Kat LaGue, Cozy Mystery Writer

Meet Kat

Kat writes cozy mysteries for readers who love a good whodunit, a strong sense of place, and the kind of characters you’d want to have a good cup of coffee (or something stronger) with. Her debut mystery, Killer Sillage, introduces readers to Good Scents, a Baltimore perfume shop where fragrance and foul play blend in unexpected ways.

Kat hails from the historic waterfront neighborhood of Fells Point in Baltimore, Maryland, a city she still calls home and one that serves as a backdrop for her fictional world. She’s always been drawn to sensory storytelling. As a longtime graphic designer, she knows how much mood and meaning can live in color, shape, and detail. As a writer of nonfiction under her real name, she’s explored all aspects of the local Baltimore food scene. Fiction, however, lets her do something especially magical. It allows her to bring together all her passions: mystery; scent; beauty; food; humor; and the quiet strength of everyday women.

A lifelong perfume lover, Kat has collected fragrances for over 30 years and is still on the hunt for the ultimate Earl Grey-inspired scent.

When she’s not writing or tinkering with her latest handmade jewelry design, you’ll likely find her sipping a perfectly brewed cup of coffee, doting on dogs, cooking something delicious, or nose-first in a bottle of interesting perfume. She writes cozies because they celebrate women with creative lives, interesting hobbies, and strong communities. Her amateur sleuths are resourceful, stubborn, and full of heart--just the way she likes her heroines.

Kat believes that life, like fragrance, is richest when it lingers in the memory, and a good mystery should do the same.

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Cozy Mysteries

Kat's first book, Killer Sillage, is now available in Amazon Kindle format. A paperback edition will be published on November 17, 2025.

Killer Sillage

Clare Buchowski always dreamed of becoming a perfumer until an accident changed everything, leaving her with an altered sense of smell and a life she never expected. But scent still calls to her, and so she does the next best thing–opens Good Scents, a perfume shop in the heart of her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. Tucked into a historic neighborhood full of charm and secrets, the shop is where Clare curates indie fragrances, chats with curious customers, and quietly mourns the career that might have been.

When a celebrated independent perfumer debuts a provocative new scent at a private launch party at Clare's shop, things don't go well. After a deadly turn, Clare’s keen nose and sharper instincts tell her that something’s off… and it’s not just the perfume. As she digs deeper, she uncovers a trail of rivalries, betrayals, and long-buried tensions in the close-knit world of niche fragrance. At the center of it all: one elusive ingredient that may hold the key to everything.

Set against the richly textured backdrop of Baltimore, a city of grit and elegance, history and reinvention, Killer Sillage is the atmospheric debut in a new cozy mystery series. With unforgettable characters, an insider’s look at the art of perfume, and a mystery that unfolds like a well-crafted fragrance, it’s a story about scent, memory, and the lengths one woman will go to for the truth.

Amazon.com

Stay Tuned for More!

The next book in the series, Savage Gourmand, is already in progress

The scent of sugar and butter fills Baltimore’s streets when rival bakeries go head-to-head. But when a beloved pastry chef turns up dead, Clare Buchowski finds herself caught in a mystery as rich and layered as a mille-feuille. With cousin Ivy at her side, Clare must sift through rivalries, recipes, and a few half-baked lies to uncover the killer before the trail goes cold.

A sample chapter is included at the end of Killer Sillage!

COMING IN DECEMBER

Season's Greedy

The holidays are in full swing at Good Scents, Baltimore’s coziest perfume shop, and Clare Buchowski has more on her plate than sugar cookies. The annual charity raffle for BARCS should be the highlight of the season, but when the star prize--a limited edition snow globe--disappears, festive cheer turns to suspicion. With Ivy at her side, Clare must untangle a trail of holiday rivalries, guilty secrets, and glittering distractions to uncover who’s been naughty before the snow globe’s magic and the season’s goodwill melt away.