The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum (A Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum Mystery #1)
by Kirsten Weiss
Blurb:
When Maddie Kosloski’s career flatlines, she retreats to her wine-country hometown for solace and cheap rent. Railroaded into managing the local paranormal museum, she’s certain the rumors of its haunting are greatly exaggerated. But a new ghost may be on the loose. A fresh corpse in the museum embroils Maddie in murders past and present.With her high school bully as one of the officers in charge, Maddie doubts justice will be served. When one of her best friends is arrested, she’s certain it won’t be.
Maddie grapples with ghost hunters, obsessed taxidermists, and the sexy motorcyclist next door as outside forces threaten. And as she juggles spectral shenanigans with the hunt for a killer, she discovers there truly is no place like home.
My Review:
I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum sounded like a great introduction to paranormal cozy mysteries. This is the first paranormal cozy mystery I read and it was a fun introduction to this sub genre. I really enjoyed this book, even though the paranormal aspect is very mild and subtle, I did like how it was woven into the plot and the paranormal museum made for a great and original setting. Add in a small town, a murder mystery and a main character who’s finding a new direction in life told from first person perspective this book had everything to make for a fun and enjoyable read.
Main character Madie returns back to the town she grew up in after being fired from her international job, she doesn’t quite know what to do next. All her job hunting leads to nothing so far. Then her friend Adele asks her to take over the Paranormal Museum and she decides to help her out while doing job hunting in the meantime as well. That plot line is a bit predictable, as soon as she starts helping out with the museum I knew how it would end, but nevertheless it was still fun to see Maddie find her place in this town and realize in which directions he wanted to take her life. She learns a bit about herself and seriously considers what she wants to do next.
I loved how Maddie took the paranormal museum job seriously, she started investigating a murder from long ago as the picture hung in the museum and that added a fun side plot. Beside that she’s coming up with new and exciting ideas to make the museum flourish and I loved reading about it. Then there is GD the cat, some paranormal occurrences and I just had a lot of fun with this book.
The murder mystery was interesting and well done, I just wish there had been a few more clues as to whom the murder was. The mystery did kept me guessing and every time I thought I had figured it out I was proven wrong. And when we found out who the killer was it all fell on it’s place and made sense.
Beside Maddie there is a fun cast of side character, they stay a bit flat, but we do learn enough about them to make them come alive. There are some fun hints and bits we learn of the side character which make me curious how that will play a part in later books. There’s this secret that Harper has, Adele her tea room, Dieter who helps renovate Adele her tea room and will probably play a part more in later books and a possible romantic interest for the main character. The romance is only hinted at, although I definitely think there is something brewing there.
To summarize: I really enjoyed this book. Maddie return to her hometown and helps a friend out and get’s more involved with the museum while trying to figure out who murdered Christy at the same time. The mystery kept me guessing and the eventual killer made sense, although I had hoped for a few more hints in that direction. Some plot points are a bit predictable, but the story was still fun to read. The paranormal aspect is subtle and doesn’t play a big part, but it did fit nicely into the story and was woven into the rest of the plot. Bonus points for the unique paranormal museum setting, the fun side plot regarding Cora and the first person perspective. I am looking forward to read more books by this author!
Links:
– Goodreads
– Amazon
– B&N
As I was reading the blurb, I was thinking that it sounded like a cross between paranormal and cozy mystery, and then it was lol. If I ever decide to try cozy mysteries, this is definitely the kind of thing I’d try. (I’ve read the occasional paranormal mystery, but they weren’t *cozy* mysteries.)
It sounds like the mystery part was done really well since you didn’t figure it out but then it made sense once you found out. That’s the best! And the setting of the museum does sound fun. I think I’d like that as a setting/character job.
Kristen @ Metaphors and Moonlight recently posted…Cover Characteristics: Book Covers featuring People Holding Glowy Magic in Their Hands
It worked pretty well with the cross between paranormal and cozy mystery, the paranormal element was pretty subtle, but if was a fun combination of genres. I am hoping to read a few more paranormal cozy mysteries in the future.
The museum made for such a fun setting and at the end of the book I was invested in the museum and I can’t wait to see what will become of it in the next book(s). The mystery was done really well with how it made sense, but I didn’t figure it out myself.
Lola recently posted…Review: The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum by Kirsten Weiss
Cozies are the best! It’s all mystery but laid back. I’m happy you enjoyed your first one. I will have to add this to my TBR, it sounds fantastic!
Braine recently posted…Liked It: Find Me, Remember Me, and Keep Me by @MichelleMankin #rockstar #romance
I hope you’ll get around to reading this one day, it was a fun and enjoyable cozie. I love that about cozies, that they deal with murder and mystery, but no gore and the feleign is pretty laid back and relaxed even with everything that’s going on.
Lola recently posted…Review: The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum by Kirsten Weiss
The title completely grabbed me and your review has me hooked. I love that this is a paranormal cozy, I don’t think I’ve read a cozy mystery with the paranormal sub-genre before so I’m intrigued. Plus, I loved that this mystery kept you guess but made sense in the end.
As for genre’s I like to see combined, I love it when authors combine historicals with mysteries. It just seems to make the plot that much richer and I’ve been loving the fact that more cozy mysteries are falling into the historical genre.
Angela @Simply Angela recently posted…Excerpt from Beauty, Beast, and Belladonna by Maia Chance
The title is also what got my attention, it sure is a mouthfull, but catchy too. The paranormal addition was fun and I think it’s a nice combination of genres. The mystery was well done too..
I haven’t tried a historical mystery yet, but it sounds like an interesting combination. I’ll have to give a book in that genre a try once.
Lola recently posted…Review: The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum by Kirsten Weiss
I have wanted so much to try this genre before. Felicia at The Geeky Blogger loves them and I bough a few with every intention to listen but some how I never seem to press play..haha. I’ll probably fall in-love when I finally do. I’m glad it worked for you 🙂
I know the feeling, last year I set my goal to try out cozy mysteries and just didn’t started them, I grabbed a few freebies and requested some on netgalley, but I never seemed to get aroudn to actually read one. Until the last few months in the year and once I started reading them I fell in love wiht the genre and I already read quite some cozy mysteries this year. They are a lot of fun :).
Glad you enjoyed the book. I like books with a paranormal theme but I don’t like it to be subtle but more in your face type of book. Glad you liked this one though.
Mary Kirkland recently posted…Happy Raturday!
It definitely was subtle in this book, just hints of the paranormal. I think it worked well in this book, but if you’re looking for it to be more in your face you probably will be disapointed.
This looks like one I should try. I’ve been saying I want to try a cozy mystery. Between what you’ve been talking about and Felicia, I want to try one. The paranormal aspects of this one makes it perfect for me. Adding this to my TBR.
Melanie Simmons @mlsimmons recently posted…Hunted Audiobook by Rebecca Zanetti (REVIEW)
The paranormal is pretty subtle, but it adds a fun element to the story. I hope you’ll enjoy this one when you read it!
Thank you for taking the time to review the book! I was trying to go for subtle with the paranormal element, because for most of us, the paranormal is that movement you see out of the corner of your eye, or that thing you can’t quite explain. But I confess I’m a fan of flat-out crazy paranormal too!
Kirsten Weiss recently posted…This is the title of your first image post
I think the subtle paranormal element really worked in this book. And yes I think for most people paranormal is that small movement and wondering if there is more. I also love flat out paranormal, but it’s also fun to read a more subtle paranormal read, both have their appeal. I am looking forward to see where you take this series next and already bought the first book in one of your other series too :).
Lola recently posted…Review: The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum by Kirsten Weiss
This sounds like a fun book. I don’t know if I’ve read a paranormal cozy mystery. I suppose I’ve read some that COULD be classified as this, but I don’t know if they were. I do like cozies though so combining that with another genre sounds fun.
Let’s Get Beyond Tolerance recently posted…Book Review: Buzz by E. Davies
I am really enjoying cozies lately and this was the first one that I read that had a paranormal element. It made for a ncie mix of genres :).
This one sounds fun. Can’t remember ever reading a paranormal cozy, but the blend of the two has appeal. Neat how it all fell into place once you got the answer and there are all those extra characters that will show up in future books. Glad you found a new one to love. I’ll keep this one in mind. I like the way you describe it.
Sophia Rose recently posted…#TGPUL with Louise Forster – Home Truths #Giveaway
The blend of genres made for an interesting story. And I liked how the mystery was handled and everything made sense when we found out whow as the murderer. I am looking forward to the next book in this series and it will be fun to see what happens with the characters in the next book!
I came so close to requesting this one, and it sounds like maybe I should have. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Lark @ The Bookwyrm’s Hoard recently posted…My Favorite Series Couples
It was really good! I just couldn’t resist requesting it when I saw it on netgalley, the title, cover and the blurb made me curious.
Oh sure, of course the corpse’s name is Christy. lol. Sounds like a good book. I alway enjoy the covers of cozies. They’re so cute.
Christy LoveOfBooks recently posted…How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back by Diana Rowland
Lol that must be weird to read about a corpse with your name. It was a good book and I am looking forward to the next book in the series. And I agree the cover of cozies are always so cute, love that style!
Lola recently posted…Review: February by Audrey Carlan
I really like the concept behind the Paranormal Museum, and it’s interesting that the paranormal elements were subtle. I wonder if that will change in future books. It sounds like the mystery aspect was developed well too. Nice review 🙂
Alise recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday [54]
I wonder about that too, if it stays this way or not. I thought the subtle paranormal element really worked. And the concept of a paranormal museum was fun and it made for a fun setting/ job. How the mystery is handled is important to me in a cozy mystery and this was a good mystery.
Book 2 is written and at my publisher’s, and I pretty much followed the same level of paranormal-ness. So I’m glad to hear you think it worked the first time around!
I was hoping it stayed with this level of paranormal-ness as I think it worked really well in book 1. I can’t wait to read the second book!
I love cozy and it’s been a while I haven’t read one paranormal or not but this one sounds well done between the characters and the mystery! I’m curious!
I hope you give it a chance! It’s a great book and the paranormal touch was well done and added something to the story.
I recently read this book, and I have a review scheduled to go up next week, actually.
I enjoyed this one. I really like Maddie, and I loved reading about her plans to make the Paranormal Museum more interesting. I also liked how we got to read about two mysteries in one book– the one revolving around the murder and the paranormal one. I thought that was clever. And of course I LOVED GD Cat. But, I thought the rest of the characters were just okay. I had a hard time accepting the friendship between Maddie, Harper, and Adele. Their friendship wasn’t as strong as other friendships in other cozies that I’ve read. Despite that, I’m still quite intrigued by this series, and I cannot wait for book number two to be released. I really want to see that museum transform!
Jackie recently posted…These Fandoms are Just My Cup of Tea
I am looking forward to read your review of this one! And yes I loved reading about her plans for the museum and how there were actually two mysteries, it was nicely woven together. I agree the friendschip between those three friends could be a bit stronger. I did like the side characters, but they could use a bit more to really come alive. I really want to see the museum transform too!