Kat finally gets some answers about what happened to her ex-husband in this one. Great as usual!

 

It’s time for Kat to have another writer’s retreat but she is distracted and so is Shauna. Shauna has been spending more time with Kevin making Kat worried that she might decide not to work at the retreat anymore. Kat has also been going through a lot of Mathews old papers trying to figure out what was going on with the man she use to be married too. Even though she was divorced from him she still carried about him and he was the reason she has the nice big house she used for her retreats.

 

One moment Shauna was happy her and Kevin might get married then the next she was mad because he told her not to wear the ring. Then Kevin turns up dead and Seth remembers seeing Shauna with a box of rat poison, though they don’t really believe she would murder Kevin. Shauna knows she would make a good suspect. It seems though that she might not be the only one who has reasons for wanting him dead. His partner Paul seems to be a bit greedy and is one of the reasons he didn’t want Shauna wearing the ring because Paul didn’t want him giving her anything and knew things would be different if he got married. Kevin also has a couple of exes his first was a high school sweetheart and they have one child but he doesn’t really have a lot to do with him and the other is Paul’s sister Jade who has two kids by him.

 

Not only does Kat have to deal with this but she is also finding out more about her ex-husband and finding he has a few secrets that she didn’t have a clue about and finally finds out who killed her ex.

 

She gets a few warnings about leaving things alone and her Uncle and Seth doesn’t want her sleuthing but she does it anyway and gets in a bit of trouble along the way. 

 

I really like Kat and the gang in these novels and it has a really good mystery. I was leaning in the right direction when it came to who the killer was but I wasn’t exactly sure so it was fun to find out.

 

Can’t wait for a new one!!

I liked the writers retreat aspect and the talks about reading and writing books. Having the retreat set in an old house that is being renovated during the retreats is fun aspect.

The writers that visit make this a series that has lots of potential for keeping up the concept of this series fun and unpredictable. Since new guests mean new plots that may actually be plausible, rather than just a plot point that gets thinner and thinner in terms of it being believable.

I did like the complexity and secrets that are revealed in Cat's life, have the potential to keep these plot points going through the next books in the series. Having the murder take place during the first night of the first retreat was a great way to get this mystery going.

Sets up the series of Cat opening a bed and breakfast and hosting a writer's conference monthly.  At her first one, one of the guests is killed.  Now, to save her business, she needs to find out why and whodunit. 

 

I enjoyed the story.  I also liked how some of the characters' backstory was slowly given.  I did not figure it out until the end nor the why.  It was interesting.  I was also intrigued to discover that there may be an overarching story lines between books.  I want to see how that plays out.  Can't wait to read the next book, which I have.

DNF at 38%

I feel bad to DNF it. It is a well-written cozy mystery, very culinary (that I normally enjoy), and it is a nice holiday read. My problem with [b:Of Murder and Men|34488841|Of Murder and Men (Cat Latimer Mystery, #3)|Lynn Cahoon|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1489242228s/34488841.jpg|55609813] - it is already the book#3 in the series. I honestly didn't know this fact, when I requested an ARC.

Even if the author tried to do her best to get an occasional reader to know what happened (more or less) in the previous books, I couldn't get rid of a feeling that I missed something. I lacked the background story, and even the worst - the emotional connection to the characters, the understanding of the whole picture and their role in it.

I would strongly recommend to read the previous books of the series before you pick up the book #3. It is not a stand alone IMO.

***Copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review***

Sometimes a reader just knows after the first chapter that a book is not going to do it for them. That was me on Monday afternoon and this book. I have read a sample of the first book in the series and wasn't interested in reading anymore, but this book was free at RT so I picked it up anyway. I really enjoy the author's other cozy mystery series, but this series is a pass.