The Quiche and the Dead

Pie Town Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Kirsten Weiss

Narrated by: Renée Chambliss

Is Val's breakfast pie the quiche of death?

Owning her own business seemed like pie in the sky to Valentine Harris when she moved to the coastal California town of San Nicholas, expecting to start a new life with her fiance. Five months - and a broken engagement - later, at least her dream of opening a pie shop has become a reality. But when one of her regulars keels over at the counter while eating a quiche, Val feels like she's living a nightmare.

After the police determine the customer was poisoned, business at Pie Town drops faster than a fallen crust. Convinced they're both suspects, Val's flaky, 70-something pie crust maker Charlene drags her boss into some amateur sleuthing. At first Val dismisses Charlene's half-baked hypotheses, but before long the ladies uncover some shady dealings hidden in fog-bound San Nicholas. Now Val must expose the truth - before a crummy killer tries to shut her pie hole.

©2017 Kirsten Weiss (P)2018 Tantor

Just barely over OK

But I could stick with this book because it came from Audible Plus so was free to me. It kind of dragged but I stuck with it. One thing the otherwise good narrator needs to learn is how to pronounce jaguar, which, believe it or not, is said quite often in this book, tho I don't know why since it had no bearing on the story. She pronounced it jag-wire. What? It should be pronounced jag-wire. After a while, it got annoying. Otherwise, not a bad book but I probably won't listen to any more of this author.

Fun Quick Little Book

Overall I really like the book and the story and the narrator was amazing. It was quick and enjoyable. I do feel like the reveal took too long. The perpetrator was revealed when there was only about 25 minutes left in the story. I’m definitely looking forward to more from this author and narrator

Took a bit to warm up

It was a slow starter. I enjoyed most of the characters, but there were a few of the typical “completely awful” people that seem one dimensional and a given in certain cozies. However, I liked the story enough to ignore that I was annoyed by them and they were only there to be a foible of irritation to the main character. Charleen annoyed me at first, but she grew on me as eccentric and lonely. I did think some of the MC’s decisions were things she went along with rather than tried to turn to her advantage, but that is sort of tackled with a decision later on to do things differently. Not bad, but not the best and a tad cliche. Still I enjoyed it and I’ll read the next.

Amazed

I am a Bernie Rhodenbarr fan. these books were recommended to me by a friend, and I am in love with Pie Town.

Great story and well told. The characters are all real.

Crazy Characters

I loved the cast of characters and their foibles and idiosyncrasies. They were fun to learn about and some were pretty sinister.

2 and a half

The Quiche and the Dead is a formulaic unimaginative cozy mystery. I never warmed up to the characters and lost interest in the book.