Murder at a Writer’s Retreat in “A Story to Kill”

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A Story to KillIn A Story to Kill by Lynn Cahoon, writer and former English professor Cat Latimer learns that the man she divorced three years earlier after walking in on him with one of his female students has suddenly died. Then Cat gets astonished to learn that Michael left the house that they had bought together upon getting married to her. So she moves back to Colorado from California, where she went after leaving Michael, and turns the large Victorian house into a retreat place for fellow writers. Her plan is to offer writers one week each month a chance to get away from the reality of their lives in order to get serious writing done, while her best friend Shauna does the actual running of the home and cooking. The first week of the retreat arrives, and Cat has a full house of two elderly sisters working on romance books, a man working on “fiction,” and a graduate student working on her thesis. But her big coup is to get a famous, best-selling author, Tom Cook, who helps to raise the status of the retreat. Cat learns that Tom once attended the local college, where Cat got her degrees and later taught alongside her ex-husband. He helps to make the writers group lively and successful the first full day, but that night, Cat goes to check on him, only to find him lying dead in a pool of blood.

Cat’s Uncle Pete, chief of police of their college town, comes to investigate, but it takes a while before he and the department get any clues. In the meantime, Cat has to deal with the writers who have paid plenty to spend a week focusing on their writing. What’s more, the house needs significant remodeling to turn ot into a retreat center, and the only handyman in town is Seth, Cat’s high school boyfriend, who clearly still holds a flame for Cat. And will they be able to attract new writers to their retreat after the murder of one of their guests?

At first, I thought this book started out a little slow, but it took only a couple chapters before I became deeply invested in both the mystery and the lives of the characters. The mystery plot came across as well developed, with plenty of creative twists and turns that happened at just the right moment. The book contained several points of curiosity, adding to the depth of the book and its strength.

The characters are very well developed, with each having a distinct personality and standing out clearly from the others. We find ourselves rooting for Cat and for Seth to help her open her heart to love again.

I did find what seems to be an inconsistency because Cat dated Seth in high school and referred to herself and Seth as too young to visit the bar when they were dating. Yet she didn’t begin dating Michael until grad school, very shortly after a fight with Seth. So i can’t figure out the time line for their time together.

C.S.E. Cooney narrates the audiobook. I enjoyed listening to the book, but I can’t say that the performance stood out as very notable to me.

In all, however, I had a good time listening to to A Story to Kill. I found the plot appealing, with a unique combination of details that really excite and keep up guessing. It makes us invested in the characters and does a fabulous job. I give the book five stars.

To purchase this book for yourself, click here on Amazon.

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