“Slay in Character” by Lynn Cahoon is an absolute gem of a book, deserving of a resounding 5-star rating. Cahoon’s Storytelling prowess shines through in this captivating mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. The characters are so well crafted and multifaceted, making it easy to form a genuine connection with them. The author’s attention to detail and ability to create a vivid setting immerses you in the story, making you feel like you're right there alongside the protagonist, solving the case. Cahoon’s Writing style is fluid and engaging, seamlessly blending suspense, humor, and a touch of romance. With its clever plot twist and intricate web of clues, “Slay in Character” is an absolute delight for any mystery enthusiast. I can't recommend it highly enough!

Cat Latimer runs writer retreats. She gets a group of writers in that know each other and are friends.Jessie is a local girl from the college in the area. It seems as if Jessie is being targeted by a killer. Cat decides to try to find out who is responsible for trying to hurt Jessie and kill her friend. At the same time she has to try to wrangle the group of writers and keep them out of trouble when they decide to try to figure out the killer.

Even though I didn't start the series with the first book, there is enough background that I didn't have to have read the previous books. It was a little predictable in places but the ending did have a twist that I didn't see coming.

I received this book free for an honest review

The blurb made me think we'd be having a rip roaring, mystery set in the old West town. While a few things do happen there, the most important action off page, the story primarily takes place in the usual settings in and around Cats home and town. So, that was a bit disappointing.

The mystery was more complex, not only do we have a murder, but there is a lot of other bad things happening, primarily towards one of Cat's retreaters. I sure knew who the ultimate bad person was right from the start. It didn't say much for the law enforcement and other officials that a couple of phone calls didn't find out who the baddie was. Another questionable note for me is the "gift" Sean provides for Shauna. Is it even legal?? (The sounds more exciting than it is.)

I received a copy of Slay in Character from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I like this writer's retreat series a lot and Cat is a great character. One I'd want on my side if someone was killed around an Old West town. Plenty of characters to choose a killer from.

Slay in Character is a really fun addition to the Cat Latimer series while also being sweet and sincere.

Another reviewer said that one of the draws of this series is the combination of the delightful ‘regular’ cast of both main and secondary characters & the rotating cast of additional secondary characters that are new in each book – and I completely agree! We get more layers in the lives & back-stories of Cat, her boyfriend Seth, her best friend Shauna, and her Uncle Pete (as well as some of the townspeople who play a role in each retreat) but we also get to meet a new cast of retreaters in each book. The writers who have booked the retreat for the week in Slay in Character are hilariously fun friends who are part of a regularly-meeting writers group, so their bond is really enjoyable to read about, as is the way they ‘adopt’ the Covington College student into their dynamic. Which mostly translates into getting into trouble with her, trying to solve the murder on their own lol. There is a very sweet side theme as well, as Cat’s bestie (and resident chef) Shauna is still dealing with grief from a tragedy in book #3 – and how she begins to heal.

Speaking of the murder, I was 99% sure I knew whodunit (I was right) but I had NO IDEA why. This kept me fully engaged in the story from beginning to end – along with several red herrings that almost made my certainty waver – and the sub-setting of the Old West tourist town added additional elements of possibilities to the mix. (Plus it was another fun aspect to the story too.)

Bottom Line: This fourth installment in the Cat Latimer mysteries is brimming with all the elements that make it such a great series – with a few additional bonuses that are the icing on the cake. It’s easy to read as a stand-alone if you need to, but you’ll want to catch up on the series, especially Of Murder and Men after reading Slay in Character. Every retreat where we get to tag along is sure to contain yummy food, delightful characters, and a masterfully-plotted mystery … and Slay in Character is no exception.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

Cat and the members of her writers retreat have just arrived in Outlaw, Colorado, an “Old West” tourist town complete with inhabitants dressed up as famous figures from history. But this authentic slice of Americana takes a murderous turn when a college student masquerading as a 19th century saloon girl becomes history herself.

Was she the intended target? Or did she take a hit meant for someone else? With a cast of suspects to choose from including some notorious gunslingers and the sleazy town founders Cat must unhorse the real culprit before a real-life ghost story is given a killer twist.

The mystery is well written with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing until the authors big reveal at the end. The main characters are well written, well developed, and relatable. The secondary characters don’t seem to be as well developed since most of them will only appear in this story and not bee heard of again. The author does a nice job of describing the town and the characters so you can picture where they are and what they are doing as the story progresses from the first page to the last page.

I have enjoyed seeing how the main characters have grown and developed since book one, and look forward to see how they change in the next book. I did find that a few of the red herrings didn’t really add anything to the books story line so it seemed like they were unneeded. I’m looking forward to reading the next book to see if Cat and Seth’s relationship will move on to the next step and to see if Shauna will start the healing process after dealing with loss of her boyfriend for the last couple of books.

I received an arc of this book from Netgalley and Kensington Books for my opinion.

I don't like this series quite as much as Cahoon's Tourist Trap series but I have to admit that it's really starting to catch up. I really love Cat and Shauna and especially Uncle Pete. I liked that this one was kind of Writer's Retreat adjacent with neither victim nor suspects actually staying with Cat though they were pulled in of course. The antics of this group really cracked me up and I'm not sure any town is safe with a whole bunch of historical romance authors running around getting into things. I also loved the writing details - especially when Cat referenced the Too Stupid to Live trait that most of us have complained about a time or two.

The mystery was good though I felt like the ending wrapped up a bit too suddenly and could have used a little more explanation. However, I did really enjoy the investigation into what was going on around Jessie. I'm still not so sure how I feel about the town's "connections' but it does work for being able to easily add a possible motive.

The book itself was a fun read that pulled me in right away and was a reading experience I thoroughly enjoyed. The ending was really the only thing that took it down a notch but it DOES answer all the questions but just a bit quicker than I wanted.

Cat Latimer and her best friend Shauna host a writers retreat once a month.
Somehow, during retreat week crime seems to increase in this college town.
Besides a college, with its own secrets, this Colorado town is home to several well connected families (aka The Mob) and near a former ghost town, developed into a tourist attraction.

Shauna is still grieving the death of her fiance and missing the horse he had gifted her.
Cat is still figuring out her relationship with Seth, who helps with the retreat as chauffeur and providing handyman services. Seth finds himself also playing bodyguard, but Cat and her writers make that role extremely difficult. This time he is also working on a secret project and making the ladies very curious.

The guests this month are an established group of friends, historical fiction writers, more romance than mystery. Fortunately for the included graduate student, she is quickly welcomed into the group and taken under their wings. This doesn't mean she is protected from strange happenings that start soon after the retreat begins. After a while Cat begins to wonder if Jessie is a target of some sort.

When Jessie's college roommate goes missing, later to turn up dead at the ghost town while working Jessie's shift, and revealed secrets about the roommate prove she wasn't exactly who she pretended to be, the plot thickens. Each time you think you have found a motive another suspect is tossed into the mix. Each day brings a new adventure and more questions.

Cat and Shauna go from wondering if they should increase the number of retreats to wondering if they should stop them because of the murders. After reading the previous books in this series, I still believe I would love to spend a week at the Aspen Hills Warm Springs Resort Writers Retreat.

You can read each of the books in this series as a stand alone but every retreat group is different, and each deals with different kinds of crimes along with murder.

Slay in Character
(Cat Latimer Mystery #4)
by Lynn Cahoon

Paperback, 320 pages
Published November 27th 2018 by Kensington Publishing Corporation



Goodreads synopsis:
Staying in character can be murder when Cat Latimer and the members of her writers' retreat head for a ghost town . . . 

Cat and the members of her writers' retreat have just arrived in Outlaw, Colorado, an "Old West" tourist town complete with inhabitants dressed up as famous figures from history. But this authentic slice of Americana takes a murderous turn when a college student masquerading as a 19th-century saloon girl becomes history herself.

Was she the intended target? Or did she take a hit meant for someone else? With a cast of suspects to choose from--including some notorious gunslingers and the sleazy town founders--Cat must unhorse the real culprit before a real-life ghost story is given a killer twist . . . 

***

4.5 Stars

I did what I always seem to do with new series to me… I started with book four instead of book one. Like I said in my previous review, I am not sure why I put this book off so long, This series sticks to your bones.

The whole “writer’s retreat" aspect sounds very cool and makes me want to join in and write my own little ditty along with all the other cast. Every month when they have a new scheduled meeting they should tag line it: Every retreat begins with murder. It’s like choose your own adventure for authors.

I found it fascinating that someone could buy a dead town and transform it into a money-maker like the town of Outlaw became in this novel. The entire storyline was very convoluted and in many ways I think a good mystery has to have a lot of complexity in it. I like how so many from the retreat are mixed into the mystery as well. It makes it so fun to read the interactions. Since I hadn’t read the other books, the whole Michael-thing was a tad confusing but now that I am starting from the beginning after finishing this, it makes so much more sense to me now.

It is a great book. The series itself is awesome. Highly recommend. I can’t wait to dig into her Farm to Fork series now. Next on the list for me.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

Title: Slay in Character
Author: Lynn Cahoon
Pg: 320
Series: Cat Latimer Mystery book 4
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Rating: 4 stars
Slay in Character is the fourth book in the Cat Latimer mystery series by Lynn Cahoon. Cat’s writer’s retreats at her bed and breakfast is going great. This mystery takes us to a ghost town not far from the bed and breakfast. And another murder mystery lands in Cat’s lap. While trying to balance the retreat and her own writing needs.
This one was a fairy quick read and I did enjoy it. I am looking forward to the next book in this series. Like the previous books in this series it reads fast. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars, I liked it.

Book 4 in the series.

It's good to be back at a writer's retreat with Cat and her friends, but this wasn't my favorite of the series.

The setting for the murder is an old West town, set up as a tourist attraction. And this time, it's not just Cat involved in the mystery, but her guests that seem to get a kick out of putting themselves in danger. I think that's why I didn't like this one as much. It's bad enough when the main character has too stupid to live moments, but then you throw in a gaggle of women who seem to think the whole thing is a game, and I just kind of got annoyed.

My favorite part of the whole book was the end, when Seth's surprise project was finally revealed. That bumped it from two stars to three for me right there.

As always though, I am looking forward to more book retreats!

You can find this review and all of my others over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com

Cat runs a writer's retreat, her previous retreats have all ended up involved in some form of murder mystery, and this time is no exception. Amongst the writer's who are already acquainted with each other, is Jessi Ball, a student from Covington. While up at the local 'ghost' and immersive western town, Outlaw, the retreat get into the normal thing of period photographs and watching the high noon shootout, they also run into Jessi's best friend, Dannielle. Things are thrown completely upside down when Dannielle is found murdered above the saloon in Outlaw, Jessi doesn't know what to do, especially when she finds out that her 'best friend' may not have been much of a friend at all. As more secrets come to life, Cat is worried that Jessi may be in danger, and so does Dante - part of the mob - he beseeches Cat to look after Jessi until he can get back into town at the end of the retreat week to take over looking after her. Who murdered Dannielle? And did it have anything to do with Jessi?

So this is the first Cat Latimer mystery that I've read by Cahoon. As I've said a million times before, in a million other reviews, I am a downright sucker for a cosy mystery. And one that is centred around a writing retreat with actual authors? Count. Me. In.

The story was okay, though I had the killer worked out at around halfway through the story, I didn't have confirmation, but I was pretty certain in my assumptions, and I was right. That did take away from the story a bit, as it's never as fun if you're working everything out before the characters, who find themselves in these situations a lot, do. In my eyes it was rather obvious who the culprit was, though throwing in the peeping tom and stuff did give it an air of uncertainty at times, I'll admit.

I liked the characters well enough. I find Seth and Cat's relationship a bit...odd? I'm pretty sure they are a couple...but there's not really much in the way of coupleness happening, that could have been because Cat was run of her feet with the retreat and all, but they just don't come across as remotely a couple at all, this had me scratching my head a bit. Not that it really adds much to the story, just a little thing I noticed. The characters were pretty run of the mill cosy mystery characters, there wasn't really any outstanding character development that I could see, but then I haven't read the previous 3 books in this series, so I could be seriously missing out on MAJOR character development.

I'm not a fan of massive recaps in series books, because I'm a firm believer that you should have read the series in order therefore not needing an extensive recap. However, I do find small, succinct, recaps valuable. They would've been exceptionally valuable in this case because there was a couple of previous events alluded to but never explained. Like, what happened between Shauna and Seth? And what's a bit of backstory on Cat and Dante? We're told that Dante is part of the mob, but that's about it, and that Seth's jealous of his and Cat's friendship and Dante is clearly hoping that something more will come of it. I just wish there was a little bit of recap given to these instances. It may have shown me a bit more about the characters themselves.

I loved the surprise that Seth is working on throughout the book, the reveal had me excited, though I had kind of guess (yeah, again) at what it was going to be, it still made smile when it happened.

Overall this was an okay story, with okay characters. It was interesting enough but it just didn't wow me.

This is book 4 in the Cat Latimer cozy series and it can be read as a stand alone. I read Lynn Cahoon periodically and she always writes a good mystery with interesting characters. Cat runs a writing retreat business where budding authors can come for inspiration and mutual support. It seems someone dies on every retreat. This time it's a young college student with seemingly no enemies. Cat needs to find out if she was the intended victim or was it mistaken identity. Nice little side romance. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Slay in Character by Lynn Cahoon is the fourth book in the Cat Latimer Mystery series. Cat, her friend Shauna, and her boyfriend Seth have their hands full with another group of writers at Cat's monthly writer's retreat. The group of writers are all friends, but they take the guest writer/student Jessi from the local college into their group. When Jessi's roommate is found murdered, the signs point to Jessi being the intended target. As the situation goes from bad to worse, the writers along with Cat and her friends find themselves in a mystery more twisted than anything they could have dreamed up. I love Ms. Cahoon's writing style, and this book did not disappoint. The characters are delightful, and the setting makes me want to become a writer and attend a retreat. While this book could stand alone, I think it is best enjoyed if you have read the previous books.

Slay in Character is the 4th in Lynn Cahoon’s Cat Latimer series. Cat runs a writers retreat, which offers a never-ending supply of new characters and new mysteries. In this installment the retreat participants visit an Old West town and discover a body. But was the victim the intended target? Or was it one of the retreat participants? You won’t want to put this book down until you turn the last page.

The latest book retreat is for romance writers and as in the past, one of the local college writers, Jessie, is invited to take part. While visiting the local ghost town, Jesse's roommate is found murdered. But was she the intended victim or was Jessie the one who should be lying dead?
Cat Latimer feels the need to find out the answers to protect herself and her guests, Would she uncovers may put her in danger as well.

Loved the setting and characters, maybe not so much the mob guys, but definitely the mystery.

Great mystery! While this is part of a series that I have been following, it could be read as a standalone. This was a quick read and I couldn't wait to see what happened next.

Cat and her friends have a new batch of writers in for a writers retreat. The writers are a group of friends who invite Jessi Ball, the Covington College student, to their circle. The whole group visit Outlaw, an old West ghost town turned tourist attraction. The mystery involves the murder of Jessi’s best friend out at the ghost town. Was Jessi really the target and why is her jewelry and money disappearing.
This is the fourth book in the series and there are some things that happen that your will really only understand if your have read the preceding books.
I enjoyed the story, the mystery and the characters. I did figure out who the murderer was long before the big reveal.
This is a good cozy mystery. A character was harmed in the making of the book.

Cat runs a writers retreat and her group of Writers is joined by Jessie a local student.

Jessie's roomate is murdered and she wasn't who she appeared to be. The group and Cat rally round Jessie who needs all the friends she can get. There's also a mob connection which brings Dante (Cats friend ) into the story.

The characters are fun and its an interesting plot.

Its the fourth book in the series, I didnt really understand the connection between Cat and Dante but otherwise it wasn't a problem that I hadn't read the previous books.

Slay in Character

by Lynn Cahoon

There are a few cozy mystery writers that just get it right every time, and Lynn Cahoon is one of them. The Cat Latimer Mystery Series features Cat Latimer, an author and former professor, who has a large Victorian home in Warm Springs, Colorado. There she monthly holds weeklong writers’ retreats. In Slay in Character, the guests are historical romance authors from a writing group in Connecticut, joined by Jessi, a student from the local college. On their visit to a neighboring ghost town, a murder is uncovered and it is just the first of many misadventures that appear to focus on Jessi. The older women take Jessi under their wing and they, along with Cat, her uncle Pete who is the local police chief, her boyfriend Seth, and Shauna, her friend and chef, try to discover who is targeting Jessi.

These women know how to eat! I think I gained ten pounds just reading about all the sweet treats provided at the retreat in addition to lunches and dinners at restaurants. It was interesting to get a behind-the-scenes look at a writers’ retreat. Cat has established a schedule involving speakers, outings, and lots of time for writing, which is, of course, the central part of their efforts. Cat is always looking for new ideas to improve her program and encourage return visits. The notion that main characters who are editors or writers are difficult to make interesting is put to rest in this cozy mystery where there is plenty of action. The plot twists in this book will keep you glued to the pages and wanting more. I did not guess the identity of the murderer, but his motivation ties it all together in the end. Lynn Cahoon has three series going. I can’t wait to read her next book, regardless of which series inspires her imagination.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: 1. #4 in the Cat Latimer Mystery Series, but works well as a standalone.
2. Recipe for Blueberry Coffee Cake included.

Publication: November 27, 2018—Kensington Books

Memorable Lines:

Joseph John smiled, and Cat realized the guy could sell ice water to people in a snowstorm.

The act had been foolhardy and dangerous. something she wouldn’t have even let her fictional character perform because of fear of being labeled Too Stupid to Live.

“Writing is less about inspiration and more about perspiration. You have to work to get the words down, they just don’t magically appear on the page.”