Colorado bed-and-breakfast owner, Cat Latimer, is settling in to her new life in her old hometown. With a winter writing retreat just starting and repairs still being made, Cat has her hands full. So when the new group of writers quickly get into trouble, Cat's town sheriff uncle shows up. It seems that instead of experiencing the snowy slopes of Colorado, the writers checked out the ski lodge bar instead, while romance novelist, Christina, quickly became entangled with a hunky (and engaged) local ski bum. When he meets his demise, Christina naturally becomes the prime suspect.

Keeping tabs on Christina and the other guests is just the beginning of the challenges Cat and her friends meet as a rare book gets stolen and a mysterious stranger shows up. And if that is not enough, Cat still has unanswered questions about her ex-husband's untimely death. With lots of twists and turns, this mystery is sure to keep you turning the pages.

The Bottom Line: This delightful cozy mystery is perfect prescription for a dreary weekend. This is the second book in a new series by the author of The Tourist Trap Mysteries. True to form, I somehow managed to not read the books in order (I just received Book 1, which I'll be reading soon.) Highly recommended for fans of cozies.

This review also appears at the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog. ( )

I really like the series so far and the characters are the main reason. But I do have a concern about the series I don’t really care for the mob influence on the small town, maybe I’m naive but I don’t believe that that could be a thing in real life, where rival crime syndicates would have a safe ground where their younger members could attend college together. Aside from that issue solid story, interesting guest characters, 3 ½ stars. Looking forward to reading book 3 in the series. ( )

The Cat Latimer Mystery series continues with book #2, Fatality by Firelight. Cat is still renovating the large Victorian house she inherited from her ex-husband into a writers' retreat bed and breakfast. Her first retreat was a success, even though one of the guests was murdered. Hopeful that this next retreat will be less murderous, Cat starts the event with a ski trip to a local resort. The day ends with a dead man in a ski resort hotel room and one of her retreat guests a suspect in his murder. It seems Cat's second writers' retreat also has murder on the agenda. Not only is her Uncle, the local police chief, investigating the murder at the ski resort, but Cat discovers more information about the death of her ex-husband, Michael.

I enjoy the Cat Latimer series because it is a bit more realistic than most cozy series. It touches on sex, murder and other topics with more realism but without becoming graphic. Cat is an excellent main character. She is torn between wanting to start her life over again and not being ready to close the part of her life she shared with her ex-husband, Michael. The Victorian house is comforting and distressing for her at the same time. She has a hard time living in the house she shared with her first husband, but at the same time loves the writers' retreats and the business she is building in it. The mystery portion of the plot was well-paced and more complex than in the first book. Cat also discovers some new information about her ex-husband's death. I'm anxious for book 3 to find out what direction her investigation into Michael's death will go.

Fatality by Firelight is an intriguing mystery with several suspects, interesting subplots and characters. It isn't necessary to read the books in order. A reader could jump in at book 2 and fully understand the story and characters. I definitely recommend this book and series to mystery lovers! It was a fun, quick read!

Lynn Cahoon also writes the Tourist Trap Mystery series. For more information on the author and her books, check out her website at http://www.lynncahoon.com/



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This is the second book in the series, and I might have liked it better if I had started with the first one. There is apparently much in the story that carries over from the first book. Cat runs a bed and breakfast and offered a retreat for writers. A romance writer is taken with a local hot-shot, but she runs from the romance when she finds out he is not the dream guy she pictured. And when murder enters the picture, Cat and her crew, along with her detective uncle, have their hands full. Add in some valuable stolen books and the mob, and the plot really thickens. To say the characters are interesting and story intriguing is putting it mildly. While I did enjoy the tale, reading the series in order is probably what readers new to the series should do. ( )

In this second book in the Cat Latimer series, Cat and her friends Shauna and Seth are gearing up for another successful writer's retreat. After her last session, all Cat wants is a good week with no murder or crazy excitement. Unfortunately that doesn't work out. After spending a day at the local ski resort, one of the retreat guests is caught up in an illicit relationship with the local playboy. When he turns up dead after having a quiet night with Christina, she is the first suspect. Uncle Pete, Cat's uncle who is the police chief, questions her, but believes that she is not the guilty party. There are also story lines regarding a stolen Hemmingway book from the university and a couple of mysterious men wandering around the small town. One is connected to the mafia and seems to have a rather unusual interest in Cat. Could he have something to do with Michael's death?

I love the idea of Cat trying to move past Michael's death by using his study and reading his papers. She and Seth seem to be in a good spot with their relationship as well. Shauna was her usual fun self but seems to be getting more involved with Kevin, the owner of the ski resort who also wants her to come and work as a chef for him. And then there is Uncle Pete, a bit of a curmudgeon who wants to take care of Cat. The guests were definitely a group of diverse and interesting characters. They will have you wondering whether one of them is actually a killer. Or could it be someone from the outside? There are a lot of suspects and I did not figure it out until the reveal at the end. There are still some things unanswered from the first book and I hope we continue to get glimpses into the situation until everything is revealed. Another great book in the Cat Latimer series.

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