I must always preface my reviews that I am a cozy mystery junkie. The books aren't overly serious or dark but gives the Murder She Wrote vibe that I love so much!

The Trouble with Truth fits what I want in a cozy- a nice location, likeable characters with a tight group of friends, and a murder-mystery. I absolutely loved Colbie, her son and the cat, Truth. I finished this in one sitting and I looooved it 100%~ I am ready for more from this series!

A good book. Well written with great characters and a good plot. The storyline flows and the mystery is enjoyable. I highly recommend.,

There is plenty of trouble to be found in this mystery! I love that the title was a good solid theme for what surrounded the mystery. The mystery was great though. I am not saying that this book is bad at all. I loved the characters and the unique personalities that went inti how the mystery was solved.

Well, the series title - Gourmet Cat Mystery - had me intrigued from the start, so I couldn’t resist giving this book a go. It turns out that the Gourmet Cat aspect relates to a Gourmet cat food company run by single Mum, Colbie Summers. She and her adolescent son, Elliott, have returned to her hometown, Sunnyside, initially to help look after her father but she found she could move her business there, too, so she did. One of the people working for her is Mira Bellamy, who grew up in a variety of foster homes but is now eighteen and has written a play about her childhood experiences that received an award and is being produced - to the chagrin and annoyance of at least one of the foster families she lived with. When the father of that family is found murdered, Mira is the key suspect. However, Colbie believes Mira is innocent and sets out to clear her name, uncovering secrets, danger and other crimes in the process.

I found this a delightful easy read with plenty of suspects in this cosy mystery. There are plenty of other things going off in the life of Colbie - including a surprise visit from Elliott’s father! Trouble, Colbie’s cat, is another key character, one who had me smiling at some of his antics! The mystery is well written and engaging, dramatic yet also humorous with a plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing in an entertaining read. I hadn’t read anything by this author before but I’ll be looking out for more by her in future.

I requested and was given a copy of this book, via NetGalley. This is my honest review of the book after choosing to read it.

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.**

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Color Summers and her son, Elliott, have returned to San Diego and are living with Colbie's once estranged father. Things are developing nicely. Her gourmet cat food company is negotiating to get inside of a grocery chain, instead of just selling at local farmers markets. Othings get more complicated when her employee is under suspicion of murder. All in all this is light pleasant cozy with engaging characters and mystery. I will definitely read more of this series.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the ability to review this fantastic 2nd in series. My opinions are my own. I am a fan of the authors writing and was thrilled to receive this 2nd in series. I am a avid cozy mystery fan and looked forward to another fun book by this author with a great sleuth. This book was as enjoyable and fun as the first in series.
I really loved this second book in the series so much I read it cover to cover. Just like the first one, it was well-written, the sleuth was well crafted and the story told at a fast pace while very well plotted.

Colbie's cat food was accepted into a chain of stores now so she hired an 18-year-old girl named Mira. The production has taken off and Cobie needs more help as demand grows. Mira had written a play about the abuse she suffered in foster care system . Then one of the people she names as a abuser who was one of her foster dads is murdered. Mia is suspect number one and Colbie is determined to clear the young girl so she can move on with her new life. The young girl is working 3 jobs and trying to improve her life. so Colbie takes her under her wing. When another body turned up and some concerning vandalism was done against Colbie, she knows she is on the right tract and does not back down until she finds the suspect This was a fascinating sleuth that I could not guess. It kept me not only guessing but nervous for Colbie as the danger grew. That is the mark of excellent sleuth !

Quincy Powell her good friend has become a major investor in Meowio cat food and rents out a large commercial kitchen to Colbie. Their friendship; is genuine and she depends on him for advice to grow her business. I can see their friendship growing into something further for the future books. For now he is her sounding board and investor adviser. She has a romantic interest that is growing but she is focused on her business growing, her home life and understanding the depth of her business as it takes off. It will be interesting to see where this business takes her in the next book.

A very fun read with a great sleuth and the fun aspect of a funny cat, a rabbit and great supporting charcters. I enjoy this series and look forward to the next in series. Very well done to the author. I cannot wait for the next books. Thank you with gratitude for the ARC.

The Trouble with Truth by Kathy Krevat is A Gourmet Cat Mystery. Colbie Summers lives in Sunnyside, California with her twelve year old son, Elliott along with her father, Hank and Trouble, the cat. Colbie is getting ready for her cat food line, Meowia Batali Gourmet Cat Food to launch at Twomey’s Health Food stores. Her part-time employee, Mira recently won a contest for the play she wrote based on her life in foster care. It is being produced by the Playwrights Project at The Old Globe Theater in Balboa Park. Mira’s former foster family, The Franklin’s are less than thrilled and threaten Mira. Colbie gets a late night call from Lani Nakano, her best friend and social worker. Mira needs their help. Dennis Franklin is dead, and the police are looking for Mira. Colbie knows Mira did not harm Franklin and sets out to prove the young woman’s innocence.

The Trouble with Truth is written in a conversational writing style that makes for an easy to read book. While this is the second book in A Gourmet Cat Mystery series, it can stand on its own. The author provides Colbie’s background story and a quick summary of what occurred in The Trouble with Murder. I enjoy Colbie’s interactions with Trouble. Colbie talks with her cat as many pet owners do especially when no one else is around. We get to experience Colbie’s everyday activities (cooking, laundry, shopping) as she takes care of her son, spends time with her father, manages her cat food business, and enjoys time with her friends. Colbie questions a variety of people in her quest to clear Mira’s name. She needs to work on her questioning technique since she lacks subtlety. There are a couple of suspects, good clues and a red herring. I thought the killer stood out like muddy pawprints on a white blouse. There was another element to the mystery, though, that may surprise readers. I like Detective Norma Chiron. She is friendly detective who listens to Colbie. At the same time, she does warn her to be careful and not get involved (knowing she will not listen). While getting ready to launch her cat food at Twomey’s and working to solve the murder, Elliott’s father makes an appearance. He has decided to be involved in Elliott’s life and Colbie worries that Richard will try for custody. The story started to resemble a telenovela with the added family drama. I would like to see Colbie have more of a presence. She is lacking in personality and comes across as bland at times. My rating for The Trouble with Truth is 3 out of 5 stars. The Trouble with Truth is a cute cozy cat mystery that will have you chuckling at Trouble’s antics.

Princess Fuzzypants here: This is an enjoyable series with an awesome titular character in Trouble, a sassy red tabby girl like me. I adore her dialogue which just adds so much fun to the story. Colbie’s new gourmet healthy cat food business is starting to take off. If it had not been for Trouble and her iffy tummy, Colbie would have never begun experimenting with recipes which led to the formation of her business. Behind every successful woman is a cat.
Colbie and Trouble have the biggest break on the horizon when one of Colbie’s employees is suspected of murdering her former foster father. This guy is despicable so there is no shortage of folks who might want to do him wrong. But Colbie, feels compelled to help the girl even to the detriment of her “big chance”. I like Colbie. She has turned some challenging times into a good life for herself and her son. She comes precariously close to being dumb in her investigations despite becoming a friend of the police woman in charge of the case. If she was not such a likeable character she might have tipped over the line. But thanks to her many good attributes and of course Trouble, I can forgive her for ignoring obvious danger.
I also like the three family side stories that are interwoven in the story. There is the toxic and disfuntional family of the victim. There is Colbie’s own immediate family and the relationships they have with their neighbours . And finally there is the absentee father who shows up in her son’s life and now wants to connect with the son he ignored. With all the diverse dynamics going on, it is a good thing Trouble is there to keep the humans sorted.
In fact, I would love more Trouble in the stories and many more comments dripping with catitude.
I give it four purrs and two paws up.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Colbie Summer’s gourmet cat food business is really taking off. She is planning for the big day when her products debut at a local organic food chain. She has even hired a new part-time chef. Eighteen-year-old Mira Bellamy grew up in the foster system and was abused. She is trying to make enough money to purchase a car and go to college. Not only is she working for Colbie, she has 3 other jobs too. She has also written a play about her life in foster care and received an award to have it produced.

On the homefront, Colbie’s son Elliot gets a surprise when his father, Richard Winston III, decides he does want to meet his son after all. Both mother and son are nervous about what this can mean.

Then Mira’s foster dad is murdered and because of her play, Mira is the police’s prime suspect. The truth hurts but Colbie knows that Mira is not a killer. While handling everything else, Colbie starts asking questions. Questions that make the real murderer burning mad and Detective Norma Chiron nervous about the target she has put on herself.

In this second installment, Colbie and Elliot have settled into her father’s house and they are all getting along so well. Colbie’s budding romance is growing too. The character that stole my heart was Mira. Life after being aged out of the foster system is hard but Mira has goals and is working so hard to reach them. Her play is amazing and it translated onto the pages and into my mind perfectly. I applaud the author for making this part of this story. Shining a light on the bad and the good, without hitting readers over the head or getting too dark.

The mystery part of the story really was well-written and believable. The victim had a number of people that could have killed him. Colbie’s actions had me engaged and scared for her at times. Twists sent the story in many different directions before the real culprit was revealed.

I really enjoy the way the author has let her characters develop but still has left them room to grow. The story is well balanced with the drama of the mystery and drama of normal family life. Humor was added in all the right places thanks to Trouble the cat and a certain bunny rabbit.

Ms. Krevat has written a very entertaining story. I am looking forward to visiting these characters again.

The Trouble with Truth by Kathy Krevat is the 2nd book in the Gourmet Cat Mystery series, and a great addition. Colbie, her 12 year old son, and their cat, Trouble, return to California to care for her sick father, and have decided to stay. Colbie makes gourmet cat food with the help of her part time worker, Mira, a former foster kid. When a person is found dead, after arguing with Mira, she become a suspect, and Colbie is determined to solve the mystery. The book is full of twists and turns, that kept me reading until the end. I am looking forward to the next book in the series. Well written with developed characters, I recommend this book for cozy book lovers. 


I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Trouble With Truth
Gourmet Cat Mystery, Book #2
Kathy Krevat
5 Stars

Synopsis:

Things are looking up for single mom Colbie Summers. After relocating back to her California hometown with her adolescent son and taste-testing feline, Trouble, she’s ready to take her gourmet cat food company to the next level. Until helping a teenager gets Colbie mixed up in a fresh case of murder…

Trying to balance her hectic family life with her growing business—including a coveted contract with the local organic food store—leaves Colbie scrambling to keep all her balls in the air. But when a Sunnyside resident is found dead in his garage, she takes on a new role: harboring a suspected killer.

The eighteen-year-old murder suspect, a former foster kid and Colbie’s part-time chef, had a powerful motive to snuff out the high-profile businessman. The real question is, who didn’t? Sifting through the victim’s sordid history unearths a cat’s cradle of crimes, including money laundering and abuse. Now, to clear an innocent girl’s name, Colbie must sniff out the truth before a killer who smells trouble goes on the attack again. (Goodreads)


Review:

The characters are well rounded and well developed. I really enjoy the family dynamics of Colbie, her son Elliott and her dad. They love each other and enjoy spending time together and their interactions are believable. I always like when the protagonist is a mom, that makes them more relatable to me. The secondary characters added a lot to the story, especially Tod, her agoraphobic friend.

The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and that kept me engaged throughout the entire book. I felt like I was right there in Sunnyside, watching all of the action unfold. The writing style flows smoothly and the book is an easy read. It allowed me to know the characters through their actions and words.

The mystery was well plotted and carried on well throughout the entire book. There were enough clues to sift through and suspects to consider and it was not easily solved.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. With engaging characters, an enticing setting and an intriguing mystery, this book is a winner.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Kensington Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

The Trouble With Truth is the second in the Gourmet Cat Mystery series by Kathy Krevat. This is the first book I have read and Krevat did a great job getting new readers caught up.
The story has great flow and engaging characters. There is humor, a touch of romance, and plenty of twists and turns and you are kept guessing until the end. It is a easy to read cozy that will have you waiting for the next in the series.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley for an honest review.

I really loved this second book in the series so much I could barely put it down. Just like the first one, it was well-written and plotted. The story moved along at a good pace, not too slow or fast. I always like that everything gets wrapped up at the end and good explanations are always given, especially since Colbie and Det. Norma are friends.

Since Colbie's cat food was accepted into a chain of stores, she had to step up production and had hired an 18-year-old girl named Mira, who had grown out of foster care. Mira had written a play about the abuse she and others had experienced while in foster care. Then the guy who was one of her foster dads turned up murdered, and the police had no choice but to think it was her. Everyone was asking Colbie to look into it since she had helped solve a murder a couple of months ago. When another body turned up and some vandalism was done against Colbie, she figured the killer must be feeling threatened. The showdown was great, and Mira got to be hero of the day.

I was glad to see that Quincy Powell returned to the story. He's officially an investor in Meowio cat food and rents out a nice larger commercial kitchen to Colbie for a good rate. He's the kind of amazing friend that every small business would be very lucky to have. His PR person, Indigo, was an interesting character. She made sure the biz was posted, tweeted and televised to ensure Colbie's success. I'm still on the fence about Richard. I hope he doesn't try to get Colbie back in his life, just Elliott. I like Colbie and Joss together, even their kids approve of the match!

Everything was wrapped up nicely, even with Elliott and his estranged dad who was now interested in being part of his boy's life, but not in an intrusive way since he had a baby of his own on the way. Colbie had started officially dating Joss and Hank was dating his neighbor Annie (which was so cute). The cat food biz was booming too. I can hardly wait for the next book!

Gourmet cat food creator and entrepreneur Colbie Summers has moved back to her home state with her teen son and her Cat, Trouble. She thinks she's ready to up her business game until she helps out a teen and lands herself in the middle of a murder investigation. This is a fun, fast, cozy mystery that will have readers yearning for the next installment.

I very much enjoyed this second in series, which has exceeded my expectations. There is wit and humor, as I anticipated from the cover art, and there are also real-world problems, very well-defined, likable, loyal characters, and a challenging mystery. And, of course, the orange-colored tabby, Trouble! It is Trouble who sends Colbie, her person, on her current career path that is becoming successful.
Colbie and her twelve-year-old son Elliott had moved to her father’s in Sunnyside, California, earlier in the year. The three have begun to bond into a close family of three.
Colbie is now a cat food chef. Trouble was a tiny kitten with digestive problems when they found each other, and she could only safely eat what Colbie made for her. Her friends learned about the high-quality food Colbie makes and began to buy it from her. Her business is growing, including sharing a commercial kitchen, canning, and experimenting with new flavors. Colbie also won a contract to provide a San Diego health food grocer which will now add Meowio Batali Gourmet Cat Food to their shelves. The release day celebration is imminent; she and Trouble will go from store to store giving samples to cat owners.
Mira is one of Colbie’s kitchen staff and one of Trouble’s favorite people. She was in foster care since she was 12, running away from her last placement at 15. Mira now has four part-time jobs and shares a place with three girls; she is saving for a car, then for business school. Mira won a statewide playwriting contest. She wrote a play that shows what being a foster child is like, based on the lives of other fosters she has met or lived with. Her former foster brothers and mother show up at the kitchen, making threats to Mira if the play is staged as written. Her foster father is a very wealthy, prestigious builder, and people assume the play is written about them. Within hours Mira’s foster father is found murdered, and the police are searching her room and looking for her as their suspect. Colbie knows Mira would never kill anyone but does not want to get involved in solving another murder.
The focus of the story is not only the murder, even though it is significant. Loyalty to friends and family are important, even when Mira is accused of murder. Even when Elliott’s father shows up to meet him, and Colbie has to swallow her fears. Even when some of the product needed for Meowio’s launch has been damaged. I had considered the real killer at one time, but couldn’t figure out a motive. Plot twists stir up the winning plays being acted on stage, the launch of Meowio, and the suspect list, and I was surprised at the outcome. No loose ends remained, and I was very pleased. I highly recommend this cozy mystery, and series, especially to cozy mystery lovers who enjoy cats.
From a grateful heart: I received an e-arc of this from the publisher through NetGalley, and this is my honest review.

This was a nice escape. Colbie is in the thick of things again. One of her young employees (a former foster care child) is a prime suspect for her former foster parent's death. These are fun, relaxing mysteries. The characters are quirky but nice, which is important for me. If I don't like the main characters, it's hard for me to like the book. The mystery was entertaining and there were plenty of suspects. I have read other books by this author and would read more.

The Trouble with Truth by Kathy Krevat is the second book in the Gourmet Cat Mystery series. Single mom Colbie and son Elliot have settled into life in Colbie's hometown. Elliot is starting school and Colbie is set to launch her gourmet cat food into stores. When one of her part-time chefs is confronted by her former foster family, Colbie steps in to offer support. After the foster dad is found murdered, the teen chef is at the top of the suspect list. I adore the characters in this book. I particularly like the Polish chicken that visits from a nearby farm. The mystery is strong and has several twists and turns that kept me guessing. This book tackles social issues without being overly serious.

An engaging and entertaining cozy mystery. Light reading with some heavy issues involved. A little action and a smidgen of romance. The cat and rabbit add humor and heart. Enjoyed the San Diego area setting. I look forward to reading the next one in this charming series.