Cat & Gilley Life Coach #5
No one can claim that Victoria Laurie’s latest addition to her Cat & Gilley Life Coach series is a slow burn. This fifth book, Coaching Fire, starts off with Cat Cooper and Gilley Gillespie in the heat of things, and that sets the pace readers can expect. Cat and Gilley are in the lone star state of Texas for the famous Rose Festival, where Gilley’s new paramour, Stuart Jacobs, is heading the creation of all the royal court garb. But it isn’t all fun and games. A murder occurs on the very night Cat arrives in Texas and it puts pressure on Gilley’s new squeeze. At a time when he needs every last set of hands working on the Rose Queen’s court, he loses one set to police suspicion. Determined to help, Gilley and Cat join forces once again to help stop a killer before they get away with murder, or perhaps even commit another.
Gilley’s isn’t the only relationship in focus, either. Cat and Steve Shepard have plenty of page time too. Cat tries to keep Steve out of this particular investigation for as long as possible due to some fear about the future of their relationship. But when things get a little too hot to handle, Gilley manages to convince her to reach out and ask him for help. He is more than willing to come down and lend a hand, and some insider investigative knowledge, as well as hopefully resolve his and Cat’s issues. Things won’t be easy, however, when even more goes awry. Now the team must investigate murder, arson, sabotage, and a burglary. Poor Stuart does everything he can to keep ahead of things so that he can stay on schedule with his projects, but with so much bad luck surrounding his efforts specifically, it is hard to keep his chin up. Gilley does his best to help his new beau in his time of need, and leaves most of the investigating to Steve and Cat.
Victoria Laurie keeps readers constantly engaged with the investigation, with never a dull chapter as something is always happening. I appreciated that even the scenes that described their actual investigative process, as well as Cat’s internal narrative, were engaging and fast paced. It is easy to empathize with the characters, and difficult to think which one could be behind everything. Outlandishly expensive jewels, gorgeous outfits, and high paying rose royalty give plenty of motives and even more suspects. Much to Cat’s dismay, most of which seem to be in the small circle of Stuart’s employees and employers. Coaching Fire appeals to a wide range of readers. Each character is introduced effectively, and re-occurring characters are given enough background without overloading readers. It will, however, make readers curious about how Cat and Gilley got started, more so when they make references to previous murder mysteries they have solved and survived. I suggest for Coaching Fire for anyone who prefers a cozy mystery with plenty of suspense as well as action to go along with their amateur sleuths. – Carla Schantz