New series from Victoria Lauria, who writes a fav serie of mine about Abby Cooper, Psychic Detective. At first, when I realized that this new series was about Abby's sister, Cat, I was a tad concerned. But by the end, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Catherine (Cat) Cooper made a fortune selling her marketing firm, divorced, built a new home in the Hamptons and readied herself for a new career as a life coach. Unfortunately, her "mean girl" next door neighbor was killed after publicly humiliating Cat. Cat is arrested and left with the task of clearing her name. The book is populated by characters with depth, intelligence and humor, two of whom appeared in the other series. Can't wait for the next installment of this series!

Coached to Death is a great new series by Victoria Laurie. She is a masterful mystery writer who knows how to have fun with her mystery series.

After reading this book, I realized that I have intertwined Victoria Laurie’s prior series (Psychic Eye and Ghost Hunter) into one gobbled mess leaving me confused as to where Gilley began. This isn’t all bad since the reader needs to be familiar with the characters in those books to understand a few in this one.

Fresh from a divorce and the sale of her business, Cat Cooper has taken up residence in the Hampton’s and planted Gilley in her guesthouse. With a new venture as a life coach what could possibly go wrong with these two involved. Well for starters, Cat’s next-door neighbor is found dead with Cat’s shattered punchbowl next to her head.

The police have no idea what to make of this situation, but with the new friend's Cat is making and a suspected hired killer on the loose, someone is going to end up in jail, with a new boyfriend, a new hobby, or even a new reputation. But either way, when one of the Cooper sisters are involved, you know that there is going to be a high level of humor, bumbling, and shenanigans.

oached to Death is the first in a new series by Victoria Laurie. Cat sold her business, divorced her husband, bought some land in East Hampton and is building a new life. Gilley lives in her guest house and helps her with her new life coach business. And everything else. When Cat’s temper gets the better of her and explodes over a woman who humiliated her, and the woman is dead hours later, Cat is the prime suspect. After a public arrest, she and Gilley decide they need to find the real murder to clear Cat’s name. The story twists and turns so many times and keeps you interested and trying to figure out who did what and how it is related.

I truly enjoyed this book and look forward to going back and reading the author’s prior series while I wait for the next installment in the Life Coach’s Mysteries series.

I am thankful for the electronic copy of this book I received from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I am so glad I was able to read the start to her new series. I love both of Victoria Laurie’s other two series. So I was beyond thrilled that the characters in this book are a mash up from the other two. It was so nice to “catch up” with Gilley. He has a personality that is hard not to love.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book, which I voluntarily chose to review.

I was hesitant of a new series by Victoria Laurie, since her others are so good. I was not disappointed at all ! What a great read! Anxious for more in this series !

I am a huge fan of Victoria Laurie’s book and have read them all. I have to say that this new series, featuring characters from the Psychic Eye series is just as enjoyable. The spirit of the characters carried over into the new series and the writing is really smart! The plot had some very humorous moments as well as a new twist never seen before. These books have heart!

Cat Cooper is making a fresh start in The Hamptons after a messy divorce and selling her successful marketing firm. Her new life coaching business is off to a rough start with a client who is more needy that Cat had anticipated. Luckily her best friend Gilley Gillespie has time to assist since his husband is on an extended business trip. Cat needs Gilley’s help more than ever when Cat’s mean girl neighbor is murdered and Cat becomes the number one suspect. It’s going to take the two of them working together to prove Cat’s innocence and stay one step ahead of a dangerous killer.

This new series is a spin-off from two other series by Victoria Laurie. Cat is the sister of Abby Cooper, the main character from the Psychic Eye series and Gilley worked with M.J. in the Ghost Hunter series. I have read many of the books in both series, but couldn’t remember a lot of details about the character of Cat. She seems less snobby and a little more like her sister Abby than I remember. I like that she is an independent, strong-willed woman, and she makes an enthusiastic amateur sleuth. Gilley is as funny as ever, but he is more likable in this series. He is still dramatic, but not as over-the-top, and is able to put his fears aside to be an equal partner to Cat. His computer expertise comes in handy throughout the book and the two work very well together.

The mystery of who killed Heather is interesting and because of the way she treats both friends and enemies, Cat and Gilley have many suspects to pick from when trying to figure out who really killed Heather. I love how things start and although Cat has caught the attention of the wealthy and mysterious tenant in her office building, I was more intrigued by her friendship with Detective Shepherd. The two start out as antagonists but as they grudgingly begin comparing notes on the case, a friendship with the hint of a possible romance starts to build. Cat is more likable and down-to-earth when she is sharing a meal and discussing the case with the handsome detective, so I am curious what will happen in future books.

This series does not have any supernatural elements to it. Perhaps that is why the author felt she needed to build drama by involving the Russian mob and trained assassins in the murder mystery. I would have preferred a less complicated solution to the murder, but I still enjoyed the book. There are some major questions left unresolved at the end, and I assume these cliffhangers will be addressed in the next book of the series. I hope as the series continues, we get to see more of Cat coaching her clients since that adds to the story and helps us get to know Cat better. Those readers who liked Victoria Laurie’s other books will enjoy this book. The book will also appeal to fans of Laura Levine or of Jenn McKinlay’s Cupcake Bakery series.

~ Christine

The sister of the Psychic Eye cozy series, Cat, pairs up with the sidekick from the Ghost Hunter Mysteries, Gilley, in the first book in the Life Coach Mysteries, Coached to Death.

Heather is what happens when a bully grows up. She becomes even more vindictive and vicious. After all, what had Cat done other than build her new mansion next door? Heather decides to return the favor by humiliating Cat at a party with all of the East Hampton socialites in attendance.

At least, Cat has a dinner date with the suave Maks, who is also her newest tenant. Plus she has her first client’s messed up life to fix. Unfortunately, when Heather is bashed in the head with the punchbowl that Cat brought to the party, handsome Detective Steve suspects Cat. It could be because Cat threatened to leave Heather “a bloody mess” before storming out.

I’ve read every book in the Ghost Hunter series. My favorite part is Gilley, whose humorous take on life is the best part of any book he is in. It was a sad day for me when he mentioned that M.J. and her new husband, Heath, have given up ghost hunting. However, this new series has the same humor and distinct characters. It’s just missing the paranormal subject matter.

Coached to Death is a good first book in this new cozy mystery series. I believe it is the only cozy exploring life coaching. Also, Cat is a strong female lead with a backstory of starting and running a successful marketing firm. Plus she is rich, which always helps.

Still, the star here is Gilley. He is still fluttery and anxious. But he seems more adult and less frantic with no ghosts to worry about. Of course, his over-the-top humor is always welcome. If you like funny cozy mysteries, you should pick up this book. 4 stars!

Thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the first in a new series featuring Catherine Cooper , the older sister of Abby Cooper of the Psychic Eye series and Gilley of the Ghost Hunter series. What an amazing book it is. Full of the usual humour and crime busting antics we have come to love from Victoria Laurie’s books. This is 5 stars all the way. Roll on the next one. Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the privilege of reading this advanced copy. I have been a huge fan of Victoria Laurie from her very first book and this is a cracker of a read.

Coached to Death by Victoria Laurie is the first book in the new cozy The Life Coach Mysteries series. While this is the beginning of a new series the characters involved seem to have ties to the author’s two previous cozy series. Cat Cooper is the sister of the lead in the Psychic Eye Mysteries and Cat’s best friend was in the Ghost Hunter Mysteries. Not having read either series myself I can’t say how big a part these characters had or how much is a spin off into this new series.

Cat Cooper now however is just starting her life over again in the Hampton’s after having gone through a divorce. She had sold her marketing firm which has given her enough to live comfortably while building a new home with a guest house for her friend and starting a new career as a life coach.

The only downside to Cat’s new life had been a catty socialite neighbor, Heather Holland. In doing her best to fit in and get along Cat had accepted an invite to Heather’s party only to be treated as staff. This then causes a huge fight with Heather in front or everyone after which Cat heads home only to have the police show up at her door with the news of Heather’s murder.

Coached to Death was a first book of a new cozy that had me up and down with my feelings the entire time. While there were things in this I enjoyed I couldn’t shrug the feeling that I was missing some backstory so I was not surprised to learn of the spin off characters. There are also little things here that felt perhaps a tad off for a cozy so when it was said and done I decided on 3 1/2 stars for this opener and would be curious enough to try book two.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Coached to Death by Victoria Laurie is the first book in a new mystery series that features two characters from her other two series, the Psychic Eye series and the Ghost Hunters series. I have read many of the author's other series and always enjoy her well crafted fast paced mysteries. I highly recommend this new series for your reading enjoyment. Thank you to Net Galley and to the publisher for the opportunity. My review opinion is my own. My review is cross posted across review platforms.

Ms. Laurie has introduced Catherine Cooper, Abby Cooper's sister from the Psychic Eye series. She is a smart savvy independent woman that is working toward a new life in the in the Hamptons as a life coach to the wealthy and emotionally needy residents of the Hamptons. Her nemesis is trying to drive her out of town when she is suddenly murdered and Catherine is the prime suspect. As she delves into her own investigation,, she finds out that she was not the only enemy of the woman and other clues abound as suspects fall into place.

I loved the multi layered clues of the sleuth. The twist and turns kept me guessing to the end. The setting is sublime and well described by the author. The protagonist is likable and I appreciate that she is independent of family and men. All in all a successful first in series and I look forward to the next in series.

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book.

This is the first in a brand new Life Coach series. The main character Cat Cooper is the sister of Abby Cooper from the author’s other series and her best friend Gillie who is from another series. I have not read either of these other series so I came to know each of these characters as they were presented so I had no backstory on either. Cat is a recent divorcee who has sold off her successful marketing business to become a life coach. She has moved to the Hamptons and is excited to start her new life there. She is invited to a luncheon by her neighbor Heather Holland who does not like Cat and goes out of her way to make her look like a fool (nothing like making you look like the wait staff in black and white while bringing in a punch bowl). Cat and Heather have words and she leaves and decides to tie one on and finds out Heather was killed with the punch bowl she brought. The police of course make her the number one suspect. This is not a lighthearted cozy with russian mob, assassins etc but good mystery is the most important thing. Will need to read some of this author’s other series.

It has been so long since I have read a cozy mystery, I have been in the romance world for about five years, I have forgotten just how much I loved and missed these type of stories. I have read from Victoria Laurie before but it's been quite a while since then and it wasn't my book. I do remember her writing and enjoying it.

And Coached To Death did NOT disappoint me and has shown so much promise, that I can't wait for the next installment.

Cat Cooper is a successful business owner, who has recently relocated to the Hamptons after a divorce from a man I was so glad she got rid of! She has the perfect house and job along with a best friend that everyone wishes they could have. But nothing is ever perfect. Her hateful neighbor is a woman who spoils everything when she ends up dead and Cat becomes the prime suspect. When it becomes certain that the locals aren't looking up any other alleys than Cat's, it is up to this duo to find the true culprit and bring them to justice. You will find yourself wondering just who is Mr. Maks, her love interest and Gilley. But I will keep those questions to myself since I don't want to spoil anything.


I didn't know this was a spin-off of another VL series, as those characters show up in this book. I really loved Cat's personality because is not only smart, but savvy and sassy. And the side characters are just as expressive and flourished as she is. The book pacing is good and steady, nothing lagged to where I'd loss my interest. Fabulous start to a new series!

I can't wait for the next installment! I absolutely recommend!

ARC generously provided by Netgalley, the publisher and author!

I was a fan of Victoria Laurie's previous series and was really missing them when, much to my delight, she started a new series. In this new series the characters are Abby Cooper's sister Cat (Catherine) from the Psychic Eye series and Gilley, from the Ghost Hunter series. Oh, what a wonderful match. Cat and Gilley are best friends and what a team they turn out to be. Cat is starting over after going through a very messy and painful divorce - she sells her very successful business, builds a house in the Hamptons and sets out to become a life coach. When she finds herself set up for humiliation by a hateful neighbor who wants her out of town, she reacts badly. soon the nasty neighbor is found dead, the murder weapon? Cat's punch bowl that she had brought to the event where the dust up occurred. Of course Cat's prints are on the bowl and that puts her on the police list of prime suspect #1 and they are fine stopping right there and to measure Cat for her new orange prison duds.
Now that Cat's freedom and her business, heck her whole life, are on the line, she and Gilley undertake their own investigation. They have no idea what is in store for them - and it's very dangerous. Think Mob and killers for hire, etc. Not exactly your usual cozy elements but it works. One thing to note, though, while the killer of nasty Heather is revealed, there are several threads that will lead us to the next book. The mystery had me reading well past my bedtime and I enjoyed meeting Cat and seeing what's new for Gilley. as this is the start of a new series there has to be a lot of foundation laid. Having read and enjoyed the previous series, I am certain that this series will be just as good.

I’ve been a fan of this author for a very long time, so I was excited to hear she had a spin-off series in the works. Cat and Gilley are two of my favorite side characters, and it’s wonderful to see them again. In this series-starter, Cat has had to start over in a new place since her divorce, but it doesn’t take long to realize she isn’t well-liked because of one resident. Unfortunately, that one resident dies, and Cat is the prime suspect. I really enjoyed this book. The author’s trademark excellent writing, fun style, and interesting characters all make a comeback on this book. The only thing that didn’t strike an excellent chord with me was Cat at times. I’ve never seen her as dippy or easily flustered like she seemed in this book; she always seemed more unflappable to me. However, that didn’t detract much at all from my enjoyment. This was a fun, cozy-ish mystery that I do recommend! I received a complimentary copy which I voluntarily reviewed.

What is needed for a satisfying life? Air, water, food, and shelter come to mind. Upping the ante, Freud said humans need love and work. Cat Cooper is recovering from a nasty divorce, so love isn’t in the picture, but Gilley Gillespie, her best bestie, lives in her guest cottage and keeps her spirits up. There’s also Sebastian, Cat’s futuristic AI butler who pampers her in all the ways that matter. Think of Sebastian like Alexa on steroids, “The house was almost totally dependent on him.” Cat can’t imagine life without him.

But perhaps I was especially partial to him because he always greeted me as “Lady Catherine.” It made me feel queenly.



“I’d like a bath please, Sebastian,” I said.



The sound of running water from the master bedroom drifted to my ears. “What temperature would you like your bath today, ma’am?”



“Your current body temperature is ninety-eight point four. Based on your body temperature, may I recommend a setting of one hundred and four degrees?”



“Perfect,” I said.

If you’re a fan of Victoria Laurie’s mystery series, you’ll recognize Catherine (Cat) Cooper from the Psychic Eye Mystery series (she’s Abby Cooper’s sister), while Gilley teams up with M.J. Holliday in Laurie’s Ghost Hunter Mysteries series.

Cat and Gilley helm the Cat & Gilley Life Coach series. Divorcée Cat sold her phenomenally successful marketing company for an obscene amount of money—just over fifty million (half of which went to her philandering husband)—allowing her to afford a gorgeous East Hampton mansion, right on the water. She decides to become a life coach, an enterprise she runs out of her newly purchased, 200-year-old office building. Success leaves clues. Cat’s passion for life makes it unthinkable that she would sit around and spend her fortune—the entrepreneur in her gets back in gear. She does a creative self-affirmation before her first client, Erma Kirkland, shows up.

And through this process of my trademark Listen, Learn, Lend technique, Erma would gradually evolve, like an awkward duckling, into a confident swan.



I imagined her back on that love seat after a few months, fresher, prettier, more styled, and confident. She’d be Erma Kirkland 2.0, and she’d rave about her new life and tell everyone how working with me had helped her. Her friends would come to me, and I’d fix them, then their friends would line up, and soon I’d have a blog…

You get the idea. Cat brims with self-confidence. Perhaps in a future book in the series, she’ll franchise her “Listen, Learn, Lend” idea.

The only fly in the ointment in Cat’s flourishing Act II is Heather Holland, her nasty neighbor. Gilley can’t understand why Cat plans to attend a luncheon at Heather’s house, “Why are you going, again? That woman hates you.” In the six months that Cat has been in East Hampton, Heather has called the police on her and complained to “the East Hampton Town Board all through the construction process” of Cat’s house. Heather’s torment of her new neighbor is relentless. So why, indeed.

“Oh, I know she hates me,” I said. “And I’m positive that she’s hoping I don’t show up, which is exactly why I have to attend. If I don’t go, she can claim that I’ve snubbed her invite and the opportunity to bury the hatchet.”



“Huh,” Gil said, pondering that. How are you so sure that’s what she’s up to?”



I bounced my eyebrows. “I’m sure because after nearly twenty years of running my own marketing firm in a highly competitive field populated mostly by women, I’m now fluent in bitch.”



Gilley laughed. “I almost feel sorry for Heather.”

Gilley feels a lot sorrier for Heather when she winds up dead. Cat and Heather have a blow-out argument at the luncheon, and Cat storms out, leaving some choice insults and an antique-cut crystal punch bowl behind. The same punch bowl the police say killed Heather. It’s not going to be easy to run a life-coaching operation from behind bars. Cat and Gilley are determined to find the real murderer, with or without the approval of the local cops.

Coached to Death reminded me of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series because of the humor and a subplot of the captivating Cat being pursued by two charming gentlemen. The class distinctions in the Hamptons—stonking new money matched by serious old money—necessitates services and stores to keep rapacious consumers happy, a situation the engenders a certain amount of tension. Cat’s an unusual heroine, confident with a quick temper and sharp tongue—not to mention a thirst for revenge. Her partner, Gilley, has mad skillz when it comes to digging deep online, plus she’s got a deft hand with a drone. Lastly, the life-coach angle offers great scope for future storylines. Coached to Death is a very enjoyable debut, and I look forward to more of Cat and Gilley’s trademark pizzazz.

Coached to Death by Victoria Laurie 5 stars

Victoria Laurie returns to the mystery genre after a short hiatus since "A Ghoul's Guide to Love and Murder" and "A Panicked Premonition". Coached to Death features two familiar character from the other series - Cat Cooper, Abby Cooper's older sister (Psychic Eye) and Gilley, MJ's techie friends and a member of the Ghost Hunters (Ghost Hunters series).

Cat Cooper - in the past, the owner of a highly successful marketing company, is now divorced and finding a new career as a life coach. She is still wealthy, but trying to find her way in a new town - the Hamptons and a new neighborhood. She also has a the next door neighbor from hell - Heather. She is invited to a party,told to dress in black and white and to bring the punch. She finds out (1) she was told the wrong time, (2) only the wait staff are wearing black and white, and (3) nobody else brought food/beverage. This was all done to humiliate Cat; she gets mad and makes an heated threat to Heather. Unfortunately, the police come knocking on the door to question her. That is when she find out Heather is dead and she is a suspect.

The mystery is suspenseful and the snarky comments are non-stop. The detective in charge is attracted to Cat and there is a mystery man who leased space in one of Cat's building that might be a possible "friend". I thoroughly enjoyed this book and want more. I hope there will be a new book next year.

Thank yo Netgalley and Kensington Books for this ARC.

A great start for a new series with quirky characters and a lot of fun.
I enjoyed this engrossing and entertaining novel, it made me laugh and it kept me guessing till the end.
I loved the fleshed out cast of character, the well crafted plot, so full of twists and turns, and the setting.
Can't wait to read the next instalment in this series.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Kensington Books and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.