To Coach a Killer: 12/03/21

To Coach a Killer by Victoria Laurie is the second book in the Life Coach mystery series. Cat and Gilley are trying to coach a literally cursed client. Meanwhile, they are also trying to solve the murder of Detective Shepherd's wife.

Of course the moment you start investigating something, someone ends up dead. And if you mention a curse, a cursed thing happens. So this book has a lot of both. All of this is set against an impending storm which adds tension and suspense.

In the long run, To Coach a Killer reads like it's the back half of Coached to Death (2019). There really isn't a motivating factor or event to set the plot in motion. The unsolved murder from the first book is the narrative hook.

The climax of this mystery has the emotional and visceral punch of Condominium by John D. MacDonald (!977). This climatic turn of events is broadcast early and frequently throughout the novel. That said, it still hits hard when it does. Had the climax turned out differently, I would have dropped my rating.

For readers who aren't fans of love triangles, you might want to skip this book. Cat has her way with the two men in her life. Both scenes are well written and entertaining. I'm not normally a love triangle person, but it works here.

The third book is Coached in the Act (2021).

Five stars

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