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Fiction. Mystery. HTML:

Paranormal museum owner Maddie Kosloski has the perfect exhibit for the harvest festivalā??a haunted grape press. But when sheā??s accused of stealing the press, and her accuser is murdered, all eyes turn to Maddie. Knowing the perils of amateur sleuthing as she does, Maddie is reluctant to get involved . . . until her mother insists she investigate.

Does her mom have a secret agenda? Or is she somehow connected to the murder? Facing down danger and her own overactive imagination, Maddie must unearth the killer before she becomes the next ghost to haunt her museum.

Praise:

"In Weiss's engaging sequel . . . Well-drawn characters and tantalizing wine talk help balance the quirky aspects of this paranormal mystery."ā??Publishers Weekly

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Showing 1-5 of 6 (next | show all)
Another great book in the series. I will read all of them. ( )
  nlb1050 | Oct 22, 2023 |
2nd in a series. Madd had come into possession of a "haunted" grape press which figures prominently in her display at the annual grape festival of her local town. But the discovery of a dead body at the grape stomp soon puts the limelight someplace else. Fun read and am enjoying the series thus far. ( )
  ChrisWeir | Feb 3, 2023 |
Maddie Kosloski is the owner of the Paranormal Museum in San Benedetto, California. In this story, an antique grape press that was once used in the wine making business and is rumoured to be haunted, is the newest acquisition of the museum. When Maddie moves it to the Harvest Fair site advertising her museum, her nemesis, Detective Lauren Hammer, comes to tell her that the true owner of the press is claiming that is it stolen and she will have to confiscate it. Even when Maddie produces a receipt signed by Romeo Paganini's wife, the detective goes to the fairgrounds to remove the press. Before she is able to take it, Maddie, helping her mother set up the "Grape Stomp Booth" comes across a dead body buried under the grapes. When it is identified as the vintner accusing her of theft, Maddie becomes a suspect. Everyone, including her mother, wants Maddie to investigate the crime--except the police. One of the things I like about this series is that the police do not co-operate with the amateur sleuth. Maddie does not get any information from them, she is on her own if she wants to solve this crime and take suspicion off herself and her employee, the vintner's estranged son.

There is a lot going on in this story besides just the murder mystery. Maddie is having problems with her boyfriend Seth, the Ladies' Aid Society has a huge rift that has put her mother in the middle and Adele is trying to get her tea shop business off the ground. As in the first book, Maddie is also working on getting more information surrounding the murder/suicide story that is attached to the Grape Press. There is fun when setting up the Haunted House, having a Death Cafe and running the museum in general. I really like the character of Deiter, handyman extraordinaire as well as bookie for all local strange things to bet on. All this adds to the story, even though some reviewers wish there had been more emphasis on the mystery. I liked how this developed the main characters more and we get to know them better in this book. The one character that I still do not like is the terrifically annoying Detective Laurel Hammer whose purpose seems only to annoy Maddie and her friends as well as carrying a grudge from highschool days when she was a bit of a bullly. She is definitely a negative stereotype that make police look bad. I am hoping that she will lighten up in future books.

This is a well written cozy mystery with a great California setting and quirky characters. The idea of the Paranormal Museum is a unique twist to the series. Even though Maddie is not a true believer in the paranormal, she realistically accepts that there are phenomena that cannot be explained. Three is a lot of information about making wine blended into the story and of course drinking wine happens at many occasions. This was a fun, easy read that I recommend to cozy mystery fans, especially those who like wine or the paranormal. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley. ( )
  Carlathelibrarian | Feb 5, 2019 |
Maddie Kosloski owns the Paranormal Museum and is exhibiting her newest acquisition, a haunted grape press, at the harvest festival. But when local police detective Laurel Hammer shows up at her museum and insists the press is stolen, Maddie is going to have a problem, since Detective Hammer wants to take the press in as evidence. Then Maddie goes to the festival with her mother to help out, and while doing so manages to discover the body of Romeo Paganini, the man who accused her of stealing his press.

While she is high on the suspect list, it doesn't completely rule out anyone else, including her friend Adele Nakamoto, who was seen having an argument with him, nor even his wife Jocelyn and son Leo, who works for Maddie.

So her mother insists she investigate, and so do the members of Ladies' Aid, since they think she'll find the killer before the police do. But she has a lot on her plate besides investigating, with helping at the local haunted house, avoiding a cop that hates her, hosting a death cafeĶ, and dealing with the fact she's just been sucker punched by her boyfriend Mason. Maddie has her work cut out for her, and if she doesn't find the killer soon, she may be the next one with the life squeezed out of her...

See Full Review Here: http://joannesbooks.blogspot.com/2017/05/pressed-to-death-perfectly-proper.html

But I didn't allow these things to color the rest of my enjoyment with the book. As stated above, I really liked the paranormal aspect, but felt it pushed aside because of those things mentioned. I also would have liked to have seen some sort of connection between GD and Maddie, but perhaps she'll grow on him in future books. I did like the friendship between Maddie and her two best friends; there's an obvious fondness for each other that is nice. It was nice to learn a little bit about wine making, and as I stated above, I did like the historical aspect.

When we come to the ending and the murderer is revealed it made a pretty good mystery all around. There weren't any big revelations, as I felt the clues were there all along, but it was put together well and everything came together nicely. Recommended. ( )
  joannefm2 | May 8, 2017 |
Pressed to Death by Kirsten Weiss is the second book A Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum Mystery series. Maddie Kosloski owns the Paranormal Museum in San Benedetto, California. Maddie is getting ready to leave for the Harvest Fair, but Detective Laurel Hammer has delayed her. Detective Hammer is accusing Maddie of dealing in stolen property. Romeo Paganini is claiming the grape press that Maddie purchased from Herb Linden was stolen. Maddie has a copy of the signed receipt from Romeoā€™s wife, Jocelyn. It is only thanks to Frances Kosloskiā€™s, Maddieā€™s mother, smooth talking, that they finally get to leave for the fair (I am sure that we will be seeing the good detective again soon). Maddie, with help from her mother, finishes setting up her table, and then they go to check the big vat for the wine stomping event. It is the biggest fundraiser for the Ladies Aid Society. They arrive to find the truck still in place, and the grapes were just dumped in the vat (they need to be spread out). Frances asks Maddie to jump in and spread out the grapes (and she does with her white tennis shoes still on). As Maddie uses the rake to spread out the grapes, she notices an arm sticking out. Upon closer inspection, she finds the body of Romeo Paganini. Detective Hammer immediately suspects Maddie of committing the crime. Frances wants Maddie to get involved in the investigation which shocks Maddie (especially after the last time). Maddie is not sure she wishes to be involved, but, after two close brushes with death, she has no choice. Maddie must work in her investigation in between working at the museum, setting up a haunted room for the Ladies Aid Haunted House event, and discovering the history behind the grape press. Maddieā€™s thoughts, however, are a little scattered. Her boyfriend, Mason Hjelm, is acting distant and unavailable. But when a second person is murdered, Maddie will need to focus on the task at hand.

Pressed to Death is easy to read and it does have a decent tempo (I was tired of using the word pace). I had trouble getting into the book in the beginning. Things do pick up in the second part of the story. I found the paranormal element to be nonexistent which was unfortunate (it is only hinted at subtlety). The addition of a mystic element would have greatly enhanced the story. I am giving Pressed to Death 3 out of 5 stars (it is okay). I thought the romance element to be overpowering and unappealing. There is quite a bit of activity going on in the story. I personally felt that there are too many elements. I am curious why authors feel the need to jam a book full of activity (it is happening in more and more cozy mysteries). The author made Detective Hammer out to be a nasty, vengeful harpy who is bent on destroying Maddie. It might have to do something with Maddie setting the good detectiveā€™s hair on fire (going from long hair to a pixie cut) in book one. The detective seizes so called ā€œevidenceā€ from Maddie without a warrant (very unrealistic). The cops also seem to be spinning their wheels regarding the case while Maddie put together the clues and solves it. The main mystery is uncomplicated and the culprit easily identified (I believe even a novice mystery reader will be able pinpoint the killer). The past mystery relating to the grape press was interesting, but there was little investigation into it. While I have not had the pleasure of reading The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum, I understood what was going on in Pressed to Death. The author provided the necessary information on the town and main characters as well as what occurred in the first book in the series. I had been looking forward to reading this particular book, and I ended up being letdown. ( )
  Kris_Anderson | Mar 10, 2017 |
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Fiction. Mystery. HTML:

Paranormal museum owner Maddie Kosloski has the perfect exhibit for the harvest festivalā??a haunted grape press. But when sheā??s accused of stealing the press, and her accuser is murdered, all eyes turn to Maddie. Knowing the perils of amateur sleuthing as she does, Maddie is reluctant to get involved . . . until her mother insists she investigate.

Does her mom have a secret agenda? Or is she somehow connected to the murder? Facing down danger and her own overactive imagination, Maddie must unearth the killer before she becomes the next ghost to haunt her museum.

Praise:

"In Weiss's engaging sequel . . . Well-drawn characters and tantalizing wine talk help balance the quirky aspects of this paranormal mystery."ā??Publishers Weekly

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