The Quiche and the Dead by Kirsten Weiss is the first book in A Pie Town Mystery series. Valentine âValâ Harris opened Pie Town in San Nicholas, California five months prior. She is finally starting to break even and is happy with her choice to settle in San Nicholas. Val made a quiche to welcome Heidi Gladstone and her new business Heidi's Health and Fitness to the neighborhood. Unfortunately, Heidi is against sugar (and anything with flavor along with Val's slogan for her business) and shop regular Joe wins the quiche (he made a bet that Heidi would not eat it). Unfortunately, Joe soon clutches his stomach and keels over. Officer Gordon Carmichael responds to the 911 call along with Detective Shaw. It is determined the Joe was poisoned and business grinds to a halt at Pie Town. Charlene McCree, pie crust maker extraordinaire, believes she is a prime suspect and ropes Val into doing some snooping. They uncover that Joe liked to investigate local crimes along with his recently deceased friend, Frank Potts. What had Joe uncovered that got him killed? It seems that San Nicholas is not the sleepy little town it appears.
The Quiche and the Dead starts off with a murder in the very first chapter. I liked the method of murder (poisoning) and the pie shop (it sounded cute). The main character, Valentine Harris was not appealing. I found her whiny and unlikeable (her overreaction to each and every encounter with Heidi became annoying). Charlene is supposed to be a secondary character, but she dominates the book. She is over-the-top, quirky and a conspiracy theorist. Charlene goes around town with a lazy cat around her shoulders like it is a fur stole (she states the cat is narcoleptic and would get lonely at home). It sounds humorous, but after numerous mentions of said cat it starts to become tedious and repetitive. The mystery was simple and the suspect list was limited. The killer's identity can be distinguished early in the story (the person stands outâno clues needed). The story dragged along towards the end with much speculation and talking (along with more wackiness from Charlene). There is also flirting between Valentine and Officer Carmichael (Val is getting over a broken engagement). The author failed to adequately set up the backdrop of San Nicholas (we are given scant details). My rating for The Quiche and the Dead is 3 out of 5 stars (it was okay). The Quiche and the Dead did not inspire me to want more A Pie Town Mystery novels. Bleeding Tarts is the next book in A Pie Town Mystery series and it will be published in April 2018.
The Quiche and the Dead starts off with a murder in the very first chapter. I liked the method of murder (poisoning) and the pie shop (it sounded cute). The main character, Valentine Harris was not appealing. I found her whiny and unlikeable (her overreaction to each and every encounter with Heidi became annoying). Charlene is supposed to be a secondary character, but she dominates the book. She is over-the-top, quirky and a conspiracy theorist. Charlene goes around town with a lazy cat around her shoulders like it is a fur stole (she states the cat is narcoleptic and would get lonely at home). It sounds humorous, but after numerous mentions of said cat it starts to become tedious and repetitive. The mystery was simple and the suspect list was limited. The killer's identity can be distinguished early in the story (the person stands outâno clues needed). The story dragged along towards the end with much speculation and talking (along with more wackiness from Charlene). There is also flirting between Valentine and Officer Carmichael (Val is getting over a broken engagement). The author failed to adequately set up the backdrop of San Nicholas (we are given scant details). My rating for The Quiche and the Dead is 3 out of 5 stars (it was okay). The Quiche and the Dead did not inspire me to want more A Pie Town Mystery novels. Bleeding Tarts is the next book in A Pie Town Mystery series and it will be published in April 2018.
Brenda H. (booksinvt) -
The Quiche and the Dead is the debut of the Pie Town Mystery series set in San Nicholas, CA featuring Valentine Harris. Six months ago Val followed fiancée Mark Jeffreys to the small coastal town with big dreams of a happy marriage, nice home and opening a bakery, but her hopes are dashed when just weeks before the wedding their relationship falls apart.
After investing all of her funds in the start up of Pie Town, Val finds herself sleeping on a mattress in the bakery closet and struggling to keep the shop afloat. Thankful for a handful of locals and a few tourists things aren't looking too bad until comic book store owner Joe falls over dead after eating her breakfast pie. With Val immediately considered a suspect and health center owner Heidi Gladstone flying a Sugar Kills banner next door, business comes to a halt.
When Pie Town employee and pie crust baker Charlene McCree announces that she used to date Joe and wants to track down his killer Val is reluctant to get involved. But, Charlene has a nice house for rent and will let Val move in only if she helps find Joe's murderer. Thinking she really has no choice if she wants to keep Pie Town open and move out of the closet, Val joins the investigation.
Joe and his buddy Frank Potts were armchair detectives who called themselves the Baker Street Boys. They kept casebooks of their silly investigations and Charlene feels that with Frank having a mysterious fatal accident just weeks before Joe is poisoned they might find a clue pointing to a connection between the two deaths if only they can find Joe's recent casebook.
A hilarious romp with terrific main characters, an adorable narcoleptic cat named Frederick and plenty of suspects. The duo of Val and Charlene will have you laughing out loud and at the same time flipping through the pages to find out whodunit. Stay tuned for future installments in the series as I have a feeling there will be many more opportunities for Val to end up with pie on her face.
After investing all of her funds in the start up of Pie Town, Val finds herself sleeping on a mattress in the bakery closet and struggling to keep the shop afloat. Thankful for a handful of locals and a few tourists things aren't looking too bad until comic book store owner Joe falls over dead after eating her breakfast pie. With Val immediately considered a suspect and health center owner Heidi Gladstone flying a Sugar Kills banner next door, business comes to a halt.
When Pie Town employee and pie crust baker Charlene McCree announces that she used to date Joe and wants to track down his killer Val is reluctant to get involved. But, Charlene has a nice house for rent and will let Val move in only if she helps find Joe's murderer. Thinking she really has no choice if she wants to keep Pie Town open and move out of the closet, Val joins the investigation.
Joe and his buddy Frank Potts were armchair detectives who called themselves the Baker Street Boys. They kept casebooks of their silly investigations and Charlene feels that with Frank having a mysterious fatal accident just weeks before Joe is poisoned they might find a clue pointing to a connection between the two deaths if only they can find Joe's recent casebook.
A hilarious romp with terrific main characters, an adorable narcoleptic cat named Frederick and plenty of suspects. The duo of Val and Charlene will have you laughing out loud and at the same time flipping through the pages to find out whodunit. Stay tuned for future installments in the series as I have a feeling there will be many more opportunities for Val to end up with pie on her face.
