COACHED TO DEATH is the first book in the Cat Cooper cozy mystery series by Victoria Laurie. This new series combines two supporting characters from two other series. Cat Cooper is the sister of the female protagonist from the Psychic Eye Mysteries series, and Gilley Gillespie is the former colleague of the female protagonist in the Ghost Hunter Mysteries series. I’m a fan of both of those series, but I think Gilley has a better chemistry with Cat than he did with the main characters in the Ghost Hunter Mysteries. The better dynamic may have something to do with the fact that Gilley doesn’t have any extrasensory perceptive abilities - unlike the people he worked with before - whereas he and Cat are more on the same level. This series starts out being every bit entertaining as Victoria Laurie’s other series, but it seems to have more elements of a classic cozy mystery series.

Catherine “Cat” Cooper is a successful businesswoman, mother, divorcee, and a woman embarking on a new business venture as a life coach. The irony of Cat being a life coach when her life takes a turn toward the chaotic will not be lost on readers. However, as her life gets a lot more complicated, Cat still tries to help people and not whine and forever wallow in self-pity when she’s fingered as a suspect in a murder investigation. Heather Holland is the incredibly shallow, mean-spirited, and vindictive murder victim. Finding the true murderer proves challenging because of how many people Heather touched with her toxicity. Gilley and Cat make a good team and complement each other well. Cat delves into this investigation initially because she appears to be the only suspect, and so her sleuthing makes sense. I like Cat as an amateur sleuth because I like her as a person, but also because she seems very self-aware about her capabilities. Detective Steve Shepherd grew on me as this story progressed, and the author did a great job of giving his character depth and presenting him as a future sleuthing pal for this team.

COACHED TO DEATH is the first in what promises to be a classic and captivating cozy mystery series with great characters. This book does present several intriguing puzzles for the characters and the readers to unravel, but I also laughed a lot while reading COACHED TO DEATH. I always like a hint of romance in a mystery novel, and Victoria Laurie provides two possible romantic prospects for Cat. I look forward to the next Cat Cooper mystery.