Review: Death Takes a Ride

Death Takes a Ride
By Lorena McCourtney
Cate Kinkaid Files, #3
Revell, 2014


Summary

It's official. This case is above her pay grade--and Cate's in over her head.

Cate Kinkaid arrives at H&B Vintage Auto Restorations to give a friend a ride. But, as usual, trouble finds Cate even there--this time in the form of one dead man, one wounded man, and what appears to be a pretty obvious case of self-defense.

Despite having been merely an unfortunate bystander, Cate finds herself sucked into the case. And the deeper she gets, the more she begins to suspect that the shooting in the H&B office may not have been as cut-and-dried as it appeared.

Bestselling and award-winning author Lorena McCourtney takes you on wild ride in this clever cozy mystery that will keep you guessing.


My thoughts

As an avid fan of cozy mysteries, I love seeing one of this quality in the Christian fiction genre. Death Takes a Ride is well plotted, extremely well written, and contains some of the funniest scenes I have ever read. My reading experience was pure pleasure, thanks to Lorena McCourtney's storytelling ability and humor. While this is book #3 in the Cate Kinkaid Files, it easily stands alone; however, I look forward to reading the previous two stories soon.

This story is set in Eugene, Oregon, home of Belmont Investigations. I dearly love Cate, an assistant PI to her uncle, and Mitch, Cate's boyfriend and computer genius. Their romance is a sweet part of the story. And then there's Octavia, Cate's cat with a talent for detecting, and the most adorable dog named Clancy. Watching Mitch's growing attachment to Clancy just goes to show how quickly a pet can steal your heart. And I've just got to say that the scene describing a late-night motorcycle ride is laugh-out-loud funny and totally unforgettable.

Death Takes a Ride contains plenty of suspects, plot twists, and red herrings. Even when I can figure out the murder's identity, I just enjoy seeing how everything unfolds - but in this story, I was kept guessing. I also enjoyed how the spiritual element is the backbone of the story - Cate and Mitch have a strong faith, trust God to lead, are active in church, and pray.

I greatly enjoyed Death Takes a Ride and recommend it to all who enjoy mysteries with a humorous touch. 5 stars because it was such a fun ride!

Murder Takes a Ride can be purchased online at CBD, DeeperShopping, B&N, and Amazon

Lorena McCourtney

Lorena McCourtney is a long-time resident of Southern Oregon and enjoys using Oregon settings in her books. She wrote numerous short stories for children before moving on to romances and now to mysteries, often with a bit of humor. She won the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Mystery “Book of the Year” and twice won the Daphne Du Maurier Award of Excellence.

Meet Lorena online at lorenamccourtney.com and Facebook.

Thank you to Revell for providing a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.