Meet Kat
From her childhood in the Baltimore waterfront neighborhood of Fells Point until now, Kat LaGue has had two great loves: reading and food. A fondness for fragrance came later. These days, she draws on her experience as a food writer and perfume fanatic and adds a dash of humor to write cozy mysteries set in her hometown. Why cozies? Because she loves stories about women who'd rather solve the problem than wait for someone else to.
Her debut novel, Killer Sillage, follows perfume-shop owner Clare Buchowski as she tries to figure out who killed a handsome and somewhat unlikeable perfumer. Book two, Savage Gourmand, pulls Clare into the bakeries of Fells Point, where another death leads to another investigation. A Bitter Accord, out this fall, takes her into Baltimore's classical music scene—where, naturally, someone else winds up dead.
Outside of writing, Kat enjoys drinking coffee, fussing over dogs, and cooking. You might occasionally catch her sniffing her forearm as she tests a new fragrance obsession.
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Praise for Killer Sillage
"The perfect blend of mystery, intrigue, and suspense!! Kat hits all the right notes with her debut cozy mystery!"
-- Meg Muldoon, Bestselling Cozy Mystery Author
"Set in the historic and charming waterfront neighborhood of Fells Point in Baltimore, Kat LaGue's debut is an assured, delightful page-turner. With its memorable perfume shop, Good Scents, and equally memorable characters in Clare and Ivy--LaGue has created the perfect base note for her cozy mystery series."
-- Jen Michalski, author of All This Can Be True
Book 3: A Bitter Accord
Now Available for Preorder!
When internationally acclaimed violinist Lorenz Sem is found murdered after a showcase performance at Baltimore's prestigious Mount Vernon Conservatory, perfume shop owner Clare Buchowski is drawn into another investigation—one that's far more personal than she'd like. Her mother had spent weeks helping Lorenz settle into the city, and his death leaves more questions than answers.
The deeper Clare digs, the stranger the mystery becomes. Everyone seems to have a different version of Lorenz: brilliant performer, demanding teacher, impossible colleague. Behind the Conservatory's polished performances lurk rivalries, ambition, and carefully guarded secrets. Nearly everyone seems to have a reason to resent the celebrated musician.
As Halloween approaches and the Conservatory prepares for an elaborate masquerade gala, Clare must devise a plan to expose the truth.
And unmask the killer.
Book 2: Savage Gourmand
When a talented Baltimore baker turns up dead in their kitchen, friend and perfume shop owner Clare Buchowski knows it wasn’t an accident.
Suddenly, the charming cobblestones of Fells Point are the site of a murder investigation, and the local baking community is thick with suspicion, bitter rivalries, and rumors of stolen recipes. As Clare starts digging, with her cousin Ivy cracking wise at her side, she uncovers secrets that may finally lead her to the truth.
At the same time, Clare finds herself plagued by strange, vivid dreams that leave her wondering what she’s really picking up on, and what they might be trying to tell her. As the case grows more complicated, she’s forced to confront not only a killer, but a part of herself she’s struggling to understand.
Savage Gourmand is a cozy mystery about pastries and passion, found family and fatal ambition, and a woman who knows the most dangerous lies are often coated in sugar.
Book 1: Killer Sillage
Clare Buchowski always dreamed of becoming a perfumer... until an accident changed everything, leaving her with an altered sense of smell. But fragrance still called to her so she did the next best thing: open 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 and chats with curious customers while quietly mourning 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 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 historic city of grit and elegance, 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.
Kat Speaks!
Interview with Jen Michalski in the JMWW Journal
Kat and Jen discuss reading, writing, and indie perfume. "I never really dreamed of becoming a novelist, but I thought, maybe I can try a cozy mystery. I’d read a lot of cozies by then, starting with a BookBub pick from Meg Muldoon’s Christmas River series, and I felt like I understood the genre well enough to give it a go. To my great surprise, I truly enjoyed the writing process, and as soon as I finished my first draft, I immediately started imagining plots for the next several books in the series."
"I’ve taken a few creative liberties, like setting my main location, a perfume shop called Good Scents, in a real part of town but inside a completely fictional building. As for community, when I was growing up, Fells Point had a strong Polish presence, with two Polish Catholic churches and lots of Polish-speaking residents. That’s changed over the years, but I wanted to preserve that sense of cultural pride and heritage through my main characters."