I have read all the other series by this author. While reading this I found myself expecting to be reading a continuation of one of those series. Subconsciously, I think. I was pleased when I realized that this series is different enough to stand on its own and that Cat is a completely different character not a revised personality from one of the other series. Because of this it was fresh and that is why I am giving it higher marks. The author goes to the effort of creating a new personality instead of recycling old ones. Some of the events that happen in the book are questionable but imaginative. I enjoyed the book and will look forward to the next one.

In this first book of the series Cat Cooper has sold off her marketing firm and has decided to become a Life Coach for people who feel all is hopeless. Now that she is divorced Cat feels like she needs to start over and reinvent herself. Her first client could really use her help so she puts all her effort I to helping the young woman and looks forward to seeing what progress she will make. Meanwhile she is invited to her neighbor Heather's house for a luncheon the only problem she soon learns that she has been set up and made to look like a fool in for t of all the guests. Cat immediately leaves and decides to soak her horrible day away along with drinking a few glasses of wine. Cat soon learns that Heather was killed and it looks like the punch bowl that Cat brought to the party is the culprit. With all the changes going on in her life right now she isn't sure if she can deal with being a murder suspect. Cat knows that if she wants to clear her name she herself must investigate and reveal who the killer is. This was a great start to what I hope is a long series, I've read this authors other series and I'm happy that she pulled Cat from one of those and given her, her own series!!!

This book is a fantastic start for this series. I loved Cat and her best friend Gilley. I enjoyed the relationship development between Cat and the Sheriff and appreciated that it felt very natural. I’m not quite sure Cat’s business savvy is going to translate well into a life coaching job though. While her life is pretty together her ideas of coaching the one client she has seemed a little bit to helpful. Then again I’ve never had a life coach. I am interested to see where that career choice takes this series though. I found the mystery to be compelling and the manner of death was interesting enough that I googled to read a bit more about the method. Overall I really enjoyed this cozy mystery and I am going to go hunt down Laurie’s other series, which I’ve heard tie in a bit with this one.

Victoria Laurie can do no wrong in my eyes. If you enjoy her writing then you will definitely enjoy Coached to Death. It follows Cat, the sister of Abby (from Laurie's Psychic Eye series) and GILLEY (from the Ghost Hunter series). Need I say more?

I don’t know how to describe this book. It’s not quite a straight mystery and not quite a cozy mystery. At least not in the way I think of those two genres. For me, a cozy has an amateur sleuth—which this does—and takes place often in a small town where everyone knows everyone. This takes place in the posh Hampton’s in New England. It’s a place of Ferraris, BMWs, mansions, and designer clothes. And our amateur sleuth—Catherine—is ultra-rich. Okay, I can accept that. It’s different. Unique. Interesting.

But… the murder and the bad guys are more in line with a standard thriller—Russian mafia, professional assassins, mysterious people showing up, multiple murders. And the one thing that frustrated me—two heavy threads left dangling. Oh, the initial mystery was solved. We know who murdered the main victim and why, but the rest… we’re left with questions that will (hopefully) be answered in later books.

Catherine (Cat) is a rich divorcee with twin fourteen-year-old sons (away at boarding school). She made her money by running a successful marketing business, sold it, and now works as a personal life coach. She bought land in the Hampton’s and is building a big house there. Meanwhile, she’s living in the guest house with her best friend, Gillie while his husband is traveling. When Cat’s neighbor is murdered, she becomes the prime suspect thanks to a very public threat she made earlier when the woman humiliated Cat. It’s up to Cat and Gillie to prove her innocence, but they have to deal with a surly detective, a mysterious—but delicious—man who flirts with her, and more.

Things I liked: Sebastian! The house electronic “butler” who does everything a computer can do for her. I want Sebastian! I am in love with him. I like the unique setting, the fact that Cat is not your standard amateur sleuth in that she’s uber-rich. She’s different and interesting. And I love Gillie too! He’s so sweet.

What I didn’t like: the two huge threads left dangling (no, I won’t say what they are – that’s cheating). I don’t mind a small thread or two in a cozy—like the continuing relationship between the sleuth and someone (usually a law person)—which we have here—but I was highly frustrated by the two unknowns that will continue (I assume). When I turned the last page, I was actually angry. I tried to page on past to see if it finished, but it didn’t. I had to be satisfied with the ending I got—and I wasn’t. Yes, we solved who killed the main victim. But… yeah, not happy.

Recommendation: This is a darker, heavier “cozy” that is a good story at its base, but be prepared for heavier subjects like Russian mob and professional assassins. If that’s okay with you, also understand that there are two major threads (and a minor one or two) that do not get solved. As long as you’re aware of that, the ending is okay then. Overall, though, it was a good story, which is why it got four sparklers. I did enjoy it right up to the end. If I were true to myself, I would have downgraded it, but… it’s a decent story. I’m just one of those readers who likes things tied up in neat bows and this one left the ribbons dangling.

In this spin-off of the popular Abby Cooper / Psychic Eye series, Abby's sister Cat is rebuilding her life and business after a brutal divorce.-although she is independently wealthy, so that does help her out quite a bit in this story. She teams up with fan favorite Gilley (from the Ghost Hunter series), and they make a fun and funny team as they investigate whodunit-that is, who killed the disagreeable, snooty neighbor. Although some of the plot is not entirely original, reading this first entry in a new series will be like visiting an old friend, especially if you have read some of Laurie's other series. I look forward to reading the next book!

I unfortunately am having a hard time getting into this book. Hopefully someone else will enjoy it more.

Coached to Death by Victoria Laurie is a Winner!

Description
When Catherine Cooper settles in the Hamptons on the heels of a nasty split from her long-time husband, the luxurious coastal community seems like the perfect place to get back on track in style. But as Cat soon discovers, starting fresh on the East End can be deadly. Cat Cooper never imagined selling off her in-demand marketing firm would mean going from the pinnacle of success to a walking hot mess. Gouged from an unexpected divorce, Cat suddenly finds herself struggling through a new career as a business-savvy life coach for the hopelessly adrift in East Hampton and contending with Heather Holland—a spiteful neighbor who will do anything to bully her out of town. But her second act may very well continue behind bars when Heather’s dead body turns up next to a shattered punchbowl … and Cat’s pinned as the murderer. But given Heather’s mean girl reputation, any one of the guests at her invite-only luncheon could have committed the crime before planting Cat’s punchbowl next to the body. Determined not to trade designer duds for an unflattering prison jumpsuit, Cat sides with her best friend Gilley to scour chic boutiques and oceanfront mansions in search of the criminal who framed her. With a stoic detective looking to get her in cuffs, it’s up to Cat to catch the real killer and land on her feet once again . . .

My Review
She has done it again. The moment I picked up the book I did not stop until the very end. If you have read any of her previous books then you will not be disappointed. Coached to Death if filled with humor and very interesting characters. As far as mysteries go, it has it fair share of twists and turns keeping you interested until the very end. This spinoff featuring cat and GIlley is entertaining and the author has nothing to worry about - it is a success.

I was provided this book of charge in exchange for my honest opinion. I definitely give this a 5 Star.

A fun fast paced mystery filled with interesting, unusual characters, a plot with plenty of twists and turns and a great sense of humor. Cat Cooper is invited to a luncheon by her next door neighbor, Heather, and it turns out that she was set up and made to look foolish. When Cat realizes that she threatens Heather, and when Heather is later found murdered, Cat is arrested (while out on a date with the handsome, mysterious Maks). With the help of her great friend Gilly, Cat is determined to find out who is behind making her look guilty. This book was a lot of fun to read, with its great characters, snappy dialog and great Hamptons location. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Cat Cooper is settling into her new life in East Hampton after her divorce. Her new home is complete and her new business has her first client. If only she had a little more luck with the next door neighbor and could make some new friends. When she is invited to the neighbor’s house for lunch she soon discovers she was set up to be humiliated and treated as the help. Expressing her displeasure and storming out, Cat finds herself arrested for the woman’s murder.

Not one to sit by and take things lightly, Cat and her BFF Gilley decide to find the true murderer. But before Cat knows it, she’s face to face with an assassin. With three men that want to keep Cat safe and a female assassin, will she and Gilley be able to solve the case before Cat is silenced once and for all?

While this is the first in a new series, it is based on characters from one of her previous series. It is the first book I have read by the author and I am hooked! Love when you find an author with a complete set of books that you can enjoy and consume, so I’ll be checking out her other books while I wait for the second one in this series to drop.

After going through a terrible divorce, Catherine Cooper is ready to dive into her new business and settle into her freshly build home. Unfortunately, things are not going as smoothly as Cat hoped. Her life coaching business is off to a rough start and one of her new neighbors, Heather, despises her. Cat is determined to dig up some dirt on Heather and air her dirty laundry, but someone beats her to the punch. Literally. Heather is dead and someone beat her over the head with Cat’s punch bowl. Determined to knock her name off the prime suspects list, Cat finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery that is much larger than she could’ve imagined.

I have been a long-time fan of Victoria Laurie’s books, so I was very excited when I heard that she was dropping a spin-off series following Cat and Gilley. I’ve read the "Psychic Eye" mysteries as well as the "Ghost Hunter" mysteries, so I was very excited to see how these two characters were going to come together and create a whole new series. This time around, we primarily follow Cat as she finds herself in the middle of a supernatural free murder mystery.

I thought I’d love a book that primarily follows Cat but quickly discovered that is not the case. I found Cat to be too naive to be believable, especially given how much of a successful businesswoman she’s been in the past. I just found many of her choices and thoughts to be unbelievable and found myself raising an eyebrow very high in response. I found myself a bit embarrassed for her as well during some of her exchanges with her love interest. I know that she’s newly divorced, but it’s hard to believe that she’d say or think some of the things she did. She came off as a very sheltered and naive person who has never dated and never pegged Cat as any of these things.

That said, I did enjoy the story and all the characters that surround Cat. I’m particularly excited to see Gilley again and hope that he has a bigger role in future books. I would like to see more of Cat’s new life as a life coach have a bigger role in the future, but I can’t complain too much about how life coaching took shape in this book. The mystery itself was very strong and compelling so that was a plus.

I loved many of the new characters that are here to stay and I’m excited to see where this series will take us. I hope that Cat will be less naive in the next installment because that was my primary problem with her and the book in this series opener. It’ll also be fun to see Gilley take on a bigger role as well as seeing Cat’s new business become more integrated in the story. It’ll also be great to see the new characters develop as well as see what kind of mystery Cat and Gilley will find themselves investigating next.

Coached to Death is the first book in a new series by Victoria Laurie. Catherine Cooper is Abbie Cooper’s sister. Gilley Gillespie is MJ’s partner from the Ghost Hunters series and is Cats best friend. I absolutely love Gilley just the way he was, flamboyant and over the top. He is way more subdued in this book. Please bring back the old Gilley.I have read all the Ghost Hunters books and loved them. But I only read the first book in the Physic Eye series so I really don’t know anything about Cat. I love her as the lead character in this book. She’s feisty as hell and doesn't-let anyone run over her. There is a kind of love insist but we’ll see where that goes in the future.A change of pace from all the serious stuff. This book was just super fun and a great mystery and I’m looking forward to where this series goes.

I loved this first book in a new series by one of my favorite authors. I was already familiar with the main characters but this book gives a new look at them. Gilly is much more in control of hisself and Cat is more independent. There were some interesting new characters that will be fun to see develop. The mystery had lots of action and twists. I didn't see the reveal coming. There is also a healthy dose of humor. I can't wait to see what hijinks these two get into next.

Review will be published on the release date of the book. The book will get a four star rating.
German review is following below:

Unterhaltsamer Start in eine neue cozy mystery Reihe (3,75 Sterne) - von der Autorin der Abby Cooper Bücher

Ich habe von Victoria Laurie bereits zahlreiche Bücher gelesen, vor allem ihre Abby Cooper Reihe gefällt mir sehr gut. "Coached to Death" markiert den Start in eine neue Reihe, allerdings mit altbekannten Charakteren. So nimmt Abbys Schwester die Hauptrolle in dieser neuen Serie ein und auch ein Charakter aus der anderen Serie der Autorin nimmt einen wichtige Rolle ein. Teils war es ganz schön altbekannte Gesichter zu sehen, teils hätte ich es aber auch spannender gefunden ganz neue Charaktere vorzufinden, denn dadurch wäre es vermieden worden, dass ich beim Lesen mehrmals Vergleiche zwischen diesem Buch und den anderen der Autorin gezogen habe.

Der Fall ist so, wie man es aus cozy mystery kennt. Trotz Mord geht es eher heiter und locker zur Sache und natürlich mischen sich die Hauptcharaktere mehr oder weniger erfolgreich in den Ermittlung ein (es bleibt ihnen ehrlich gesagt nicht viel anderes übrig).

Mir hat dieser Einstieg in die neue Reihe der Autorin Spaß gemacht, wenn es auch an manchen Stellen etwas geholpert hat und es sicherlich noch Potential nach oben gibt. Denn noch hinkt die neue Reihe in meinen Augen der Abby Cooper Reihe etwas hinterher. Aber das kann sich in Zukunft ja noch ändern. Von mir gibt es eine Bewertung von 3,75 Sternen (für die Bewertung aufgerundet auf vier).

Engaging and entertaining cozy mystery. I have not read anything by this author previously as I am not into ghosts or physics. I am glad I did not let that stop me from reading the first of this new series. I am eager to read the next one.

murder-investigation, law-enforcement, amateur-sleuth, verbal-humor, situational-humor, laugh-riot

What a fun read! The mystery is a good one, too. I don't come with baggage on this as I have never read anything by this author.
Wealthy former high powered business woman Cat and her bestie, Gilley, have relocated to The Hamptons to start a new business. The business has Cat meeting a new dishy tenant and an unusual young woman who desperately needs a life coach. The new home has Cat dealing with a totally obnoxious neighbor (you know right away that this toad will be the murder victim), a dishy but weird homicide detective, and being arrested for murder very publicly in a very exclusive restaurant.
Let the sleuthing begin! Great read!
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Kensington Books via NetGalley. Thank you!

These characters are everything. Already being familiar with them, when mention of this series came out, I waited impatiently to get my hands on it, and I was not disappointed. This story was well worth the wait. There is something really amazing about a new series with characters that are old friends. As always, the author weaves. a tale filled with mystery, laughs, and really emotionally hard moments snuck it. I cannot recommend this book enough, and I find myself once again impatiently waiting for more.

This is a spin off series, which I normally shy away from. However, this was quite good and I do not believe it is necessary to read the other series to enjoy it.
This is a good start to a new series and one that I hope continues.
Good characters and a whodunit that kept me guessing and surprised.
I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

I wasn't expecting a lot from this book. I haven't found a lot of spin-off books that were as good as the series from which they spun. Usually the secondary characters should stay secondary. Not only is this one just as good, I might even have to say I like this best of Victoria Laurie's books. I liked the characters, I liked the mystery and I liked the big fancy house. The ending completely took me by surprise. In fact, I was so involved with the story that I read surreptitiously during the sermon at church last Sunday. I will burn in Hell, but I almost think it was worth it.

Coached to Death By Victoria Laurie is a first in a new series featuring Catherine Cooper, sister to Abigail Cooper, in Ms. Lauries other series.
I wasn't sure at first if I would enjoy Cat as a main character, but as I really got into the story, I began to like her a lot. She has a strong presence and a good personality.
This book focuses on the untimely death of Cat's nemesis. When she and her best friend Gilley begin investigating, they find they might have bitten off more than they can chew.