’s prints are on the bowl and that puts her on the police list of prime suspect #1 and they are fine stopping right there and to measure Cat for her new orange prison duds.
Now that Cat’s freedom and her business, heck her whole life, are on the line, she and Gilley undertake their own investigation. They have no idea what is in store for them – and it’s very dangerous. Think Mob and killers for hire, etc. Not exactly your usual cozy elements but it works. One thing to note, though, while the killer of nasty Heather is revealed, there are several threads that will lead us to the next book. The mystery had me reading well past my bedtime and I enjoyed meeting Cat and seeing what’s new for Gilley. as this is the start of a new series there has to be a lot of foundation laid. Having read and enjoyed the previous series, I am certain that this series will be just as good.
Coached to Death is the first book in a new series by Victoria Laurie. Catherine Cooper is Abbie Cooper’s sister. Gilley Gillespie is MJ’s partner from the Ghost Hunters series and is Cats best friend. I absolutely love Gilley just the way he was, flamboyant and over the top. He is way more subdued in this book. Please bring back the old Gilley.I have read all the Ghost Hunters books and loved them. But I only read the first book in the Physic Eye series so I really don’t know anything about Cat. I love her as the lead character in this book. She’s feisty as hell and doesn’t-let anyone run over her. There is a kind of love insist but we’ll see where that goes in the future.A change of pace from all the serious stuff. This book was just super fun and a great mystery and I’m looking forward to where this series goes.
I don’t know how to describe this book. It’s not quite a straight mystery and not quite a cozy mystery. At least not in the way I think of those two genres. For me, a cozy has an amateur sleuth—which this does—and takes place often in a small town where everyone knows everyone. This takes place in the posh Hampton’s in New England. It’s a place of Ferraris, BMWs, mansions, and designer clothes. And our amateur sleuth—Catherine—is ultra-rich. Okay, I can accept that. It’s different. Unique. Interesting.
But… the murder and the bad guys are more in line with a standard thriller—Russian mafia, professional assassins, mysterious people showing up, multiple murders. And the one thing that frustrated me—two heavy threads left dangling. Oh, the initial mystery was solved. We know who murdered the main victim and why, but the rest… we’re left with questions that will (hopefully) be answered in later books.
Catherine (Cat) is a rich divorcee with twin fourteen-year-old sons (away at boarding school). She made her money by running a successful marketing business, sold it, and now works as a personal life coach. She bought land in the Hampton’s and is building a big house there. Meanwhile, she’s living in the guest house with her best friend, Gillie while his husband is traveling. When Cat’s neighbor is murdered, she becomes the prime suspect thanks to a very public threat she made earlier when the woman humiliated Cat. It’s up to Cat and Gillie to prove her innocence, but they have to deal with a surly detective, a mysterious—but delicious—man who flirts with her, and more.
Things I liked: Sebastian! The house electronic “butler” who does everything a computer can do for her. I want Sebastian! I am in love with him. I like the unique setting, the fact that Cat is not your standard amateur sleuth in that she’s uber-rich. She’s different and interesting. And I love Gillie too! He’s so sweet.
What I didn’t like: the two huge threads left dangling (no, I won’t say what they are – that’s cheating). I don’t mind a small thread or two in a cozy—like the continuing relationship between the sleuth and someone (usually a law person)—which we have here—but I was highly frustrated by the two unknowns that will continue (I assume). When I turned the last page, I was actually angry. I tried to page on past to see if it finished, but it didn’t. I had to be satisfied with the ending I got—and I wasn’t. Yes, we solved who killed the main victim. But… yeah, not happy.
Recommendation: This is a darker, heavier “cozy” that is a good story at its base, but be prepared for heavier subjects like Russian mob and professional assassins. If that’s okay with you, also understand that there are two major threads (and a minor one or two) that do not get solved. As long as you’re aware of that, the ending is okay then. Overall, though, it was a good story, which is why it got four sparklers. I did enjoy it right up to the end. If I were true to myself, I would have downgraded it, but… it’s a decent story. I’m just one of those readers who likes things tied up in neat bows and this one left the ribbons dangling.
Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review
murder-investigation, law-enforcement, amateur-sleuth, verbal-humor, situational-humor, laugh-riot
What a fun read! The mystery is a good one, too. I don’t come with baggage on this as I have never read anything by this author.
Wealthy former high powered business woman Cat and her bestie, Gilley have relocated to The Hamptons to start a new business. The business has Cat meeting a new dishy tenant and an unusual young woman who desperately needs a life coach. The new home has Cat dealing with a totally obnoxious neighbor (you know right away that this toad will be the murder victim), a dishy but weird homicide detective, and being arrested for murder very publicly in a very exclusive restaurant.
Let the sleuthing begin! Great read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!