Tracy has once again written a really good mystery. I'm said that this is the last book in the series.

If you’re into yoga and want to get lost in a book, this one’s for you. Entertaining, funny and quick, it’s great to disconnect.

A good book. Well written with great characters and a good plot. The storyline flows and the mystery is enjoyable. I highly recommend.,

This tightly written mystery isn’t a comical cozy with quirky characters. It follows it the infertility journey of the main character, owner of a yoga studio, and her experiences at a center for homeless teens. When the director there is killed, she must unravel the mystery before runaway Rainbow gets convicted of the crime. This is not her first rodeo, as this is a later book in the series. I jumped in with this book and there were a few references to previous cases that I didn’t always get. There is no shortage of suspects and the end is satisfying. I’d read more of this series. I’m curious if they are all this heavy.

I didn't know this was part of a series, so at times I felt like I started watching a movie 15 minutes after it started.
All and all a pleasant and fast paced read, ideal to relax you between darker readings.

I found this to be much more serious than the usual cozy mystery. I prefer to read cozies to get away from the problems of life and not to be reminded of them. That aside it was a decent book just not what I was expecting.

Murder Likes It Hot is Book #6 in the Downward Dog Mystery series by Tracy Weber. Kate Davidson, yoga instructor, is not only trying to conceive a child but also trying to keep her studio out of the red. Some Like It Hot Yoga studio has opened almost next door and is bent on undercutting her business.

Kate is optimistic when she has the opportunity to start a yoga program for homeless youth. That is until a center employee turns up dead and Kate discovers the darker side of the non-profit center. As Kate sorts through the clues to solve the murder, she discovers that family can come in many forms. An engaging and compelling read.

Definitely not a text book cozy. This is more of a stiff backed, proper posture cozy touching on serious topics from infertility to teen runaways. All other aspects with the exception of light heartedness are easily apparent and I do like that it "stretched" me out of my usual routine by addressing more nonfictional issues. Kate is very real as a character and easy to relate to with her desire to be a mom and a successful businesswoman as well as a positive influencer in her community.

I have read one of the previous books in this series and remember liking it very much, so was pleased when I was approved for an ARC from NetGalley.

This latest book sees the newly-married Kate and Michael trying for a baby, helping a homeless teen called Rainbow, and figuring out who murdered the director of a homeless teen day centre. Kate gets involved when the gun that Rainbow carries with her is found at the day centre, leading the police to suspect that Rainbow is the killer, as her fingerprints are the only ones on the it. Kate doesn't believe this, so puts her ability to read energy to good use to help with the investigation.

I more or less skipped over the parts about infertility (doesn't interest me), and enjoyed the rest of the story. It was well done and the author writes really great characters. I'm vaguely familiar with Seattle, although haven't visited for years, and it was nice to revisit the PNW - even vicariously. I didn't figure out the murderer until Kate did, so the clues and red herrings worked well. The story was tied up nicely at the end, without feeling 'cheesy' (my opinion).

I can't remember which book I read prior to this, probably the first, but it's a series that's well written and it has obviously progressed since I began it. Definitely one worth revisiting and continuing with, and recommended for anyone who enjoys good mysteries, regardless of the 'theme' of a cosy.

I really love Kate as an MC and find her to be super relate-able. I enjoyed that this cozy was a bit edgier than most and will be coming back for more!

Murder Likes it Hot: A Downward Dog Mystery
By Tracy Weber
Midnight Ink
January 2019

Review by Cynthia Chow

Yoga instructor Kate Davidson may have finally begun to come to terms with her anger issues and phobia of men with beards, but a new obsession is forcing her into an emotional state of depression that leaves her feeling as though she has a hole in her heart. In the six months since she and Michael have been married, six times have they seen their dreams of Kate’s pregnancy shatter. After learning that without expensive IVF treatments there’s little change of welcoming a baby into their lives, Kate has been isolating herself from her closest friends and family out of the fear she will break. Of course, having a best friend who owns a high-end baby boutique and Michael’s pet store assistant being pregnant herself hasn’t helped the situation. A competing Some Like it Hot Yoga studio opening across from her own Serenity Yoga has Kate desperate to expand her classes, which leads her to teaching at the Teen Path HOME center for homeless youth. While Kate knows that yoga can help practitioners to process emotional trauma, even with gift-card bribes few are willing to attend her sessions. One of the enlisted though is Rainbow, a young teenager who immediately catches Kate’s eye with an artistic talent and affection for Kate’s own emotionally troubled dog Bella. Suffering from an autoimmune disease, separation anxiety, and coincidentally a fear of beards, Bella adores Rainbow and thus the teen gains Kate’s support as well.

When the site’s director is murdered and Rainbow becomes the police department’s most likely suspect, Kate ignores the protests of officials and her friends and chooses to do everything she can to protect the minor. Feeling guilty about his actions that sent a fearful Rainbow running into the streets, Michael uncharacteristically supports Kate’s efforts in investigating the youth center and the homeless teens who seek it out. While Kate may believe that her chances of becoming a mother are fading away with each monthly disappointment, she and Michael are seeing the results of what becomes of failed parenting.

This novel fascinatingly delves into the darker side of today’s society that attempts to ignore the growing problem of homelessness. There are few good options for teens and adults with no alternatives other than to live on the streets, with well-intentioned laws often restricting efforts. Kate’s relationship with her estranged mother adds layers of complication as both confront the meaning the motherhood, with Kate feeling like a failed woman and her mother regretful that she was absent from Kate’s life. There is still an abundance of humor and sharp dialogue threaded throughout, mostly stemming from the natural and very strong bonds of friendship built between the characters. Rainbow herself proves to be a shining star and is crafted by the author into a realistic, vulnerable, and very strong teenager. What can be appreciated is that while Rainbow may be forced by her situation into acting far too old for her years, she still retains the insecurities and dreams of a “normal” teenager. This continues to be a unique series that explores the complex elements of an ignored community while exploring realistic psychological issues.

Dark edged Cozy mystery that includes a dog and yoga, so much good in this series. I look forward to more!

Murder Likes it Hot is the 6th book in the Downward Dog Mystery series. In this book Kate Davidson should be happy. She loves her yoga studio. She loves her husband, Michael. She adores her pets. Instead she is struggling with infertility, competition for her yoga studio has opened up across the street, and her dog is anxious and her cat won't let anyone pet her.
When Kate's best friend, Rene, suggests she teach yoga classes at an outreach center for homeless teens, Kate thinks she may have found a way to get herself back on track. Instead, Kate becomes embroiled in a murder investigation and a race to prove one of the center's clients innocent.
This is the first Downward Dog Mystery that I have read. I loved it! Kate, Michael, and all the rest of the characters are great. I liked that Kate is realistic about her financial situation. Tracy Weber was incredibly sensitive about the pain Kate experienced battling infertility - I appreciated that Kate was honest about how hard it was on her emotionally and physically.
The mystery was well written and full of twists. I love that I discovered the killer along with Kate.
I am definitely going to read the previous installments of the series!

This is the sixth book in a wonderful multi faceted mystery series. While it can be read as a stand alone or out of order, you would get the most out of the series by starting at the beginning. It's a cozy series with a very big heart about very real people. Murder Likes it Hot is the most complex of all of them. Lots of emotions in this one.
Kate and her husband Michael very much want to conceive a baby but things are not going their way and their thoughts turn to trying infertility treatments. That costs big bucks and life has thrown Kate another curve. Her yoga studio has unwelcome competition from a new studio just opened across the street. How will her business fare with this new twist? Kate has the chance to boost her income when she is asked to teach yoga classes at a local shelter for teenage street kids. It's a place to keep the kids sheltered during the day but not as a place to live. Things are going well until the shelter director is found murdered and a girl named Rainbow becomes the prime suspect. Kate is certain that she is not the killer and decides to step in and try to find the real killer.
I love Kate, Michael, Rene and Kate's awesome German Shepard, Bella. These are people I would love to be able to call my friends. In this book especially, I laughed and I cried with them and I don't want the series to end. Six books is simply not enough for me.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Kate and Michael’s wedded bliss is facing a tough time. They both want a child so much but have been unable to conceive and fertility treatments are so expensive. Add to that, there is a new yoga studio opening up right across the street from Kate’s studio, so she is worried about keeping her clients and her classes full. She has been asked to teach yoga at a local youth center that gives homeless teens a place to spend their days and to get help and education to get them off the streets. She accepts to add some extra cash to their baby fund.

After only 2 classes the director of the center is killed and one of her teenage students is the prime suspect. Kate has only just met the girl and knows just a snippet of the home life she ran away from, but a killer, there is just no way. With a little bit of help from best friend Rene and hubby Michael, Kate sets out to uncover the real killer.

Deep breaths, this story is more than a cozy mystery. It is an emotional story not only for our amateur sleuth but a teenager who goes by the name of Rainbow.

Tracy Weber really took a hold of my heart with this story just like she did the last. (If you have read Pre-Meditated Murder, you absolutely must.) Her recurring characters were already fleshed out and real, yet with each new installment, I grow to love them even more. They face real everyday problems just like you and me or people we all know, and then they add murder to the mix. German shepherd Bella always is a shining star no matter what her people are dealing with too.

This time Weber also introduces readers to some incredible new characters. The homeless teens and the staff at the center and even two unusual pets. These characters, flawed and complex, are very well written and easily draw us in.

Kate throws herself into this mystery not only to solve it but to try to take her mind off her personal situations. The author really twists things up to not only drop the clues necessary but also showing us a side of Kate we are not used to seeing. I was totally captured by this story from the first page to the last.

I was reaching for the tissues at the superb ending. An ending not only for this book but probably the series. I feel these characters have been left in a good place, but my fingers are crossed that it will not be the last we see of them.

I have loved this series from the beginning. The books really need to be read in order to see the journey Kate has taken over the entire series. I highly recommend each and every one.

Murder Likes It Hot
Downward Dog Mystery, Book #6
Tracy Weber
5+ Stars

Synopsis:

Yogini and amateur sleuth Kate Davidson will need more than Warrior Pose to solve a murder and help homeless teens

Newly married yoga instructor Kate Davidson feels stuck in low-energy limbo, despite her high-energy life. She's trying to conceive a child, keep her studio afloat now that the ultra-cheap Some Like It Hot Yoga studio has opened across the street, and start a yoga program at a local resource center for homeless youth.

When a center employee is found dead, Kate sets aside her fertility and financial woes to delve into the world of teenage homelessness. While digging for clues with her German shepherd Bella, Kate discovers that family can be formed by bonds stronger than shared DNA, and she must defend it at all costs.

Praise:

"Gripping ... Those who like their cozies with a dark edge will be rewarded."--Publishers Weekly (Goodreads)


Review:

I have to say, right from the start, that this is one of my favorite series to read. From the first book, I was hooked. The storylines are intriguing, the details are plentiful, without being overwhelming and the characters are top-notch. I know when I read one of these book, I am in for a great read.

The characters are well rounded and well developed. Kate is not perfect, she has her phobias (think beard), she has a temper and she is nosy. But I think those things are what makes Kate seem so real to me. She is also smart, hardworking and spunky. Her personal relationships are not always perfect, either. She fights with her husband (don’t we all) and has disagreements with her best friend, Rene. But in the end, she will be there for them in any way she can. In real life, I would like to be friends with her. And of course, Bella is adorable and I love reading about her antics.

The writing style flows smoothly and it defines the characters very clearly by their actions and words. The author takes a very serious social situation, teenage homelessness, and builds the storyline around it. She does not sugarcoat it, I think she tells it like it is. She places it in the spotlight, which is a good thing.

The mystery was well written and carried on throughout the entire book. The author is very talented in creating suspense with the written word and I found myself swiping pages as fast as I could to see what was going to happen next.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. There is nothing that I would change about this book, it was perfect just the way it was.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Midnight Ink, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

Tracy Weber, like her fictional yoga instructor Kate Davidson, owns a yoga studio in Seattle. Weber and her husband share their lives with a “mischievous German shepherd,” but Bella, Kate’s German shepherd, is a canine crime solver. Murder Likes It Hot is a realistic take into newlywed Kate Davidson’s world because—meaningful work and love notwithstanding—there’s something missing in her life.

The emptiness rolled in quietly, like a thick, cold fog. A hollow ache of longing so insidious that I didn’t notice its arrival until I’d been consumed by it. The yoga teachings give it a name: dukkha. An empty cavity. A hole in the heart.

It’s an empty cavity that only a baby can fill, and sadly, Kate and Michael are “stuck in a painful Groundhog’s Day loop six times in the running.” Their fertility problems are affecting Kate’s relationship with her best friend, Rene. Rene’s fabulously successful baby boutique is next door to Kate’s Serenity Yoga and, making matters worse, Rene is the mother of twin toddlers. Kate avoids visiting with, talking to, and being a part of Rene’s life, but enough is enough.

Five months and an equal number of negative pregnancy tests later, I stood outside the entrance to Infant Gratification, trying to gather enough courage to enter.

The best thing about a best friend is that they don’t hold grudges. Rene listens compassionately to Kate’s woes, but she doesn’t let her wallow. Kate needs money for fertility treatments, and Rene’s computer-guru husband, Sam, has a job opportunity in mind.

“Back to my moneymaking idea for you. Sam has a potential job for you at Teen Path HOME.”

“Teen Path HOME? Isn’t that a center for homeless youth?”

“You’ve heard of it?”

Murder Likes It Hot cements its urban authenticity by weaving social issues seamlessly into the plot. “Seattle-area homelessness and poverty” concern Kate and her friends Rene and Sam. Sam so much so that he goes on the board of directors of Teen Path HOME. “The center’s director, Gabriel Cousins, was Sam’s roommate in college.”

Rene leaned forward, attention now completely focused on me. “Gabriel wants to add some stress management classes, and Sam thinks yoga would be perfect. He sort of volunteered you to teach a trial series.”

When Kate visits for the first time, she agrees with Sam—it is a special place. “The sign above the door read, Teen Path HOME. Creating a path out of Homelessness via Outreach, Mentoring, and Education.” Kate hopes to be a part of their mission. Gabriel is encouraging, albeit realistic. Kate tells him how impressed she is by the drawings on the walls.

“I moved back toward Another Life, as if drawn by magnet. This one with two rooms is amazing.”

Gabriel joined me. “She’s talented, isn’t she?”

“She’s incredible.” I pointed at the girl depicted in the drawing. “Is that the artist?”

“Yes, that’s Rainbow. She includes herself in a lot of her work. I suspect she’s re-creating scenes from her life, but that’s an assumption. She hasn’t said either way.”

Kate likes Gabriel—when she tells him she’s “just a yoga teacher,” he corrects her, saying at the very least her classes will give the teens “a few minutes of peace.” It’s anything but peaceful a few minutes later when Gabriel’s pet rats, Lonnie and Ed, escape. Kate hates rats. Why does Gabriel have them as pets? He tells her they’re a lot like homeless teens. They have a terrible reputation, even though they’re “resourceful survivors.” No wonder they run away from most humans.

“So rats learn how to become invisible, exactly like homeless teens do. They have to, if they want to survive. And they’re amazingly affectionate. Once they trust you, they’re your friends for life.”

Tragically, Gabriel is murdered at the center a few weeks after Kate starts teaching. Kate’s positive that Rainbow, the teen tagged as Gabriel’s murderer is not his killer. Kate is mesmerized by Rainbow’s art and what she can glean of her backstory. She wants to prove her innocence, so Kate and her trusty German shepherd start investigating.

Kate has a touch of Holden Caulfield—she wants to save everyone. In the end, she can only rescue Rainbow and Gabriel’s pair of rats. In Weber’s hands though, that’s enough. We are reminded of Robert Kennedy’s vision of human history: “Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events.” Homelessness and poverty are seemingly intractable problems, but Murder Likes It Hot provides a more hopeful perspective through the lens of an enjoyable mystery. Limber up with some cat-cow stretches and then settle down with a Seattle-quality caffeinated beverage while you check out Tracy Weber’s latest Downward Dog mystery.

Yoga instructor Kate Davidson is feeling down. Her attempts to have a baby with her new husband Michael are not working and every time she sees a newborn, Kate gets further depressed about their failure to get pregnant. In-vitro fertilization may be their only option to conceive a child but Kate and Michael cannot afford the costs of the procedure. Meanwhile, Kate also has challenges to keep her yoga studio afloat with the opening of the ultra-cheap Some Like It Hot Yoga studio across the street.

When the husband of Kate's best friend volunteers Kate to start a yoga program at Teen Path HOME, a local resource center for homeless youth, it is a welcome distraction. But then the center's director is murdered, Kate sets aside her fertility and financial woes to delve into the world of teenage homelessness.

This was a great read and the author nicely incorporated complex real-life issues such as infertility and homeless youth into the plot. The book's ending provides a nice conclusion with new family dynamics at Kate and Michael's home.

I received an eARC via Netgalley and Midnight Ink with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book and provided this review.

Tracy Weber has done it again. Another wonderful mystery!

This time I was certain - absolutely certain - that I had it all figured out by the end of chapter 17. Boy was I ever wrong. Surprises right up to the very end, and yet, it all made sense and the clues had been there although very subtle.

The perfect mystery!

This time Kate takes her yoga classes to a youth shelter which helps homeless teens. The youth are not allowed to stay overnight, they are allowed to remain nameless, but they have shelter during the day and can get a meal there. Art therapy is offered and the kids have the opportunity to help in places like the kitchen, and counseling is provided if desired. Since many of these kids are runaways, the volunteers walk a fine line between helping and the need to report them to the police so they can be returned to their parents which is often putting them back into a horrible situation.

When the director of the shelter is murdered, all evidence points to one of the teens who frequented the shelter. But Kate is convinced she is innocent and wants to help.

The book deals with the problems faced by homeless people in general and teens in particular. There's a lot of good insight for those who have little association with organizations that provide services for the homeless.

This book had me in tears and I'm not talking about the cute kind but the ones that leave you feeling exhausted and looking like an absolute mess! Yet I loved it, I know shocking!

Kate and Michael are back and they've been trying to have a baby with heartbreaking results. Kate has a lot going on in her life right now (and none of it seems to be going her way.) including dealing with a rival yoga studio run by Michael's assistant Tiffany's boyfriend opening up right across the street! Helping at a teen center for pregnant and victims of sex trafficking. This is where the author jumps right in at. We get to the murder a little later in the book than previously. While I personally prefer to be the favorite relative and not a parent. The emotions author Tracy Weber invokes as she takes you through Kates' struggles with fertility and life in general left me crying more than once. Even as I could not always understand some of her choices, I could feel her pain and joy in a way that left me wondering at the improvement in Ms. Weber's writing. I liked and enjoyed the series before but with this book, it feels as if we've turned a corner. I don't know where we're going next but I can't wait to enjoy the ride!



Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.