Soaking up a luxurious new chapter alongside her saucy bestie, Cat Cooper plans on emerging as the premier life coach in East Hampton by summertime. All she has to do is survive an offseason replete with desolate beaches, slow business, and murder . . . As the Hamptons drags through early spring, Cat’s shot at becoming the toast of the town in time for Memorial Day is dwindling—and fast. The … dwindling—and fast. The only client she can find has been housebound for decades and claims to be the victim of a devasting curse. Then there’s the matter of Detective Shepherd’s intense jealousy over Maks Grinkov, the handsome bad boy who approaches Cat with an unusual offer she can’t stop thinking about. Havoc finally breaks loose when a string of murders rocks the coastal community, landing Maks on the hook as the culprit . . .
While the body count rises, Cat goes from life coaching to sleuthing for the truth about Maks’s less-than-wholesome background. But after digging deeper, she questions if Detective Shepherd had an unwitting hand in a related homicide case after tangling with the wrong people. With a storm approaching shore and no one to trust, Cat and her sharp-tongued best friend, Gilley, must solve a client’s curse and a series of violent deaths before a killer sends them all sailing to their doom . . .
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To Coach a Killer is the second book in Victoria Laurie’s The Life Coach Mystery series. Cat Cooper is trying her best to make her life coach business a success and her best friend and assistant, Gilley Gilespie, is there to help her every step of the way. Cat has a lot going on in her life right now. She has a new client who claims to be cursed and helping him turns out to be more complicated than she thought, and she’s also having a hard time deciding who to choose between her two love interests, Detective Shepherd and handsome bad boy, Maks Grinkov. When Maks becomes the main suspect in the murder of a local businessman, she decides to do some digging and once again, finds herself caught up in a dark mystery, involving spies, a mob boss, and an assassin. As bodies continue to pile up, Cat realizes that she can’t trust anyone, not even her two suitors.
This is an entertaining and fast-paced cozy mystery, with plenty of humor, twists and turns, and romance. It had me on the edge of my seat and like Cat, I didn’t know who to trust or believe. Cat and Gilley are fun, lovable characters, and I look forward to many more adventures with them. This series is a lot darker than the average cozy mystery, so keep that in mind if you’re interested in reading it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
What a fantastic read I enjoyed a lot! This is a cozy mystery series that read well as a stand alone, but I am definitely hooked and will be reading the first book ASAP!
I had fun reading this and the characters were all a joy to read about! Nothing like murders in the East Hampton to immerse myself in for a fun summer read!
I cannot wait to read more of Ms Laurie’s amazing books
Cat’s divorce is final and she was hoping that now that her new normal has started that her life coaching business would take off. With only one new client on the books she’s worried that her new life isn’t going to go the way she planned. Her new client says he is the victim of a curse that has been with him since he was born and hopes that he can find a solution that will banish from his life. Meanwhile both Detective Shepherd and Maks have both popped up back into her life. Shepherd is still trying to figure out who killed his ex-wife and Maks still seems to be mixed up with the mob. Soon a string of murders catch Cat’s attention, she has been trying to help Shepherd figure out who killed.his ex but without his knowledge. Maks has asked her for her help and has Cat lying when she wouldn’t normally do such a thing. Follow along as Cat does her best to fix her new client, find a killer, and choose between two men who make her feel more than she knew she could. This was a fun read filled with an exciting plot and some truly interesting characters!
I have been a fan of this author for a very long time, in fact from when I was a bookseller for Waldenbooks. I was happy to see this spinoff series from the Psychic Eye mysteries and Ghost Hunter. Cat is an interesting character in the first series, and I liked her. This book was interesting from the beginning to end, and I think Gilley is probably my favorite character (sorry, Cat, I like you but not the best), and I really liked the two love interests. I’m not sure, though, I liked who she ended up with at the end (no spoilers!), but we’ll see how the next book goes. The two interweaved plots were great, especially with how it all played out. This was a nice cozy with a little bit of paranormal, but it wasn’t all light-hearted, just to warn readers. Recommend. I was provided a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.
Excellent Murder Mystery
This is an excellent murder mystery that takes place in East Hampden, New York. The story involves Russian mafia, hired assassins, and many people who are not whom they pretend to be. This book is the second in a series. This story is based on some recent history that the author explains well. I would say that the story could stand alone. She is so good at spinning this story that I am going to read other of her books. This a wonderfully twisted tale with nothing to give me nightmares. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.
First off, I would encourage a reader new to this series to read them in order. Coached to Death sets up everything that you would need to know to really enjoy this second mystery featuring Cat and Gilley. The series is a spin off from the Abby Cooper psychic eye series. Cat is her sister. After a divorce, Cat is trying to set up a business as a life coach in East Hampton. Things are not going as planned. She decides to take the case of Willem who is convinced that he carries a curse put on him in utero. After spending some time around him, Cat thinks he may have a problem and she, with the help of Gilley, set about to sort it out.
While they investigate the curse, Cat also has to deal with two relationships. One is Detective Steve Shepard and the other is Maks, a man with Mafia connections. If all of that isn’t enough for Cat to juggle, add spies, alpacas and hot air balloons. I won’t say more because I don’t want to give anything away. I enjoyed every page and am now looking forward to the next investigation for Cat and Gilley – they make a great team.
My thanks to the publisher, Kensington and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.
This is a fun story and a good mystery. Cat and Gilley decide to help find the killer of Detective Shepherd’s wife. Cat is sure she has found a connection to some recent murders. Add in a cursed little person, who is very heroic, with a hot air balloon accident and some amorous alpacas, and you get a fun story. But, it isn’t all fun and games. Cat and Gilley have to face a killer. They just aren’t always sure who the bad guy is. Things aren’t always what they seem.
This is the second book in the Life Coach Mysteries series. These books seem a Lyle more serious than the other books I’ve read by this author. Oh there is still humor and drama with Gilley who is one of my favorite characters. As always there are some zany antics going on and a great mystery. Cat and Gilley are sticking there nose right in the middle of everything. Plus a love triangle. Oh Boy!!