Slay in Character

A wonderful cozy mystery, Slay in Character by Lynn Cahoon, book four in her Cat Latimer Mystery series was a fun read. Catherine “Cat” Latimer is an author and the owner of Warm Springs Writer’s Retreat in the small college town of Aspen Hills, Colorado which she runs with her friend along with Cat’s boyfriend Seth, who does the handyman jobs. A group of writers who already know each other arrive for the week. One other person attending is a student Jessi who earned the right to attend. Cat arranged for a fun day trip for everyone to visit a local ghost town. Unfortunately, Jessi’s roommate, who worked at the ghost town, is found murdered. Cat is on the case as someone then tries to kill Jessi. Cat, Shauna, Seth & the writers all work together to figure out what happened to Danielle and to keep Jessi safe. Soon the suspects and clues become overwhelming and Cat might just find herself in over her head.

This cozy mystery had all the elements I enjoy interesting likable characters, an intriguing mystery, friendship, and romance. Plus, it isn’t graphic, intense or scary. Ms. Cahoon did an excellent job keeping her readers on their toes as they read. She had me miss-guessing who the killer was. I highly recommend Slay in Character to other readers and look forward to Cat’s next adventure.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

I’ve wanted to read a novel by Lynn Cahoon for years, but it never crept high enough in my TBR– no clue why, perhaps I was just overwhelmed with options in the cozy world. Then I was given an opportunity to read and review her latest book, Slay in Character, in the Cat Latimer mystery series. Yikes, why did I wait so long! 4.25 stars to this fantastic story. To start with, the premise of the series is about a writer who runs a writing group where various authors visit and conduct workshops. It’s a great concept as different characters can easily come and go without feeling too overwhelming. But there’s also a bevy of recurring ones who appear in all the books which keeps the series grounded in its sub-genre. I like the balance and opportunity for future plots.

In this caper, one of the girls in the writing retreat is being stalked. Her friend and roommate is murdered in a similar way a few girls have been in the past ~10 years at an Old West town that’s mostly for tourists. Are they connected, is someone playing games, or is it just a coincidence? As the plot unravels, we learn more about the other writers, the girls at the college who knew the victim, and the townspeople who keep the Old West image running. Something seems quite unusual, but it isn’t clear until the end. Along the path, we meet the girl who was supposed to die! :O And that throws a monkey wrench into all the suspicions and investigations.

Cat and her crew are likable. At first, I was a little thrown off because it’s the type of series where it’s much better to read in order. Some don’t require you to, but I feel like this one is a lot stronger if you do read in order. Once I got past that aspect (my fault, not the writer’s), I had a few other small items that made it hard for me to connect with some of Cat’s friends, but it didn’t distract from the story. I have a feeling the other books might easily earn 5-star ratings from me, but this one as my first intro wasn’t totally there yet. Overall, the plot was strong, the setting was very elaborate and interesting, and the characters had lots of personality in a positive way.

I look forward to reading more from the author, and I plan to read this series from the beginning and order the first in one of her other series at the end of the year. Oh yeah, she might also win the poll on my blog’s upcoming November readathon for cozy mysteries. Come check it out and maybe we’ll be reading a Cahoon series together!

This was the first book I have read in the series and I found myself fully engaged in Cat as a protagonist and her adventures. She is a well rounded character with lots of depth and personality. I like the idea of a Writer’s Retreat. It has the potential for a lot of secondary characters to come and go throughout the series, which is a lot of fun. The book had me hooked from start to finish – once I started, it was hard to put down.

Read complete review here:
https://cozyexperience.com/slay-in-character-book-review/

SLAY IN CHARACTER by Lynn Cahoon
The Fourth Cat Latimer Mystery

When a group of historical romance writers come for a writer’s retreat, Cat Latimer hopes for a quiet productive time with camaraderie and a few laughs. A visit to the Old West tourist town of Outlaw leads to tragedy when a young woman is found strangled in a room above the saloon. The murdered girl happened to be covering for the Jessi Ball, the Covington College student attendee of the retreat, a student with “family” connections. Could Jessi have been the actual target? The other writers take Jessi under their wing as her life gets even more out of control.Will Cat be able to keep everyone safe, even as the writers attempt to solve the murder themselves? And just what is Seth up to in the back yard?

I really love this smart writer oriented series. Cat shares the expertise and life of a writer to her retreat participants and in doing so Lynn Cahoon shares it with her readers. I particularly like the tips to encourage productivity. I’d do those writers sprints myself, except that I write long hand! Aside from a realistic look at the life of an author, readers are also provided with a well plotted mystery. Subtle clues, inferences, possibilities, and red herrings cloud the investigation making for an interesting read.

The characters are complex. Each has not only a history, but dreams and aspirations, goals and motives, some bubbling under the surface, hinted at, and some expressed. Readers are pulled in, identifying, commiserating, and intrigued with the characters and so with the story.

SLAY IN CHARACTER is a character driven mystery that takes a writer’s life to the next level. Despite the murders that seem to beset Cat’s writing retreats, I’d love to sign up to attend one!

FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book in the hopes I would review it.

Slay In Character
Cat Latimer Mystery, Book #4
Lynn Cahoon
5 Stars

Synopsis:

Staying in character can be murder when Cat Latimer and the members of her writers’ retreat head for a ghost town . . .

Cat and the members of her writers’ retreat have just arrived in Outlaw, Colorado, an “Old West” tourist town complete with inhabitants dressed up as famous figures from history. But this authentic slice of Americana takes a murderous turn when a college student masquerading as a 19th-century saloon girl becomes history herself.

Was she the intended target? Or did she take a hit meant for someone else? With a cast of suspects to choose from–including some notorious gunslingers and the sleazy town founders–Cat must unhorse the real culprit before a real-life ghost story is given a killer twist . . .

Praise for Lynn Cahoon

“Better get your flashlight handy, A Story to Kill will keep you reading all night.”
–Laura Bradford, author of the Amish Mysteries

“Lynn Cahoon has created an absorbing, good fun mystery in Mission to Murder.”
–Fresh Fiction (Goodreads)

Review:

The characters are well rounded and well developed. Cat is a smart hardworking woman and she is making a go of her writer’s retreat events. It is something that she enjoys doing and she is good with it. But she has got to find a way to get rid of all these murders!!

Shauna is a good friend and she is a big help in running the retreats. I enjoy getting to spend time with them and reading about their interactions. You can tell that Cat really cares about her and wants Shauna to be happy. Her relationship with Seth, her handyman, is moving along nicely.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and she brought Outlaw, Colorado, alive in my mind. I could see the old west setting very clear in and it is somewhere I would like to visit. The mystery was well plotted and carried on well throughout the book. I had an idea who the killer was but I was not entirely sure until the reveal at the end.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy. There is a lot contained within the pages of this book and I am sure you will enjoy this one.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Kensington Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

I really enjoyed Slay in Character — it is a great cozy mystery that is hard to put down. Cat Latimer is an author who has a large home in Warm Springs, Colorado where she holds writers’ retreats several times a year where authors’ can get their creative juices flowing. This particular retreat ends up giving the visiting writers not only several new plot ideas but also a murder at a nearby ghost town that they are determined to investigate. Consequently, Cat has her hands full trying to solve the mystery so she can keep her inquisitive guests safe.

This book is the first I have read in the Cat Latimer Mystery series, and even though it is the fourth book, I did not feel lost or that I was missing out on anything. It is entertaining with lots of excitement and surprises, and I really liked reading about the interaction between all the authors and Cat. I can’t wait to start this series at the beginning and am also looking forward to the next book in the series.

I received a copy of this book from the author. All thoughts and opinions are solely my own.

Slay In Character by Lynn Cahoon is book four in the Cat Latimer series and I was pulled in from the first chapter.

Another writer’s retreat in Aspen Hills with a group of women writers who actually have a writing group in their home town. As much as I enjoy visiting Aspen Hills, Cat, Shauna, Seth and Uncle Pete, I really enjoyed meeting the women at the retreat. They were all supportive of each other and seemed to genuinely enjoy spending time together. Ms. Cahoon’s descriptive writing is vivid and allowed me join the group as they not only went on outings but began to help investigate a murder. Poor Uncle Pete.

The plot moved quickly, there seemed to be more than just one mystery to be solved, and there were only a few suspects to consider. For once, I actually did figure it out before the reveal but was glad to read that my reasoning was spot on. I am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Kensington. All of the above opinions are my own.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Who knew a little trip to a ghost town would lead to murder? The latest group of writers have arrived for their week-long retreat and a day out to Outlaw, Colorado, a tourist attraction dedicated to the Old West is the destination for a day trip. One of the writers, Jessi, a college student, works there along with her roommate for extra cash.

The next day the roommate is missing. She is later found dead in one of the rooms at the ghost town saloon. She went missing while working one of Jessi’s shifts – so was the killer after Jessi? or her friend? Cat tries to stay out of the investigation but her guests have other ideas and lie to her about where they are going. Twice she gets them out of hot water with police. She soon finds herself trying to solve the case to help Jessi, but also to keep her guests out of trouble. What she uncovers changes the course of the investigation and reveals a shady side of certain individuals.

Cat actually had a few months go well, no murders or police investigations, so this book takes place in the following summer after the last book. Shauna is still getting over Kevin’s death but is doing better, Cat and Seth’s relationship is moving along nicely. Uncle Pete and Shirley are handling a long distance relationship. Dante is still popping up unexpectedly. The writers for this retreat all belong to the same writing group and are historical romance writers with the exception of college student Jessi, but they quickly pull her into the group. If it wasn’t for that doggone murder things would be great.

One of the things I like about this series is that for each story we add a new group of characters to the core cast we have come to know so well over these four books. Ms. Cahoon does an excellent job at introducing this new group with great detail so readers can quickly grasp who they are, how they fit together, their similarities and differences. The character development of both the old characters and new is stellar. I appreciate the dialogues too, whether a quick quip or a full conversation. I also loved the writing drills, a little behind the scenes look at how writers get the word count in every day.

The mystery plot line was full of twists and I found it to be very interesting the way old cases that were similar were brought to light. Having Cat stay out of the investigation at first was a fun twist. Seeing her tell her guests how dangerous it is to get involved in police matters almost made me laugh out loud. This group of retreaters was absolutely delightful. I loved the way the wanted to snoop to help their new friend.

A subplot throughout the story was a project Seth was working on. A secret project. Almost every day he went out the back door and through the woods to the back of the property. He asked Cat and Shauna to not venture back there until he was finished. Both women were curious and had their own ideas what he what doing out there but stayed away until the big reveal. What a reveal it was, special, moving, heartwarming and perfect. I will not give any more details, it is a surprise you need to read about all on your own. Seth truly is a great friend and boyfriend.

Until this story, I would have said each of the books in this series could be read as stand-alone, but I believe I enjoyed this one so much because I had read the others first and got to experience the characters growth in quick succession. The things they dealt with, the way the handled the previous murders, the relationships that grew stronger. Because I was behind on this series I read the last three books in this series almost back-to-back. I remembered little details without having to tax my memory. The character’s progression was vivid in my mind. It is not often I am able to do that with a series. I am usually a stickler about reading series in order so I was so happy I could catch up before jumping into this book. That being said don’t be afraid to grab this book and start reading. You can always go back and catch up too, just like I did, and be ready for Sconed to Death coming in May 2019.