Coaching fire

Laurie's fizzy fifth cozy featuring Hamptons life coach Cat Cooper (after 2022's Coached Red-Handed) sees Cat and her best friend, Gilley Gillespie, investigating the murder of a costume designer. After literally running away from her boyfriend's marriage proposal, Cat seeks the support of Gilley in Texas, where he's staying with his new boyfriend, Stuart Jacobs. A former Broadway costume designer, Stuart has been hired to create elaborate dresses for the Texas Rose Festival's queen and her attendants. Not a full day of work passes before Stuart's assistant designer, Broderick Carmichael, is found dead, and Broderick's twin sister, Imani, is arrested by the overeager local police, who want to close the case before it threatens the economically vital festival. When Cat and Gilley, convinced of Imani's innocence, set out to find the real culprit, their digging turns up additional crimes, including the theft of the festival queen's jewels. The mystery plot sprawls a bit, but series fans who've invested in Cat and Gilley's personal lives will find plenty of juicy developments to savor. This is good fun. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Dec.)

Old friends continue to excel at solving murders. Arriving home from Europe, life coach Cat Cooper and her best friend, Gilley Gillespie, are met at the airport by Cat's boyfriend, East Hampton police detective Steve Shepherd, with a ring and a proposal. Although Cat's in love with Shep, reservations stemming from her nasty divorce send her fleeing to Texas, where Gilley's new boyfriend, designer Stuart Jacobs, is in charge of the Texas Rose Festival costumes. Stuart invites the friends to join him at the home of fabulously wealthy rose grower Nigel Bloomfield, where he'll be staying in the guesthouse during the festival. Though they live in tony East Hampton, they're impressed by the place, and willingly pitch in to help Stuart, whose reputation is on the line. It quickly becomes apparent that the festival has attracted some nasty backbiting from people eager to see Stuart fail. When his assistant designer is murdered and his sister, dressmaker Imani, is arrested for the crime, Cat and Gilley start sleuthing. Although Cat knows Shep would be a big help, she can't bring herself to call him until the warehouse holding the costumes and a safe with a fortune in diamonds is set on fire, leaving Stuart on the hook for a vast sum. Since someone keeps trying to destroy Stuart's work and a murderer is still on the loose, it will take the combined talents of Cat, Gilley, and Shep to solve the interlocking crimes. Charming characters and a primer on festival parades add depth to the thorny mystery. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.