Monday, February 10, 2020

Sconed to Death + Field Guide to Homicide - 2 Cozy Mystery Reviews

Goodreads:  Sconed to Death (Cat Latimer Mystery #5) by Lynn Cahoon

Blurb: Cat has a full plate at her Aspen Hills Warm Springs Resort, as a group of aspiring cozy mystery authors arrives for a writers retreat. So when baker Dee Dee Meyer stirs up trouble by filing a false complaint with the health inspector against the B&B--all because she insists Cat's best friend Shauna stole her recipes--Cat marches into the shop to confront her.
But Dee Dee's about to have her own batch of trouble. Greyson Finn--a celebrity chef and, until today, one of Denver's most eligible bachelors--has been found dead in her bakery. Cat's uncle Pete, who happens to be the chief of police, warns her not to engage in any half-baked sleuthing. But as her curiosity rises, Cat's determined to discover who served the chef his just desserts--before the killer takes a powder . . .

My Thoughts:  I really enjoy this series and this was one of my favorites I think.  I'm glad to get away from the "family" connections that have been in the past few books.  I did enjoy them but it was nice to have a more straight forward mystery.  I also absolutely loved that this writers' retreat featured a group of cozy mystery authors who happily talked about the process and stories.  The mystery was intriguing and interesting and I really wasn't sure who the killer was until the very end.  In fact I enjoyed this read so much I had to immediately dive into the next book!  Rating:  Really Liked It!


Goodreads:  A Field Guide to Homicide (Cat Latimer Mysteries #6) by Lynn Cahoon

Blurb: Cat Latimer and her writer’s retreat group go on a hiking trip—but a murderer has been lurking off the beaten path . . .
Cat’s sweetheart, Seth, is going all out on an outing into the local mountains—for the benefit of the writing group Cat’s hosting at her Colorado B&B. But when they try to identify some plant and animal life, they find death instead. The body belongs to a man with a gold claim a few miles away. Instead of striking it rich, he’s been struck down.

To his surprise, Seth recognizes the victim from his military days—and up to now believed he’d already died during his last tour of duty. Now Cat has to solve this mystery before the killer takes a hike . . .

My Thoughts:  In a long running series there's always a book that's a bit of a transition story and I think this was one of them.  Seth and Cat are in a bit of a transition for their relationship, Uncle Pete and Shirley are in a bit of a transition in their relationship, and most of the writers in the retreat are in a bit of a transition in their careers.  This led for some unsettled feelings in the story that didn't quite gel for me as much as the previous book.  I loved that this book touched on Seth's past and I loved that he wasn't the perfect guy that he usually is.  At times he even gets a bit snappish.  The ending felt just the tiniest bit rushed but other then that came together nicely.  This wasn't my favorite of the series but it was an enjoyable read and this is a fantastic series.  Rating:  Liked It

2 comments:

  1. Sconed to Death sounds like fun. Plus, I love scones! LOL

    Thanks for sharing.

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  2. Sound good though. I like when you can pick up the next book while everything is fresh in your mind. I will stick to seeing how I like the Sofie Ryan cat books though first.

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