Kathy Krevat

Single mom Colbie Summers has a lot to be grateful for in the run up to Thanksgiving. Relocating back to her California hometown has brought her irascible dad and adolescent son closer. Her gourmet cat food line—vetted by her trusty taste-tester, Trouble—is about to get a big re-order. And she’s made wonderful new friends and colleagues. Too bad one them has just been accused of murder . . .

Sunnyside’s most gifted students have been at the mercy of a shadowy network of college fixers—including an abusive oboe teacher whose recommendation is necessary to get into Julliard and a school secretary who alters grades for cash. When they turn up dead, Colbie has to untangle a cat’s cradle of suspects and motivations—from livid parents and students whose dreams have been crushed to an entire secret Facebook group of spurned lovers.

Suddenly, holiday preparations just got a lot hairier. With the big re-order now on hold and the real killer still at large, Colbie discovers that someone has been grading on a very dangerous curve—and it will take all her newfound sleuthing talent to land safely on her feet.

I just couldn't get into this one. I wanted to read it initially because it reminded me of the college admission scandals that were unearthed recently, but it just wasn't entertaining.

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*… (mer)

Colbie Summers is trying to build her organic cat food business, raise a 12-year old boy and help her ill father. Her life in beautiful Sunnyside, CA is busy and chaotic. She has a chance to increase distribution of her Meowlio Batali products to a health food store chain that owns seven locations in the San Diego area, and she's networking like mad to get as much local exposure as possible. She's even joined the Sunnyside Power Moms, a group for female home business owners in the area. The SPMs are having a trade show in a gated community and Colbie is helping with setup. She fields complaints about booth space, competing products and other catty in-fighting among the SPM members, but the show goes smoothly otherwise. During the show, her father becomes ill at home so Colbie has to leave early. Her friend Twila offers to pack up her products and drop them off at her house after the show ends. Later, Colbie and her father return to the product show site, only to find that Twila has been murdered. Not just killed...she has a Meowlio Batali brand knife sticking out of her chest. Suddenly Colbie's life is a whole lot more complicated.... she's a suspect in a murder investigation!!

The Trouble With Murder is the first book in the new Gourmet Cat Mystery series It's a quick, fun read and gives a great introduction to the characters and their lives in Sunnyside. I like Colbie as a main character. She is trying to improve her life by building her business but still takes time out to help her father recover and to make sure her son gets what he needs to thrive. She also supports her son's love of theater. I also had to smile at the relationship between her and her father. They grouse at each other occasionally, but are always there to support and love each other, even if it's in secret. The mystery moved along at a good pace and had some nice surprises. I pretty much had the murder figured out before the end....but the ending was action-packed and exciting, so I didn't mind that the murderer's identity wasn't a surprise. All in all, a very enjoyable, fun cozy mystery! And the cover is totally cute! :)

I will definitely be reading more of this series! Luckily, I don't have too long to wait! The second book, The Trouble With Truth, will be out in August 2018.

Kathy Krevat also writes the Chocolate Covered Mystery series (published by Berkley) under the name Kathy Aarons. To find out more about the author and her books, check out her website: http://www.kathyaarons.com/

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**



… (mer)

The Gourmet Cat Mystery series continues with book two -- The Trouble With Truth. Colbie Summers continues to work hard to build her organic cat food company. She lives in Sunnyside, CA with her son Elliott and her kitty cat, Trouble. In the first book, she moved home to help her father, Hank, who is ill. In this second mystery, problems arise when one of her employees becomes a suspect in the death of her former foster father, Dennis Franklin. Colbie knows Mira didn't kill the man, despite the abuse she endured at his hands. Suddenly she's not only juggling her sick father and a quickly growing business, but also a murder investigation.

I enjoyed this book. The background theme is interesting....and I like the characters. The mystery was relatively simple, but engaging. It made for an afternoon of relaxed, enjoyable reading. I like Colbie as a main character. She is intelligent and driven to help those around her. She really went to bad for her 18-year old employee, believing in her when very few others did. The mystery progressed at a nice pace with plenty of suspects. The background theme didn't overpower the mystery, but just added some flavor to it.

This is an enjoyable cozy series. I will definitely continue reading!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Kensington via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**… (mer)

Single mom Colbie Summers has a lot to be grateful for in the run up to Thanksgiving. Relocating back to her California hometown has brought her irascible dad and adolescent son closer. Her gourmet cat food line—vetted by her trusty taste-tester, Trouble—is about to get a big re-order. And she’s made wonderful new friends and colleagues. Too bad one them has just been accused of murder . . .

Sunnyside’s most gifted students have been at the mercy of a shadowy network of college fixers—including an abusive oboe teacher whose recommendation is necessary to get into Julliard and a school secretary who alters grades for cash. When they turn up dead, Colbie has to untangle a cat’s cradle of suspects and motivations—from livid parents and students whose dreams have been crushed to an entire secret Facebook group of spurned lovers.

Suddenly, holiday preparations just got a lot hairier. With the big re-order now on hold and the real killer still at large, Colbie discovers that someone has been grading on a very dangerous curve—and it will take all her newfound sleuthing talent to land safely on her feet.

I just couldn't get into this one. I wanted to read it initially because it reminded me of the college admission scandals that were unearthed recently, but it just wasn't entertaining.

*Book received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*… (mer)