A Killer Retreat

by Tracy Weber

Overview

When Kate Davidson gets an offer to teach yoga classes at the Elysian Springs resort, she jumps at the opportunity—even if it means enduring the wedding ceremony of the center's two caretakers. But avoiding the M-word turns out to be the least of Kate's problems when a wedding guest is found floating face-down in the resort's hot tub, shortly after a loud, public fight with Kate.

The police pick Kate as their number-one suspect, so she teams up with her boyfriend Michael, best friend Rene, and German shepherd sidekick Bella to find the real killer. They must solve the crime before the police arrest Kate, or her next gig may last a lifetime—behind bars.

Praise:

"Cozy readers will enjoy the twist-filled plot."—Publishers Weekly

"[Kate's] path to enlightenment is a fresh element in cozy mysteries...An entertaining read."—Library Journal

"Weber's vegan yoga teacher is a bright, curious sleuth with a passion for dogs. A well-crafted whodunit with an intriguing mystery and a zinger of a twist at the end!"—Krista Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Domestic Diva and Paws and Claws Mysteries

"An engaging mystery full of fun and fascinating characters and unexpected twists. An intriguing read that includes yoga lessons and feisty dogs."—Linda O. Johnston, author of The Pet Rescue Mystery Series

"Fans of Tracy Weber's charming Murder Strikes a Pose have eagerly awaited the return of yoga instructor Kate Davidson and her challenging yet lovable German shepherd, Bella. Happily, Weber's second yoga mystery, A Killer Retreat, is as delightful as her first. Readers will love the setting, the complex mystery, and the romance of Kate's second adventure. Especially noteworthy in this popular series is the appealing combination of strength and vulnerability that Kate and Bella share. Enjoy!"—Susan Conant, author of The Dog Lover's Mystery Series

"Whether yoga instructor, Kate Davidson, is wrestling her hundred-pound dog, her new love life or trying to solve a murder, A Killer Retreat is simply a killer read! Witty, fun and unpredictable, this is one cozy mystery worth barking about!"—Shannon Esposito, author of The Pet Psychic Mystery Series

"Fun characters, a gorgeous German Shepherd dog, and a murder with more suspects than you can shake a stick at. A Killer Retreat is a must read for cozy fans!"—Sparkle Abbey, author of The Pampered Pet Mystery Series

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738742090
Publisher:	Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Publication date:	01/08/2015
Series:	A Downward Dog Mystery , #2
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.80(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Tracy Weber is author of the award-winning Downward Dog Mystery series. Her first book in the series, Murder Strikes a Pose, won the Maxwell Award for Fiction and was nominated for the Agatha Award for Best First Novel. A certified yoga therapist, Tracy is the owner of Whole Life Yoga, a Seattle yoga studio, and she loves sharing her passion for yoga and animals in any way possible. Tracy and her husband Marc live in Seattle with their precocious German Shepherd pup Ana. When she's not writing, Tracy spends her time teaching yoga, trying to corral Ana, and sipping Blackthorn cider at her favorite ale house.

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Editorial Reviews

11/24/2014
Weber’s entertaining second Downward Dog mystery (after 2013’s Murder Strikes a Pose) takes Seattle yoga instructor Kate Davidson to Orcas Island in Puget Sound for a working vacation. Teaching yoga classes at the Elysian Springs resort seems like a good idea, until Kate finds the body of Monica, a guest attending the wedding of resort caretakers Emmy and Josh, in the spa. Nearly everybody heartily disliked Monica, including Kate, who becomes the primary murder suspect. A quirky lawyer helps her stay out of jail for the time being, but Kate and her boyfriend, Michael, will have to find the real killer with the help of Kate’s German shepherd, Bella. Meanwhile, Bandit, an intensely annoying Jack Russell terrier, terrorizes Bella and the resort’s guests, while Monica’s distraught husband, a cranky chef, also distracts from the investigation. Cozy readers will enjoy the twist-filled plot. Agent: Margaret Bail, Inklings Literary Agency, LLC. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"Cozy readers will enjoy the twist-filled plot."—Publishers Weekly

"[Kate's] path to enlightenment is a fresh element in cozy mysteries...An entertaining read."—Library Journal

"Weber's vegan yoga teacher is a bright, curious sleuth with a passion for dogs. A well-crafted whodunit with an intriguing mystery and a zinger of a twist at the end!"—Krista Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Domestic Diva and Paws and Claws Mysteries

"An engaging mystery full of fun and fascinating characters and unexpected twists. An intriguing read that includes yoga lessons and feisty dogs."—Linda O. Johnston, author of The Pet Rescue Mystery Series

"Fans of Tracy Weber's charming Murder Strikes a Pose have eagerly awaited the return of yoga instructor Kate Davidson and her challenging yet lovable German shepherd, Bella. Happily, Weber's second yoga mystery, A Killer Retreat, is as delightful as her first. Readers will love the setting, the complex mystery, and the romance of Kate's second adventure. Especially noteworthy in this popular series is the appealing combination of strength and vulnerability that Kate and Bella share. Enjoy!"—Susan Conant, author of The Dog Lover's Mystery Series

"Whether yoga instructor, Kate Davidson, is wrestling her hundred-pound dog, her new love life or trying to solve a murder, A Killer Retreat is simply a killer read! Witty, fun and unpredictable, this is one cozy mystery worth barking about!"—Shannon Esposito, author of The Pet Psychic Mystery Series

"Fun characters, a gorgeous German Shepherd dog, and a murder with more suspects than you can shake a stick at. A Killer Retreat is a must read for cozy fans!"—Sparkle Abbey, author of The Pampered Pet Mystery Series

From the Publisher

11/01/2014
Hired to teach yoga at the Elysian Springs resort on a remote island in the Pacific Northwest, Kate Davidson (Murder Strikes a Pose) arrives with her boyfriend, Michael, and her rescue dog, Bella. Kate believes this will be a great opportunity to drum up some new business for her yoga studio; plus it makes for a romantic getaway with Michael. But getting in the way is the tension-filled wedding of Kate's friend Emmy. The worst is between Emmy's mother and her stepmother, Monica. When Monica is found dead in the hot springs, Kate is the prime suspect. Kate and Monica almost came to blows the previous night over Monica's casual cruelty to everyone in the wedding party. VERDICT For a yogini, Kate can be annoying, but her path to enlightenment is a fresh element in cozy mysteries. Our protagonist's best quality is her absolute devotion to her special-needs dog, and her friends are admirable and supportive. The mystery is not complicated, but, somehow, the whole comes together as an entertaining read.

Library Journal

2014-11-06
A yoga teacher's romantic getaway almost gets her jailed for murder. Kate Davidson reluctantly agrees to a vacation with her boyfriend, Michael, and her German shepherd, Bella, to a health resort on an island in Puget Sound, where she'll teach some yoga classes to pay for their stay. Kate, who has control issues and a hair-trigger temper, is enraged when a walk turns dangerous. Bella, a formerly abused dog who suffers from EPI, a life-threatening disease controlled by special food and drugs, does not play well with others, and when an overdressed woman lets her terrier, Bandit, run loose, the dog is lucky to escape a mauling. Back at the resort, Kate again meets Bandit's owner, Monica, the stepmother of Emmy, who with her fiance, Josh, is refurbishing the resort. Kate and Michael's accommodations are small and Spartan. Despite the beauty of the place, everything goes wrong soon after Kate's best friend, Rene, and her husband, Sam, arrive. Rene's sick, Sam's upset, and Kate's afraid that Michael will pop the question. Dinner at the vegan restaurant is spoiled by Monica's insistence that she must have meat. She fights with both Chef Kyle, who refuses to cook flesh, and Emmy's mother, Helen. Later, at a party, Kate rashly jokes that she'd like to poison Monica. When Monica is found strangled in the spa with her dog's leash, Kate is first on the scene, and the lone island police officer takes her in for questioning. Michael gets her a lawyer, a down-home type who runs a goat rescue on the island but is a former defense attorney. Everyone but the lawyer and Rene begs her not to investigate; after all, she almost got killed in her maiden attempt at sleuthing (Murder Strikes a Pose, 2014). Despite lots of red herrings, yoga lore and ways to treat EPI, Kate's second lacks a strong mystery. And sometimes you just want to shake the temperamental heroine.

Kirkus Reviews