A Pose Before Dying (A Cat Yoga Mystery #1) by Alex Erickson #bookreview #mystery

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Title: A Pose Before Dying

Author: Alex Erickson

Publisher: Kensington Cozies

Publication Date: May 21, 2024

Page Count: 269

My rating: 4 stars

About the book:

Fledgling entrepreneur Ashley Branson is thrilled to open her dream business—a cat yoga studio. But helping clients find balance and felines find homes soon becomes one unhealthy exercise in murder . . .

Ashley Branson has a lot to prove with her new cat yoga studio, A Purrfect Pose. It’s a place for humans to find inner wellness—and adopt adorable cats from the local shelter. It’s also a chance for Ash to run her own life, out from under her overbearing mother and a stifling relationship. So far, so successful. Until she discovers one of her new clients, a much-disliked college professor, dead in her studio, locked in child’s pose . . .

To make matters worse, Ash’s hapless always-in-trouble brother, Hunter, instantly becomes the cops’ prime suspect. Determined to clear his name and save her business, Ash does a deep lunge into the surprising—and strange—connections the victim had with her other clients. But countless suspects, contradictory leads, not to mention people desperate to see her studio shut down, mean Ash will have to stretch to the max to outthink a clever killer who’s ready to strike her red in tooth and claw . . .

A Pose Before Dying by Alex Erickson is the first book in the new cozy A Cat Yoga Mystery series. As with most cozy mystery series this first book of the series does contain it’s own fully solved mystery so it could be read as a standalone if choosing to do so. Of course there will be character development that will carry over into the next book for those that want to continue the series.

Ashley Branson had done her best to get her over bearing mother to believe in her and her own dreams instead of those her mother wants for her. The family business just doesn’t interest Ashley and now she has the chance to make her own dream a reality and success as she opens up her own yoga studio with a twist, you see A Purrfect Pose will also house shelter cats up for adoption and the patrons will be able to enjoy these cuddly companions during their classes.

No sooner than Ashley gets A Purrfect Pose up and running though her alarm system alerts her to her studio and upon arrival Ashley find the body of a local college professor murdered right there in her new business. Once the police are on the scene Ashley realizes that her always in trouble brother, Hunter, is their prime suspect having been one of the last people seen with the professor but Ashley soon finds plenty of suspects as the professor wasn’t very well liked in town.

So being a kitty lover myself how could I possibly resist checking out a new cozy with lotsa cute kitties when I saw A Pose Before Dying by Alex Erickson? Thankfully with the cuteness pulling me in I did find this to be a really good opener of the new series. There’s of course plenty of humor to go with murder that I love in cozies and the mystery did grab my attention too. Another series that I’ll have to return to in the future!

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online:

Goodreads  /  Amazon

About the author:

Alex Erickson is the author of the Bookstore Cafe Mystery Series, the Furever Pets Mysteries, and the Cat Yoga Mystery Series. He lives in Ohio with his family and resident felines, who provide endless amounts of inspiration. When he’s not writing, he enjoys spending his time gaming or playing music. Visit him online at AlexEricksonBooks.com.