Kirsten Weiss (1)
Author of The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum
For other authors named Kirsten Weiss, see the disambiguation page.
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When Valentine Harris opens her new pie shop, she's happy to do so, but also worried about the bills that need to be paid. She has an elderly regular customer named Joe who owns a comic book shop next door, and a pie crust maker named Charlene who's also in her seventies.
She's made a quiche for a new shop owner who refuses it, but Joe eats some and passes out on the floor. When the police investigate, they assume it is homicide and close the shop. Charlene, who had a past with the dead man, show more bribes Val to help her investigate. Val does so because she knows that she doesn't have a choice if she wants her shop to open again and be successful. But there's a killer on the loose, and if they find out she's looking, she might not live long enough to open up again anyway...
Well, I didn't even get through the first chapter before I knew this book would be a no-go. When I read the first paragraph of the book, I was stumped. Val has a quiche in her hands, of which she is holding by wearing oven mitts. Then, in the next sentence, she is putting that same quiche inside a glass display case. One would think that if she's using oven mitts, the quiche is hot (because why would she wear them otherwise? Mitts are unwieldy.) Therefore, one must come to the conclusion that she is putting a just-from-the-oven hot quiche into a cold glass display case. There are a possible two things that can happen: either the hot quiche will crack and/or break the case, or, at the very least, cause it to fog up the case and get everything else in there soggy. This is an error that should have been caught the minute the words were put to paper. After that paragraph, I struggled with the decision whether to keep reading this book or not. Unfortunately, I made the wrong decision. I kept reading.
Why does every author think all seniors wear track suits? I have a 93-year-old aunt who doesn't even own one. In fact, the only time I've ever seen a senior wear one is when they're out power-walking, and that's not even very often. Mostly, they dress just like everyone else. Trust me, there are a lot of seniors where I live, and if they wear track suits, they sure don't wear them in public.
Then, the woman who works the cash register, Petronella, is a smoker. In a pie shop. I don't know if the author knows it, but smokers reek. It's on their clothing, and you can tell when they're standing behind you or even if they pass you in a store. It's not a smell that can be disguised. If I was waited on even once by a smoker, I probably wouldn't go back to that establishment. Sorry. Just telling it like I see it.
Then, this is one of the kickers: the new owner of the health food store who moved in after Val was already there, comes by to demand she change the sign outside on the building. Because it offends her. Huh. She. Demands. That. Val. Remove. Her. Sign. And. Change. Her. Logo. Considering the pie shop was there first, did Heidi not see that before she rented her space? Nope, wouldn't stand up in a court of law. So yeah, the book was pretty much over for me at that point. A new record. Done with the book on the second page.
But then, I still decided to read on...which was a big mistake. The guy dies in her shop, and the police arrive. They tell her it was homicide. Immediately. By looking at the body of a man who hadn't been shot or stabbed or strangled. No outward appearance of trauma. A man in his seventies. The cops just decide it was a homicide and close the shop. How did the detective know it wasn't a heart attack? How could he tell it was a homicide just by looking at him? He hadn't been on the floor very long, so rigor hadn't even set in. Nope, I'm not buying it.
When you have this many glaring errors in the first chapter alone, I don't want to read the book. So I was done. But, being a reader, I went to the back of the book to see who the murderer was, and I wish I hadn't.
This next is hidden because it contains a part of the ending, although it does not contain the name of the killer or motive, it is something else entirely that bothered me and made me grateful I did not finish this book:
The spoiler can be viewed here: https://joannesbooks.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-quiche-and-dead-pie-town-mystery-1... show less
She's made a quiche for a new shop owner who refuses it, but Joe eats some and passes out on the floor. When the police investigate, they assume it is homicide and close the shop. Charlene, who had a past with the dead man, show more bribes Val to help her investigate. Val does so because she knows that she doesn't have a choice if she wants her shop to open again and be successful. But there's a killer on the loose, and if they find out she's looking, she might not live long enough to open up again anyway...
Well, I didn't even get through the first chapter before I knew this book would be a no-go. When I read the first paragraph of the book, I was stumped. Val has a quiche in her hands, of which she is holding by wearing oven mitts. Then, in the next sentence, she is putting that same quiche inside a glass display case. One would think that if she's using oven mitts, the quiche is hot (because why would she wear them otherwise? Mitts are unwieldy.) Therefore, one must come to the conclusion that she is putting a just-from-the-oven hot quiche into a cold glass display case. There are a possible two things that can happen: either the hot quiche will crack and/or break the case, or, at the very least, cause it to fog up the case and get everything else in there soggy. This is an error that should have been caught the minute the words were put to paper. After that paragraph, I struggled with the decision whether to keep reading this book or not. Unfortunately, I made the wrong decision. I kept reading.
Why does every author think all seniors wear track suits? I have a 93-year-old aunt who doesn't even own one. In fact, the only time I've ever seen a senior wear one is when they're out power-walking, and that's not even very often. Mostly, they dress just like everyone else. Trust me, there are a lot of seniors where I live, and if they wear track suits, they sure don't wear them in public.
Then, the woman who works the cash register, Petronella, is a smoker. In a pie shop. I don't know if the author knows it, but smokers reek. It's on their clothing, and you can tell when they're standing behind you or even if they pass you in a store. It's not a smell that can be disguised. If I was waited on even once by a smoker, I probably wouldn't go back to that establishment. Sorry. Just telling it like I see it.
Then, this is one of the kickers: the new owner of the health food store who moved in after Val was already there, comes by to demand she change the sign outside on the building. Because it offends her. Huh. She. Demands. That. Val. Remove. Her. Sign. And. Change. Her. Logo. Considering the pie shop was there first, did Heidi not see that before she rented her space? Nope, wouldn't stand up in a court of law. So yeah, the book was pretty much over for me at that point. A new record. Done with the book on the second page.
But then, I still decided to read on...which was a big mistake. The guy dies in her shop, and the police arrive. They tell her it was homicide. Immediately. By looking at the body of a man who hadn't been shot or stabbed or strangled. No outward appearance of trauma. A man in his seventies. The cops just decide it was a homicide and close the shop. How did the detective know it wasn't a heart attack? How could he tell it was a homicide just by looking at him? He hadn't been on the floor very long, so rigor hadn't even set in. Nope, I'm not buying it.
When you have this many glaring errors in the first chapter alone, I don't want to read the book. So I was done. But, being a reader, I went to the back of the book to see who the murderer was, and I wish I hadn't.
This next is hidden because it contains a part of the ending, although it does not contain the name of the killer or motive, it is something else entirely that bothered me and made me grateful I did not finish this book:
The spoiler can be viewed here: https://joannesbooks.blogspot.com/2019/08/the-quiche-and-dead-pie-town-mystery-1... show less
The Quiche and the Dead by Kirsten Weiss
Book #1: Pie Town Mystery Series
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 4½/5 stars
Nothing has the potential to kill the prospects of a new restaurant like a customer keeling over at the counter while eating. Just six months into her restaurant’s run, one of Val Harris’s regulars does just that, he keels over while enjoying a slice of her hot-out-of-the-oven quiche. All the momentum Val had going went rolling right out the door with the medical examiner and show more dead body. If things don’t turn around quickly, Val stands to lose everything she has.
With little else to do and very few customers, Val begins asking questions about her deceased customer. As it happens, he and his recently departed best friend liked to armchair sleuth with local unsolved mysteries and as Val continues to poke around, she discovers that one of those mysteries may have gotten both men killed. Make no mistake, Val isn’t in this alone and from the beginning she gets a load of (unwanted??) help from her crust maker, the eccentric and quite geriatric, Charlene. Charlene has lived in San Nicholas most of her life and knows the ins and outs better than anyone. For every question Val has, Charlene has either an insightful answer, a bit of backstory, or some preposterous scheme meant to unearth answers.
To be sure, Charlene is a bit crazy, but she’s got good intentions, and finding out who killed her two friends will not only get a killer off the streets, but set Val’s restaurant (and Charlene’s employer!) to rights and get the customers coming back through the doors. With each new clue, Charlene and Val get closer to not only solving two murders, but several minor incidents as well.
The Bottom Line: This is the second cozy mystery series by Kirsten Weiss I’ve dedicated time and energy to. Like the other series, I fell easily into the Pie Town Mystery series with it’s quirky characters, generally charming atmosphere and environment, and a twisty and turny plot worthy of each and every quirky character. Through late-night stakeouts, minor breaking and entering, some not-so-subtle questioning, and some seriously awkward encounters with her weasel ex, Val (and Charlene) get to the bottom of a mystery that is tanking Pie Town. With nothing but sheer will and determination to see her business succeed, Val stumbles and fumbles her way through the mess and, in the end, prevails and discovers just why armchair sleuthing was a hobby for the dead men. show less
Book #1: Pie Town Mystery Series
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 4½/5 stars
Nothing has the potential to kill the prospects of a new restaurant like a customer keeling over at the counter while eating. Just six months into her restaurant’s run, one of Val Harris’s regulars does just that, he keels over while enjoying a slice of her hot-out-of-the-oven quiche. All the momentum Val had going went rolling right out the door with the medical examiner and show more dead body. If things don’t turn around quickly, Val stands to lose everything she has.
With little else to do and very few customers, Val begins asking questions about her deceased customer. As it happens, he and his recently departed best friend liked to armchair sleuth with local unsolved mysteries and as Val continues to poke around, she discovers that one of those mysteries may have gotten both men killed. Make no mistake, Val isn’t in this alone and from the beginning she gets a load of (unwanted??) help from her crust maker, the eccentric and quite geriatric, Charlene. Charlene has lived in San Nicholas most of her life and knows the ins and outs better than anyone. For every question Val has, Charlene has either an insightful answer, a bit of backstory, or some preposterous scheme meant to unearth answers.
To be sure, Charlene is a bit crazy, but she’s got good intentions, and finding out who killed her two friends will not only get a killer off the streets, but set Val’s restaurant (and Charlene’s employer!) to rights and get the customers coming back through the doors. With each new clue, Charlene and Val get closer to not only solving two murders, but several minor incidents as well.
The Bottom Line: This is the second cozy mystery series by Kirsten Weiss I’ve dedicated time and energy to. Like the other series, I fell easily into the Pie Town Mystery series with it’s quirky characters, generally charming atmosphere and environment, and a twisty and turny plot worthy of each and every quirky character. Through late-night stakeouts, minor breaking and entering, some not-so-subtle questioning, and some seriously awkward encounters with her weasel ex, Val (and Charlene) get to the bottom of a mystery that is tanking Pie Town. With nothing but sheer will and determination to see her business succeed, Val stumbles and fumbles her way through the mess and, in the end, prevails and discovers just why armchair sleuthing was a hobby for the dead men. show less
Chocolate a la Murder by Kirsten Weiss
Book #4: A Perfectly proper Paranormal Museum Mystery
Source: NetGalley and Midnight Ink
My Rating: 4½/5 stars
Dear Lord! One would think Maddie Kosloski lives in a sprawling urban center filled to the brim with mischief and mayhem rather than the sleepy little town of San Benedetto. The woman can’t even go to the chocolate shop without tripping over a dead body!
Much to the great displeasure of literally everyone in her life, Maddie has found yet show more another dead body and this time it is one of San Benedetto’s beloved chocolate makers. The death itself is bad enough, but it’s made even worse by the fact the town is knee-deep in one of its biggest annual events, Wine and Chocolate Days. Even Maddie’s paranormal museum has gotten in on the action with a Magic of Chocolate display featuring a haunted molinillo. Though she knows nothing about the murder and little more about the molinillo, Maddie intends to find out everything she can about both.
As Maddie begins poking around into the death of the chocolate maker, she finds misdeeds, irregularities, and lies that simply cannot be explained. While the chocolate is delicious, nothing about the chocolate maker and his business make sense. What’s more, with each new discovery, Maddie finds herself drawn deeper into a killer’s net. Not only is her museum threatened, but so is her relationship with her cop boyfriend, and her life. Maddie doesn’t want to stop digging, but she’s up to her neck in a mess and the killer is clearly willing to go to great lengths to protect his/her identity.
As if all this weren’t enough, Maddie also has her investigation into the history of the haunted molinillo, helping her bat-crap crazy friend Adele plan her ridiculous wedding, and her ex-boyfriend is stopping by the museum a lot and acting weird. Needless to say, all the drama has Maddie on edge which is causing a great deal of strain with all her relationships. If she can’t get to the bottom of all the messes and dilemmas, Maddie just lose everything.
The Bottom Line: With each installment of this series, I think “San Benedetto can’t get any weirder!” And yet, it does, and this is why I love this series so much. Maddie is undoubtedly the center of this wonderfully weird universe and hovering around her is a cast of characters equally weird and delightful. With each new book, all the core characters are showing growth while remaining true to their essence; this is one of the things I am most fond of in my books and it is a strong element in this series. Of particular note in this book is the ending which I enjoyed tremendously because when the big bad and the motive is revealed, I remember thinking to myself, “WOW! They even kill for weird reasons in this series. AWESOME!!” In all, the relationships are growing and expanding, the paranormal museum is picking up in terms of business, Maddie is getting far better at investigating, and the future of San Benedetto is poised for even more weirdness. show less
Book #4: A Perfectly proper Paranormal Museum Mystery
Source: NetGalley and Midnight Ink
My Rating: 4½/5 stars
Dear Lord! One would think Maddie Kosloski lives in a sprawling urban center filled to the brim with mischief and mayhem rather than the sleepy little town of San Benedetto. The woman can’t even go to the chocolate shop without tripping over a dead body!
Much to the great displeasure of literally everyone in her life, Maddie has found yet show more another dead body and this time it is one of San Benedetto’s beloved chocolate makers. The death itself is bad enough, but it’s made even worse by the fact the town is knee-deep in one of its biggest annual events, Wine and Chocolate Days. Even Maddie’s paranormal museum has gotten in on the action with a Magic of Chocolate display featuring a haunted molinillo. Though she knows nothing about the murder and little more about the molinillo, Maddie intends to find out everything she can about both.
As Maddie begins poking around into the death of the chocolate maker, she finds misdeeds, irregularities, and lies that simply cannot be explained. While the chocolate is delicious, nothing about the chocolate maker and his business make sense. What’s more, with each new discovery, Maddie finds herself drawn deeper into a killer’s net. Not only is her museum threatened, but so is her relationship with her cop boyfriend, and her life. Maddie doesn’t want to stop digging, but she’s up to her neck in a mess and the killer is clearly willing to go to great lengths to protect his/her identity.
As if all this weren’t enough, Maddie also has her investigation into the history of the haunted molinillo, helping her bat-crap crazy friend Adele plan her ridiculous wedding, and her ex-boyfriend is stopping by the museum a lot and acting weird. Needless to say, all the drama has Maddie on edge which is causing a great deal of strain with all her relationships. If she can’t get to the bottom of all the messes and dilemmas, Maddie just lose everything.
The Bottom Line: With each installment of this series, I think “San Benedetto can’t get any weirder!” And yet, it does, and this is why I love this series so much. Maddie is undoubtedly the center of this wonderfully weird universe and hovering around her is a cast of characters equally weird and delightful. With each new book, all the core characters are showing growth while remaining true to their essence; this is one of the things I am most fond of in my books and it is a strong element in this series. Of particular note in this book is the ending which I enjoyed tremendously because when the big bad and the motive is revealed, I remember thinking to myself, “WOW! They even kill for weird reasons in this series. AWESOME!!” In all, the relationships are growing and expanding, the paranormal museum is picking up in terms of business, Maddie is getting far better at investigating, and the future of San Benedetto is poised for even more weirdness. show less
Kirsten Weiss has a flair for great storytelling and intricate mysteries which is even more evident in Bound (the kick-off to the Doyle Witch Cozy Mystery series). The characters are enchanting and ground the mystery with a heartfelt and emotional story that you won't want to put down. You'll find an immediate connection with each of the characters, especially Karin and her sisters. Weiss creates a bond with the characters that makes you feel at home with their family and you instantly show more become emotionally invested. The triplets are easily different with Weiss ensuring fine details went into separating their three personalities. You have wild child Joyce, bookish introvert Lenore, and worrier Karin, each personality perfectly fitting to the tone of the story. Karin is the protagonist and her worrying attitude makes her an easy target for being pulled into a murder mystery. She's a character that is driven, compassionate, and determined which makes her the ideal sleuth to keep things going.
The mystery revolves around a deeper emotional plotline that finds Karin's, Aunt Ellen in the hospital. As the story unfolds and secrets are revealed about Karin's family and a curse, the worse that Ellen becomes leading to a heartbreaking conclusion. The family elements within the story are necessary for the tone to bring this world to life through Karin and her sisters. By getting to know the triplets and their aunt, you get to know the family curse and you immediately root for them to find a way to break it. The mystery has plenty of surprises and will lead you in circles until the killer is found. The story is undercut by the addition of Nick (who has a spark with Karin) in his search for answers about his missing sister. This search is woven throughout the mystery as murder and disappearances in the woods draw Karin in deeper into the dangers around her and the possible supernatural answers that await her. Bound is hard to put down with an addicting plotline, enchanting characters, a family curse, and lots of heart. show less
The mystery revolves around a deeper emotional plotline that finds Karin's, Aunt Ellen in the hospital. As the story unfolds and secrets are revealed about Karin's family and a curse, the worse that Ellen becomes leading to a heartbreaking conclusion. The family elements within the story are necessary for the tone to bring this world to life through Karin and her sisters. By getting to know the triplets and their aunt, you get to know the family curse and you immediately root for them to find a way to break it. The mystery has plenty of surprises and will lead you in circles until the killer is found. The story is undercut by the addition of Nick (who has a spark with Karin) in his search for answers about his missing sister. This search is woven throughout the mystery as murder and disappearances in the woods draw Karin in deeper into the dangers around her and the possible supernatural answers that await her. Bound is hard to put down with an addicting plotline, enchanting characters, a family curse, and lots of heart. show less
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