The story line for this book was quite different from the first 5. While it takes place during a retreat week, the smaller than usual group was really under utilized. For once we have two couples which could have provided an interesting twist...no. Some former military friends of Seth's come for a reunion, and while that does play a role in what happens, it should have given Seth some quality page time and development....no. Shirley comes for a visit, do she and Cat team up? Not really. Lots of potential, but fizzles.

Since I'd read the 5 previous books within the last 2 weeks, I was invested enough to finish.

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I always look forward to my visit at the B & B with Cat and friends. The characters are strong group of friends they are likable, and complex. The mystery as usual is well-plotted with plenty of suspects, twists, turns, and surprises To keep you engrossed and guessing.

All thoughts and opinions are my own, and in no way have I been influenced by anyone.

Cat Latimer has her hands full with her latest writing group which consists of couples and a college guy. Seth her boyfriend has his hands full with a reunion with his military group. When they find a dead military guy that Seth knew the question becomes who killed him and why and does it connect with the military tour in Germany?

This book had so much going on you see the stress of Cat writing a new series about a boot camp not sure if anyone will pick it up/ The different type of group this is because they are mostly couples minus the one college student whose afraid to show his story to his professor.

Then there is Seth and his military friends some of them make no bones about the fact Cat broke Seth's heart, which I don't think helps but Cat can't help but wonder who committed murder and why? At times you wonder if this will be the thing that comes between the two of them.

Cat Latimer is getting ready to host
a writer’s retreat at her B&B located
in Aspen Hills Warm Springs Resort
in Colorado.
This retreat tends to be different right
from the beginning. The retreat consists
of two married couples plus a single
college student.
Cat’s boyfriend Seth has his mind on
his army platoon reunion plus setting up
a hike with a field guide he wrote to use
with the retreat group. He doesn’t want
to talk about his time in Germany.
Then on the hike the retreaters lead by
Seth discover the body of a goldminer.
Surprise....this is a former member of his
platoon. This man was supposed to be
dead for over ten years killed overseas
so how can this goldminer be dead again?
Uncle Pete is in charge of the investigation.
This puts a dent in spending time with his
woman friend, Shirley. Shirley is retired
law enforcement from Alaska. She was a
retreat alumnus from a former retreat.
Meantime the cook at the B&B, Shauna
is down about what she thought was to
be a reunion with her brother. Her brother
just wanted her to invest the money she
inherited. What will she do? Shauna also
has a beta reader for the cookbook she
is writing. She is keeping the beta reader
a secret.
I enjoyed the subplots within the main
complex murder mystery plot. This kept
my attention from wandering as the
action was fast paced from the first
word until the ending.
I thought all the characters were well
written, cleverly crafted, well defined
and interesting. I felt the relationship of
the characters between with each other
as tastefully written.
This is book # 6 in the Cat Latimer Mystery
series. It can be read as a stand alone
I volunteered to read A Field Guide to
Homicide. Thanks to Kensington Publishing
via Net Gallery for the opportunity.
My opinion is voluntary and my own.

One ponders if Lynn Cahoon takes time to breathe. She now writes 3 established cozy mystery series. Her Tourist Trap series includes holiday novellas, and recently she started a new cozy paranormal series. Before the new health guidelines, she traveled extensively. Her love of travel was most often seen with a writer's mindset. Many of her locations show up in her novels.
Colorado is the perfect setting for her Cat Latimer series. Frankly, I would love to be Cat, a former professor now owner of a small business offering writer's retreats. Her BFF, Shauna is the optimistic foil to Cat's worries. The setting is wonderful, complete with ever present snacks and kittens. By book 6 Seth her beau has become something more. However, he is so reticent about the military part of his life that Cat can't help herself. Like playing with a sore tooth, she keeps trying to find out more about this part of his life. Her curiosity has led her to becoming something of an amateur sleuth though. Will Seth be willing to share his secrets?

Willing or no, he must. An alpine hike is interrupted by Cat's discovery of a body. This body is someone Seth knows; an army pal presumed dead 10 years earlier. How did a former friend wind up as a gold seeking recluse? Cahoon spins a thoroughly satisfying tale. The retreat participants are interesting, the mystery is challenging and Cat for once is asked to be part of the investigation.
Issues raised in previous books are also discussed in book 6, bringing a further sense of realism to Cat's world.

Recommended for all cozy mystery lovers No extreme violence, so suitable for middle school readers as well as young adults.

A Field Guide to Homicide

by Lynn Cahoon

As a book lover, to hear an author’s thoughts on writing embedded in a cozy mystery is a special experience. Lynn Cahoon provides just such an opportunity through her Cat Latimer Mystery Series, but there is even more sharing of the writing process in the latest installment of the series. Cat Latimer, a former professor, conducts writers’ retreats in her restored Victorian mansion one week per month while she continues her own writing. She appreciates that she has the best of both worlds, authoring her own books while helping other writers develop their unique potential.

In A Field Guide to Homicide, Cat is hosting an unusual group that has two writing couples and a rather awkward college student. She is just beginning to recognize the different dynamics of this group and attempt to mesh them into a working team, when they have to cut an outing short due to a gruesome discovery. Seth is Cat’s boyfriend. He restores old homes and helps out with the retreats. Suddenly he finds himself in the middle of a mystery that seems to revolve around some old army buddies who are gathering for a reunion. Cat’s Uncle Pete plays a role too; as chief of police, he attempts to solve the crime and keep everyone safe. At the same time, he tries to entertain his girlfriend Shirley, a retired Alaskan deputy and aspiring writer, who is in town for the week.

A Field Guide to Homicide is structured so that as you finish one chapter, you absolutely must keep reading into the next. The characters are likable. The relationships are complicated, but not overly so. Although the writing process is a major theme, the all-important mystery takes the lead as it heads in unexpected directions. The setting is a writer’s dream come true with Cat having her special writing space on the third floor with both a view and privacy. Her best friend and business partner, Shauna, cooks for the trio of Cat, Seth, and herself as well as providing breakfast and delicious snacks for the retreat group. This is a bookish mystery you won’t want to miss.

I would like to extend my thanks to Netgalley 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: #6 in the Cat Latimer Mystery Series, but holds up well as a standalone. Cahoon has a talent for jumping right into the plot while bringing readers up to speed on the characters.

Publication: January 28, 2020—Kensington Books

Memorable Lines:

…she settled onto a living room couch and got lost in a futuristic world where good did conquer evil, even if it took three hundred pages.

She was sitting in the living room, in what she liked to call a good book coma or hangover. Where her mind didn’t want to leave the magic of the world she’d just created as she read the story.

Some people never found their true voice because they want to write what they think will sell or worse, what they think they should write. People needed to realize that writing is all about telling the story. And if you don’t like the story you’re writing, write something different.

Cat Latimer's planned writing retreat becomes much more interesting when a dead man is found along the hiking path that the group takes. Even more interesting is that Seth, Cat's boyfriend, recognizes the man as someone he served with in the army and was believed already dead! After several plot twists and turns, the mystery unfolds and Cat learns more about Seth's military background.

Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an ARC; all opinions are my own.

Cat Latimer and her writer’s retreat group go on a hiking trip but a murderer has been lurking off the beaten path.

Cat’s sweetheart, Seth, is going all out on an outing into the local mountains for the benefit of the writing group Cat’s hosting at her Colorado B&B. But when they try to identify some plant and animal life, they find death instead. The body belongs to a man with a gold claim a few miles away. Instead of striking it rich, he’s been struck down.

To his surprise, Seth recognizes the victim from his military days and up to now believed he’d already died during his last tour of duty. Now Cat has to solve this mystery before the killer takes a hike.

The mystery keeps you engaged with all of the twists, turns, red herrings, clues, and suspects right until the surprising conclusion. The characters are all well developed, well written, realistic, and lifelike which makes them believable and likeable. The author does a nice job of describing all of the places in the book so you can picture where the characters are and what they are doing. The fact that the retreats guests are couples instead of single gives the story a nice new dynamic.

I like how Cat and Seth's relationship has it's ups and downs which makes it very realistic, instead of totally fake with everything always being perfectly fine no matter what happens. I did like that we get to learn a little more about Seth's past in the military, and about his previous relationship with Cat. I would have liked to see Cat and Jessica try and patch up their old friendship instead of it falling by the wayside.

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

Cat Latimer is back with a new group of authors attending her writer's retreat. This time around, Seth is planning on leading the group on a couple of hikes in the area. It all seems like a fun week, until they stumble upon a body, a body that Seth recognizes as someone that he thought was dead. The man was a fellow marine, and he had died in an explosion during his last tour of duty, at least that was the story the military was standing by. Of course, Cat, Seth and the rest of the group have very little chance of staying out of the investigation, especially when Cat's uncle, the chief of police, specifically asks for her help.

One of the things I enjoy about all of Lynn Cahoon's books is the way she develops her characters, shows them living their normal life, developing relationships, using their skills and talents and working at their everyday job. This story showcases Shauna and Seth a bit more than in previous books in this series. I did like getting to know more about them. The actual guests in this story didn't play much of a role in this story, they were just part of the setting and the everyday life, which is a bit different. I usually like the quirky characters and seeing them involve themselves in the investigation, sometimes bumbling things. The plot of this story was a good one and I enjoyed trying to unravel the clues. I had figured out who the murderer was, but had no idea why. The showdown was awesome, with Shauna getting to show off. Overall, I enjoyed this story, but it was not the best in the series.

When a reclusive gold miner is killed, there's more mysteries than just whodunnit. Cat Lattimer must divine who the murdered man really is, how he connects to her boyfriend Seth, and whether it will affect her latest writers' retreat. An enjoyable mystery series.

A Field Guide to Homicide by Lynn Cahoon is about Cat’s sweetheart, Seth, who is going all out on an outing into the local mountains—for the benefit of the writing group Cat’s hosting at her Colorado B&B. But when they try to identify some plant and animal life, they find death instead. The body belongs to a man with a gold claim a few miles away. Instead of striking it rich, he’s been struck down.

To his surprise, Seth recognizes the victim from his military days—and up to now believed he’d already died during his last tour of duty.
Another excellent book by Lynn Cahoon. Warm Springs Resort has a reputation for finding a dead body at each of their retreats. Follow Cat along with a lot of other great characters to try to find the killer. An excellent cozy mystery book. .

Cat Latimer's writer's retreat has several couples this time that are involved with blogs and travel guides. While on a hike, Cat notices a foot in the underbrush and our victim is discovered. But who is he? The body is identified as Chance McAllister, a recluse gold miner, but Cat's boyfriend, Seth, says that's not possible because Chance was killed in Germany in the Army years ago.

The evolving mystery and it's resulting revelations keep the reader guessing what really happening until the end.

Good addition to the series.

Another excellent edition to a wonderful series! Full of twists and turns that leaves you wanting more and enjoying each moment until the end when the killer is caught!

Princess Fuzzypants here: It is always fun to go on one of Cat’s retreats along with Sheila and Seth and her uncle. This is no exception even though the group is different from all the other ones. Two sets of couples with a young man from the college bond in an entirely new way to the ones in the past. What is not different is there is a murder but this time it turns out to a friend of Seth’s whom he believed had died ten years ago in Germany. The friend has been hiding out back home for many years much to Seth’s shock.
There are lots of secrets and intrigues that Cat feels compelled to understand. Since there is a reunion of Seth’s army buddies that same week, she wonders if his two best mates from that time might have the answers to some of the questions. She finds out a lot of information that explains much of what happened a decade ago, including what Seth’s intentions were had Cat not married Michael. It is surprise to Cat that there is so much going on of which she is unaware. But what she doesn’t know might harm both her and Seth.
This is a good story with several lines going at one time. It has good suspense, great characters and some lovely romance. I give it five purrs and two paws up.

Title: A Field Guide to Homicide

Author: Lynn Cahoon

Series: Cat Latimer Mystery 6

Chapters: 24

Pages:279

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher: Kensington Books

`A Field guide to Homicide is the sixth book in the Cat Latimer Mystery series by Lynn Cahoon and in this one, Seth has a blast from his past that he wasn't expecting. An old army buddy of his, he thought died when they were stationed in Germany only to find him murder in the Colorado wildness is a shock to Seth. But on that same note Cat has the feeling that Seth is hiding something about his past from her, and everything is a little tense. And of course like always her uncle doesn't want her to get involved in trying to solve the murder. But Cat's an author she's naturally nosy

I did like that in this one the murder had nothing to do with the writer's retreat. But even though it didn't Cat still found herself trying to solve the murder because of the victim's ties to Seth. All in all, I enjoyed this installment in the Cat Latimer mystery series that I didn't even mind the slight cliff hanger at the end of the book. Which means that hopefully there's at least one more book in the series in the future.


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.

This is the sixth in series and another winning cozy mystery by prolific writer Lyn Cahoon. . Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. I enjoy this series for the fascinating settings, the charcters and always the enjoyable sleuth. This is a fantastic series that I highly recommend. Every mystery lover will enjoy this series as the author's weaves a great sleuth with twist and turns to keep every reader guessing.


Thank you to Net Galley and to the publisher for the opportunity. My review opinion is my own. I look forward to the next in series with Cat and friends.

I thought I had read Lyn's books before, turns out I had not. I will in the future.
I enjoyed Field Guide to Homicide.
It can stand alone, but I wish I had read previous books first. Main characters had good chemistry together. Main character and her best friend have a B and B, the also do writing workshops.
Enjoyable cozy mystery.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars, it was okay.

Book 6 in the series.

This one was not my favorite. I had a hard time getting in to it, and I found myself really not liking Seth for much of the book. And really, I am getting tired of Cat's ex being dragged in all the time. I thought we were finished with him.

Throw in all the food descriptions, eating and an over-use of dialog versus action, and the whole book was weak. As Elvis once said, "A little less conversation, a little more action, please."

Hopefully this book was just a fluke and the next one will be back to normal.

I love Cat Latimer! And Shauna and Seth and Uncle Pete and Shirley. I love that these 5 core characters stay the same in each novel. Their friendships are the kind you hang on to for life, and because of these solid relationships we get to explore more layers to each character, including some emotional backstories. This brings the characters more fully to life and keeps us invested in them – and the series.

I also love that we get to meet a whole new cast of supporting characters in each novel, thanks to Cat’s writing retreat B&B. Sometimes they have a lot to do with the case (whether investigating it with Cat or being the ones murdered or murdering lol) and other times they’re mainly there to help advance the plot in other ways. No matter which of these is true in A Field Guide to Homicide (no spoilers lol), if you follow the series you know that they are interesting characters in their own right who will teach you a bit more about the writing process too.

The addition of Seth’s army buddies in this latest book laid the foundation for a complex mystery, as well as giving us a more detailed peek into Seth’s army years and his perspective on the time when he and Cat had broken up & she’d married Michael. This made me even happier that they’ve found each other again and that their old feelings have been rekindled. And yes, I even swooned a couple of times (but don’t worry – if you prefer your cozies without romance, it doesn’t dominate the story, I promise).

Bottom Line: There’s a reason that Lynn Cahoon is one of my top 5 fave cozy mystery authors, and she proves it once again in A Field Guide to Homicide. The mystery, the characters, the setting – all are carefully placed & vividly drawn. But she also takes the storyline, the layers, the emotions deeper and more complex than a typical cozy and it’s this skill that elevates her to be one of the very best in this genre – and it makes A Field Guide to Homicide one of my fave reads of 2020 so far.

(I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book)

A Field Guide to Homicide earns 5/5 Mining Claims...Engaging Entertainment!

Complex and Compelling! Lynn Cahoon and her Farm-to-Fork series has always been a favorite, and now Cat Latimer has joined the list. Lynn’s entertaining writing style with description language and expressive dialogue once again has a delightful set of characters. The mystery was very detailed, complex in its scope, and totally engaging. Cat Latimer is hosting another eclectic group of authors for a Warm Springs Writers’ Retreat, and Seth, Cat’s “old turned new” boyfriend, arranged a hiking trip for the guests. He’s been preoccupied as of late with an upcoming reunion with some army buddies, and although he didn’t share any issues with Cat, she overheard one of his buddies needed to tell him “something.” While on the hiking trip, Cat discovers a man’s leg sticking out of the bushes, and Seth is shocked to find the body belongs to a former army buddy, who had disappeared, presumed dead, after his final military mission. Even more shocking is that the man had been living on one of the nearby mining claims for the last ten years. What happened on that mission? Or is it all a red herring?

Whew! What a ride! The secrets revealed, the investigation developed, and the connections to the Cat’s and Seth’s past are all done with an enjoyable realism, but also with twist, turns, and a “Wow!” ending. The character responses from disbelief and denial to demanding answers and a collaborative manner with law enforcement gave the story credibility; this is something I enjoy with my cozies...realism! There are references to the past, but enough background information to keep me in the loop. The most engaging is the many relationships on display from Cat and Seth relationship history, struggle at times dealing with the gap of years they were apart, her late ex again mentioned, and Seth’s feelings then and now. The ins and outs of managing the B&B, retreat, and guests along with Cat’s writing career are explored. Not every cozy mystery lends itself to bonuses, but food and writing are topics at the B&B. I’d have liked one or two of Shauna’s treats or some tips on writing short stories or travel logs. But, it didn’t effect my enjoyment. I loved the book!