Book Review: Death Takes a Ride by Lorena McCourtney

It’s official. This case is above her pay grade—

and Cate’s in over her head.

Cate Kincaid is back in the third book in Lorena McCourtney’s series The Cate Kinkaid Files. It’s been a while since I’ve read what I consider a cozy mystery. Though I can’t compare Death Takes a Ride to the first two books, reading this one was like jumping into the front seat of classic car—nostalgic and pleasurable.

It started innocently enough. Cate stops by an auto restoration business to do a favor for her aunt. The next thing she knows, one man is dead, one barely hanging on, and she’s driving into the type of case that makes her boyfriend, Mitch Berenski, cringe.

On the personal front, she referees between a large motorcycle-riding canine named Clancy and her heiress cat Octavia. She worries over her relationship with Mitch, or if there will even be a future with him should he accept the buy-out offer he and his partner have received for their business. Ah…the angst of young love (more nostalgia). 

I really liked the main character. Miss Marple or Kinsey Millhone she is NOT. She fell into the private investigation business and is working her way up from assistant private investigator to taking over her uncle’s business. All she needs is her license and, maybe, a gun. 

For me, the fun in this novel came through Cate’s newby ability. Like all of us starting out, we begin at the bottom and gain on-the-job experience. She’s no hardened PI and, most of the time, investigates by the seat of her pants. She’s unsure, but determined. 

While the solution wasn’t a real stunner, there were parts of the story that surprised me—kept me guessing. Overall, Death Takes a Ride is a great book for a relaxing vacation.

Disclosure of Material Connection: This book came to me free from the publisher, Revell, with the hope that I would mention it on this blog. There was no requirement for me to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed above are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.