A Story to Kill by Lynn Cahoon is the first book in the NEW “Cat Latimer” mystery series. Publisher: Kensington, August 2016

Former English professor Cat Latimer is back in Colorado, hosting writers’ retreats in the big blue Victorian she’s inherited, much to her surprise, from none other than her carousing ex-husband! Now it’s an authors’ getaway—but Cat won’t let anyone get away with murder. . .
The bed-and-breakfast is open for business, and bestselling author Tom Cook is among its first guests. Cat doesn’t know why he came all the way from New York, but she’s glad to have him among the quirkier—and far less famous—attendees.

Cat’s high school sweetheart Seth, who’s fixing up the weathered home, brings on mixed emotions for Cat. . .some of them a little overpowering. But it’s her uncle, the local police chief, whom she’ll call for help when there’s a surprise ending for Tom Cook in his cozy guest room. Will a killer have the last word on the new life Cat has barely begun?

A writer’s retreat and murder is the premise of this delightfully wonderful debut series featuring author Catherine Latimer. When a murdered guest mars Cat’s opening retreat session, Cat sets out to find the killer before her dream is destroyed.

This was a very enjoyable book that I could not put down because I had to know what happens next. The mystery was set-up very nicely keeping me glued to the pages as we are introduced to the main cast and learning more about the victim and secondary characters. I love how comfortable I felt reading this fresh new story and the pacing was perfect as it flowed from scene to scene where the narrative put me in the middle of all the action. I like that there were plenty of suspects with subtle clues that created an intriguing byproduct of the crime. The author was very generous in giving all the characters their role to play with some surprising twists that made this an even better drama where everything fell into place with a hint towards another mystery yet to be solved. Boasting a great cast, engaging dialogue and a relaxed atmosphere, this was terrific read and I can’t wait for the next book in this pleasantly appealing new series.

FTC Full Disclosure – I received a digital ARC of this book from publisher via NetGalley.