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Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-n-Craft Mystery #3
Ink, Red, Dead
Things go from bad to worse when ace scrapbooker Kiki Lowenstein visits a customer’s home, and discovers she’s a cat hoarder. Not only is the place swarming with felines, but there is a corpse in the freezer. Kiki refuses to believe that the scrapbooker was involved with her neighbor’s murder, and now her biggest problem is who dunnit?
149 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 11, 2011
222 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Campbell Slan
170Ìýbooks828ÌýfollowersNational bestselling and award-winning author Joanna Campbell Slan was born in Jacksonville, Florida, but she grew up in a small town in Indiana. After graduating from Ball State University with a degree in journalism, she worked as a newspaper reporter, a newspaper ad salesperson, a television talk show host, a college teacher, a public relations professional, and a motivational speaker. In that capacity, she was named by Sharing Ideas Magazine as “one of the top 25 speakers in the world.â€�
Slan's work has appeared in five of the New York Times Bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and one of those became a television show. She is the author of twenty-eight books, nonfiction and fiction, including Death of a Schoolgirl, which won the 2013 Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence.
Joanna's personal essays have appeared in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and one was made into a television program on the Pax Network. The college textbook Joanna wrote—Using Stories and Humor: Grab Your Audience—has been praised as an invaluable resource by Benjamin Netanyahu’s speechwriter and endorsed by Toastmasters, International.
RT Book Reviews has called Joanna “one of mystery’s rising stars.� Her first novel—Paper, Scissors, Death—was an Agatha Award finalist. It features Kiki Lowenstein, a spunky single mom who lives in St. Louis. The sixth book in that series will be released Summer 2013.
Kirkus Reviews has said, “Slan’s mysteries are most valuable for the well-developed characters and the issues they raise.� RT Book Reviews has said, “Kiki is so darn entertaining that she’ll keep readers hooked.� A series of short stories featuring Kiki are available on Kindle.
Joanna’s newest series—The Jane Eyre Chronicles—began with Death of a Schoolgirl (Berkley) and continues with the release of Death of a Dowager. The series features Charlotte Brontë’s classic heroine Jane Eyre as an amateur sleuth.
As “Lila Dare,� Joanna has penned the fourth book in the Southern Beauty Shop series—Wave Good-bye.
Joanna is married to David Slan, owner of Steinway Piano Gallery, which serves metro- Washington, DC, as well as Steinway Piano Gallery in St. Louis, MO, which serves most of Missouri and much of central Illinois. They have one son, Michael, who is a professional poker player. The Slans live with their two dogs, Rafferty and Victoria, on Jupiter Island, Florida.
Website:
Facebook:
Twitter: @JoannaSlan
Slan's work has appeared in five of the New York Times Bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and one of those became a television show. She is the author of twenty-eight books, nonfiction and fiction, including Death of a Schoolgirl, which won the 2013 Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence.
Joanna's personal essays have appeared in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and one was made into a television program on the Pax Network. The college textbook Joanna wrote—Using Stories and Humor: Grab Your Audience—has been praised as an invaluable resource by Benjamin Netanyahu’s speechwriter and endorsed by Toastmasters, International.
RT Book Reviews has called Joanna “one of mystery’s rising stars.� Her first novel—Paper, Scissors, Death—was an Agatha Award finalist. It features Kiki Lowenstein, a spunky single mom who lives in St. Louis. The sixth book in that series will be released Summer 2013.
Kirkus Reviews has said, “Slan’s mysteries are most valuable for the well-developed characters and the issues they raise.� RT Book Reviews has said, “Kiki is so darn entertaining that she’ll keep readers hooked.� A series of short stories featuring Kiki are available on Kindle.
Joanna’s newest series—The Jane Eyre Chronicles—began with Death of a Schoolgirl (Berkley) and continues with the release of Death of a Dowager. The series features Charlotte Brontë’s classic heroine Jane Eyre as an amateur sleuth.
As “Lila Dare,� Joanna has penned the fourth book in the Southern Beauty Shop series—Wave Good-bye.
Joanna is married to David Slan, owner of Steinway Piano Gallery, which serves metro- Washington, DC, as well as Steinway Piano Gallery in St. Louis, MO, which serves most of Missouri and much of central Illinois. They have one son, Michael, who is a professional poker player. The Slans live with their two dogs, Rafferty and Victoria, on Jupiter Island, Florida.
Website:
Facebook:
Twitter: @JoannaSlan
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
July 18, 2017
Overall I enjoyed the story itself, however there were too many editing errors from extra words to spelling a characters name two different ways on the same page. I also felt like the ending was abrupt not to mention a little gross.
December 14, 2016
Kiki Lowenstein with her fellow employee and crafting
assistant are going to a customer crafter's home,
Marla Lever, to help set up.
Marla has agreed to host the shop's "Crop" there.
The store's manager came up with the idea to rotate
a "Crop" in a different customer's home each time.
Kiki objected to this idea as who knows what you
would discover at someone else's place. And boy
was Kiki ever correct!!!
Arriving st the house, there is no answer. Kiki finds
an open door then....Oh My....Kiki walks into a house
filled with hundreds of cats, trash, newspapers stacks,
cat excrements, a broken air conditioner and a near
death woman.
Kiki quickly calls for help which saves the woman 's
life even though she is in a coma.
When the clean up crew is hired, they find a dead
body in the woman's freezer. What is going on here??
This was a different type story mixing scrapbooking
techniques, hoarding, missing girls, torture, murder
along with saving and adopting a baby kitten, helping
a person in finding herself, relatives helping each
other, love and friendship.
Love both of Kiki's dogs and how they adjusted to the
addition on the baby kitten.
Good read.
assistant are going to a customer crafter's home,
Marla Lever, to help set up.
Marla has agreed to host the shop's "Crop" there.
The store's manager came up with the idea to rotate
a "Crop" in a different customer's home each time.
Kiki objected to this idea as who knows what you
would discover at someone else's place. And boy
was Kiki ever correct!!!
Arriving st the house, there is no answer. Kiki finds
an open door then....Oh My....Kiki walks into a house
filled with hundreds of cats, trash, newspapers stacks,
cat excrements, a broken air conditioner and a near
death woman.
Kiki quickly calls for help which saves the woman 's
life even though she is in a coma.
When the clean up crew is hired, they find a dead
body in the woman's freezer. What is going on here??
This was a different type story mixing scrapbooking
techniques, hoarding, missing girls, torture, murder
along with saving and adopting a baby kitten, helping
a person in finding herself, relatives helping each
other, love and friendship.
Love both of Kiki's dogs and how they adjusted to the
addition on the baby kitten.
Good read.
March 30, 2022
*I received a free copy of this book which I voluntarily chose to write an honest review for.
This is my first Kiki book but I must say that I am now hooked so I will be reading more. Kiki works for a scrap booking store which is a first for me. This is very intriguing. The owner's daughter has been made Manager even though she is not even close to being qualified. She decides that events elsewhere is what they have to do so they go to Marla's house where they are in for a huge surprise. Not only is Marla a stuff and cat hoarder she herself is pretty much unconscious in her bed requiring emergency care that ends with her in a coma. Of course the event had to be cancelled which caused a whole uproar with the new boss. As the mystery plays out regarding who could have hurt Marla we also get lots of personal growth amongst the characters with their interactions. Makes for quite the fun read as it all plays out making it a great choice for cozy fans. I look forward to more. I really liked it so I give it 4/5 stars.
This is my first Kiki book but I must say that I am now hooked so I will be reading more. Kiki works for a scrap booking store which is a first for me. This is very intriguing. The owner's daughter has been made Manager even though she is not even close to being qualified. She decides that events elsewhere is what they have to do so they go to Marla's house where they are in for a huge surprise. Not only is Marla a stuff and cat hoarder she herself is pretty much unconscious in her bed requiring emergency care that ends with her in a coma. Of course the event had to be cancelled which caused a whole uproar with the new boss. As the mystery plays out regarding who could have hurt Marla we also get lots of personal growth amongst the characters with their interactions. Makes for quite the fun read as it all plays out making it a great choice for cozy fans. I look forward to more. I really liked it so I give it 4/5 stars.
September 4, 2022
Enjoyed this 3rd book in the series quite a bit more than the first two. There was a satisfying ending (unlike the first two books), and there were fewer editing issues.
One interesting quirk is that the real estate agent in book 1 was named Sylvia Bertolli. Apparently, somewhere between the first and third books, the realtor who had previously helped Kiki sell her home underwent a name change to Pamela Bertolli.
I don't know - these little editing bloopers are beginning to endear the series to me in a weird way. I guess that's because I do like the main character and I continue to be interested in seeing what's next for her, as well as her family, boss, and friends.
**** Possible Spoiler Ahead ****
Because this IS a mystery series, I'd like to note that I found the mystery to be quite good although the perpetrator was an idiot. He worked hard to clean up some of the evidence but left the easier-to-identify and more obvious mess of evidence behind.
One interesting quirk is that the real estate agent in book 1 was named Sylvia Bertolli. Apparently, somewhere between the first and third books, the realtor who had previously helped Kiki sell her home underwent a name change to Pamela Bertolli.
I don't know - these little editing bloopers are beginning to endear the series to me in a weird way. I guess that's because I do like the main character and I continue to be interested in seeing what's next for her, as well as her family, boss, and friends.
**** Possible Spoiler Ahead ****
Because this IS a mystery series, I'd like to note that I found the mystery to be quite good although the perpetrator was an idiot. He worked hard to clean up some of the evidence but left the easier-to-identify and more obvious mess of evidence behind.
February 5, 2016
I an not even sure why I liked Ink, Red, Dead, so much but I really did. I think it is because the main character seemed so real and she had good sense, she got irritated at irritating things, she loved her daughter and was willing to work with her mother, she didn't always act the way she thought she should; that is real life. I know that I am rooting for her and for Detweiler. I enjoyed all of the characters who seem to belongs to the series, once Miss Something got her business together. It is a small thing, but I appreciated that people who seem tight for money were not taking vacations; as one who has had to live on a tight budget it really bugs me to see characters that I otherwise like acting so irresponsible. I life to be able to respect my characters as I do Kiki, and mine they do become.
June 20, 2017
I'm still enjoying this series about a scrap-booking single mother trying to survive and keep her daughter happy. In this one she stumbles on a nasty situation when she turns up to help host a crop at one of the store's clients' houses and finds the woman unconscious in an overheated house full of cats and newspapers. When she calls 911 the police turn up along with the ambulance, and discover a body in the woman's freezer. If you can get past the police being unnaturally willing to share clues with her, it's a pretty good mystery, and the personal story of Kiki and her family is keeping me interested in this series.
July 31, 2018
This book is surprisingly gross considering that the main character is a scrapbooker. This tame occupation involves Kiki with a cat hoarder and 2 men, who under the guise of helping her to feed her cats, use her to hide the evidence of their twisted crimes. Not for the faint of heart!
November 19, 2021
And you thought scrapbooking was a boring hobby?
In my work and my leisure, I read a lot of mysteries - murders, thrillers, spy stories, Delta Force operatives, and cozies too - and I'm often given pause. Of the authors I've met, I've yet to meet one that scares me.
Although, reading their work does make you stop and think. Collectively, these people have more unique and virtually undetectable ways of killing than you'd ever imagine!
So I'm just done Book Three of Slan's Kiki Lowenstein Mysteries, and let me just say, I think I'm glad I don't know her! I mean, what if I insulted her somehow?
But I digress.
Love these characters. Even Kiki's mother-in-law has become an endearing part of the ensemble. Love the scrapes Slan lets them get into that always lead to finding answers. And I even love this I'm-not-quite-sure-what-to-call-it thing with Detweiler.
And have I mentioned that I'm glad I'm late to the party and there are lots more to read?
If you haven't, check them out . . . you'll thank me, pinky swear!
In my work and my leisure, I read a lot of mysteries - murders, thrillers, spy stories, Delta Force operatives, and cozies too - and I'm often given pause. Of the authors I've met, I've yet to meet one that scares me.
Although, reading their work does make you stop and think. Collectively, these people have more unique and virtually undetectable ways of killing than you'd ever imagine!
So I'm just done Book Three of Slan's Kiki Lowenstein Mysteries, and let me just say, I think I'm glad I don't know her! I mean, what if I insulted her somehow?
But I digress.
Love these characters. Even Kiki's mother-in-law has become an endearing part of the ensemble. Love the scrapes Slan lets them get into that always lead to finding answers. And I even love this I'm-not-quite-sure-what-to-call-it thing with Detweiler.
And have I mentioned that I'm glad I'm late to the party and there are lots more to read?
If you haven't, check them out . . . you'll thank me, pinky swear!
October 19, 2013
Scrapbooker extraordinaire Kiki Lowenstein stumbles into the biggest mess of her life. The home where she’s supposed to hold a crafting party is roasting hot, filled with cats and hoarded materials, and is nearly the death of the hostess, a woman named Marla. Holy Glue Gun!
Marla’s family is a piece of work, and oddly they seem to blame Kiki for saving their mom. Then the cleanup crew finds a body in the freezer and the place becomes a crime scene. Kiki works to unravel all the tangles of this mystery, including coming to her senses about a certain detective.
Joanna Campbell Slan has an ease to telling a story that really suits me. I start a book of hers and never notice time passing. A light fun read.
Marla’s family is a piece of work, and oddly they seem to blame Kiki for saving their mom. Then the cleanup crew finds a body in the freezer and the place becomes a crime scene. Kiki works to unravel all the tangles of this mystery, including coming to her senses about a certain detective.
Joanna Campbell Slan has an ease to telling a story that really suits me. I start a book of hers and never notice time passing. A light fun read.
December 2, 2013
Definitely not one of her best and I generally enjoy her books. This dealt with unpleasant content (and not very well in my opinion) but in general the writing felt way too rushed. The end of the whole "who done it" was so abrupt, it felt like a big "oops, I forgot to resolve that so let me throw this in before my deadline". I honestly thought I'd skipped some pages.
October 29, 2017
Great Scrapbooking Mystery
5 stars for this book! This is a fast moving mystery with great characters and interwoven plots. There is a good mystery to solve and plenty of action and brainstorming for the reader.
Included with the book are Scrapbooking ideas, good recipes, and suggestions for projects.
5 stars for this book! This is a fast moving mystery with great characters and interwoven plots. There is a good mystery to solve and plenty of action and brainstorming for the reader.
Included with the book are Scrapbooking ideas, good recipes, and suggestions for projects.
October 30, 2013
Ink Red Dead (a Kiki Lowenstein mystery)
By Joanna Campbell Slan
This was a delightful story featuring a heroine well known to all of us in today’s mysteries � single woman (either never married, recently divorced or widowed, sometimes with a child, sometimes without), who manages to get herself into amazing situations without even trying. Still, Slan’s character is likeable and manages to separate herself from the crowd of current day heroines.
Kiki Lowenstein is a widow with a young daughter, who lives in Richmond Heights, just outside of St. Louis. She is struggling to make ends meet, to rebuild her life, and to provide for her daughter. In this, the third in the series, Kiki is working at Time In A Bottle, a scrapbooking store in which she has a small, minority ownership share. She also picks up extra cash working for her friend Mert’s cleaning business. In this book, she gets to do both.
The daughter of the Time In A Bottle majority owners has dropped out of college, and her parents make her store manager. Against, Kiki’s advice, she sets up in-home scrapbooking parties, which Kiki and her co-worker, Clancy, run in clients� homes. When they arrive to help set up for one such party, they discover the homeowner, although living in an upscale neighborhood, has allowed her house and grounds to deteriorate. It’s hot, and a trip around the house turns up no information as to why the homeowner isn’t answering her doorbell. When Kiki finally gets the front door open, the smell is overpowering � cats are everywhere! Kiki braves the unbelievable mess and smell inside the house and finds the homeowner in her bedroom, near death. Kiki calls 911. After the paramedics, police and animal control have finished their work, Kiki joins her friend Mert’s cleaning crew to reclaim this home from years of neglect.
It seems a pretty cut and dry case of hoarding, until they find the body in the freezer.
So, was this a case of the crazy cat lady becoming overwhelmed by her own problem? Or did someone else attempt to silence her and frame her for murder?
Slan’s writing style is enjoyable. The story is told in first person, from Kiki’s POV. Her characters are fully fleshed out and you either like them or dislike them immediately. The situations are believable; things you could see happening in real life. Her prose is well done with wonderful turns of phrase and lots of humor. The early part of the story features a couple of well-defined flashbacks. You know � like you expect to see on a TV show that starts with an event and then this flashes on the screen: �6 hours earlier.� Her chapters don’t all have headings, but when they do, they tend to relate to the timeline, giving the reader information on where, from the original scene, the action is taking place. For instance, the first chapter (position 41 on my Kindle) heading is “Mid-August/LaDue, Missouri, Early Thursday morning…� Other chapter headings are Chapter 2, (80 on the Kndle) “One hour earlier�,� Chapter 18 (886 on my Kindle) “Late evening after discovering the mess at Marla’s,� and Chapter 19 (894) “Friday/one day after discovering the mess at Marla’s.� I’d not seen this type of chapter heading before, but I found it neither particularly helpful nor distracting, just mildly interesting.
It was certainly a quick read. I started the book on Oct. 26th and finished it Sunday night, Oct. 27th. I think I read somewhere that this was a novella � but then I also read somewhere that this was the first book in the series, but according to the author, it’s the third book in a 9 book series. It looks like it might have been written in either 2008 or 9, but revised this year (2013). I’m holding out on believing that it’s been revised --- and the reasons for that will come later.
I want to stress again that I enjoyed this read. I found the writer’s style to be interesting and fun. I found the characterizations to be nicely done. I liked the way the author moved the plot forward and how the action kept me engaged. I would have liked to have given it 4, maybe even 5 stars.
I also loved the extras at the end of the book: Kiki Lowenstein’s Craft Projects, Kiki Lowenstein’s Best Pet Album ideas, Kiki Lowenstein’s Fun, Cheap and Fast Album Idea, Kiki Lowenstein’s Ideas for using Zentangle Inspired Designs, Marla Husovsky’s Frito Pie Casserole, Candi Bise’s Lemor Curd Cupcake recipe, Rebekkah’s Pumpkin Cookies, -- great fun! And on the strength of this alone, I’ll probably recommend the book to a couple of my scrapbooking friends!
So, if I liked it so much why didn’t I rate it higher?
If you follow my reviews on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, I’m betting you already know the answer: bad proofreading and editing. And yes, what follows is why I’m having trouble believing the book was revised in 2013 and I’m wondering what it was like before if what I’m listing here still exists. Also, we’ve come to why I rated this a 3 star, rather than a 4 or 5 star read.
As I usually do with an author who is new to me, I visited Slan’s website: . This is not an inexperienced author. The Kiki Lowenstein series has 9 books and some short stories existing, plus the 10th book will be out in 2014. The Jane Eyre Chronicles series has a couple of books in it. The Southern Beauty Shop Mystery series has 4 books in it (written evidently under the name Lila Dare). Plus Slan is about to launch a new series, the Cara Mia Delgatto series, in November of 2013. She also has some other books, including scrapbooking books, inspirational books, and a how to about letter writing. So, I see no reason why there should be poor proofreading and editing in a newly revised novel.
Near the beginning, Kiki’s landlord is leaving town and has Kiki dog sit his Pug, Petunia (about 919 on my Kindle). Kiki has a Great Dane named Gracie. (I would have loved to see more interaction between these Mutt and Jeff canine characters, by the way.) When she goes to work, she takes the dogs with her, but there is no mention of Petunia when she gets to the shop, just Gracie (939): “After putting Gracie in the doggy playpen, I set aside my purse and my lunchbox.� So, where is Petunia? Did she leave him (yes, him) in the car? There was no mention of making a stop along the way, other than to drop her daughter off for day camp. Also, Petunia is not mentioned again from the time he is loaded in the car at 927, until position 1339, when he suddenly reappears at Kiki’s house. Where has he been all this time?
At 2326, once again, only Gracie is mentioned being put in the pen at work. Petunia is again not mentioned. But, finally, at 3287, Petunia actually shows up at work and is clearly shown being put into the doggie playpen.
Yes, it’s nit-picky since the dogs are not real players in the plot, but it bothered me that Kiki was supposed to be caring for this dog throughout the story, yet, even when Gracie does appear, often Petunia mysteriously is missing. As a pet owner, it was something I picked up on. Like misused words (to come), it takes me out of the action when I stop to wonder what happened to that little dog. A good editor and proofreader should have picked up on these omissions.
There were other, more evident mistakes that should have been picked up by Slan’s proofreader or editor. At 1401, Mert says: “But we won’t remove it from the premises until you say so. That way you can you sort through it.� Two occurrences of the word “you,� probably due to a rewrite of the original sentence and not caught on proofreading.
At 1455, Kiki is thinking about a stalking problem she may have: “Once I came home to a bloody mess on my porch, a clear warning that the killer hadn’t forgotten about me.� What she is referring to was never really explained. I’m assuming that the stalking or harassment reference comes from one of the two previous books in the series, as I know her husband was murdered and his killer not captured, so I can figure out that is the killer she refers to. However, the “bloody mess� isn’t set out, nor are any other instances of harassment, leaving me wondering what that was all about. Yep, stopped my immersion in the story and I hate that.
At position 1687 is this sentence: “These were labeled with the name of each scrapbooker on the end where it could easily been seen when the containers were stacked in alphabetical order.� Oh, I have so much to say about this sentence! First, “been seen?� I think she meant “be seen.� And, of course “could been(sic) seen� is an infinitive, so the “easily� should have come either before the “could� or after the “seen.� Yes, I know split infinitives aren’t a big deal in today’s grammar world, but it jumped out at me. And finally, so the labels only are seen easily when the boxes were stacked in alphabetical order? Again, one of those little nit-picky things that make me crazy. “…easily could be found…� would have said it better, as surely the labels were as seeable when stacked randomly as when stacked alphabetically, but might be a little harder to find.
While Kiki is working with Mert’s crew to clear and clean Marla’s home, Mert asks Kiki to pack up Marla’s deceased child’s room. The child has been deceased for a long time and Marla has kept the room in pristine condition, just as it was the last time he was in it. As a mother of a young child, this is a disturbing task for Kiki. She says this: “I hated her to asking me to do that.� Again, a good proofreader should have seen the “to� where “for� should be. This little mistake, that takes the reader out of the action, also spoils a very poignant moment in the narration.
At 2826, we find this: “Touching all this symbols of a boy’s inner life had set my internal clock to ticking.� Again, Kiki is referring to packing up the deceased child’s room. That little mistake of “this� instead of “these,� again spoils a very poignant moment.
At 3100, when talking about the possibility that the packaged meat found in the freezer was venison, and might have internal parasites, Kiki says: “She gets her cat back, and she realized that he’s been eating deer meet. If they were parasites, and her vet noticed them…� I’m pretty sure she meant, “If there were parasites, and her vet noticed them…�
At 3222, after a long and nearly sleepless night, Kiki says this: “I didn’t want to climb back into bed and surrender to sleep, to a place where I couldn’t control my thoughts. Instead, even though it was really, really early, I showered and dressed for my job at the scrapbook store.� This was very confusing. Her home had been vandalized, she was sleeping at her mother-in-law’s home, had been having nightmares, been up pacing most of the night. So, did she really mean she did not want to “go back to bed and surrender to sleep, to a place where she couldn’t control her thoughts?� If so, why the “Instead,� to start the next sentence? Or did she mean she wanted to get lost in sleep? Doesn’t really make a difference, as once again this wording threw me out of the action as I pondered what was meant.
I often get asked why these things bother me so much � and if you’ve read this or other of my reviews closely, you’ve seen me say this before: because it takes the reader out of the action. It spoils the flow. It makes the reader realize she is just reading words on a page, not living an adventure. I read for fun. Trying to figure out whether the syntax or grammar or spelling or word usage is correct is not fun. This was a revised edition?
To wrap up, part of me loves this book and wants to let the world know about it. Another part of me is really struggling with whether I want to take a chance and read more books in this series, a series I desperately want to like, just to be disappointed by finding the same type of problems once again.
By Joanna Campbell Slan
This was a delightful story featuring a heroine well known to all of us in today’s mysteries � single woman (either never married, recently divorced or widowed, sometimes with a child, sometimes without), who manages to get herself into amazing situations without even trying. Still, Slan’s character is likeable and manages to separate herself from the crowd of current day heroines.
Kiki Lowenstein is a widow with a young daughter, who lives in Richmond Heights, just outside of St. Louis. She is struggling to make ends meet, to rebuild her life, and to provide for her daughter. In this, the third in the series, Kiki is working at Time In A Bottle, a scrapbooking store in which she has a small, minority ownership share. She also picks up extra cash working for her friend Mert’s cleaning business. In this book, she gets to do both.
The daughter of the Time In A Bottle majority owners has dropped out of college, and her parents make her store manager. Against, Kiki’s advice, she sets up in-home scrapbooking parties, which Kiki and her co-worker, Clancy, run in clients� homes. When they arrive to help set up for one such party, they discover the homeowner, although living in an upscale neighborhood, has allowed her house and grounds to deteriorate. It’s hot, and a trip around the house turns up no information as to why the homeowner isn’t answering her doorbell. When Kiki finally gets the front door open, the smell is overpowering � cats are everywhere! Kiki braves the unbelievable mess and smell inside the house and finds the homeowner in her bedroom, near death. Kiki calls 911. After the paramedics, police and animal control have finished their work, Kiki joins her friend Mert’s cleaning crew to reclaim this home from years of neglect.
It seems a pretty cut and dry case of hoarding, until they find the body in the freezer.
So, was this a case of the crazy cat lady becoming overwhelmed by her own problem? Or did someone else attempt to silence her and frame her for murder?
Slan’s writing style is enjoyable. The story is told in first person, from Kiki’s POV. Her characters are fully fleshed out and you either like them or dislike them immediately. The situations are believable; things you could see happening in real life. Her prose is well done with wonderful turns of phrase and lots of humor. The early part of the story features a couple of well-defined flashbacks. You know � like you expect to see on a TV show that starts with an event and then this flashes on the screen: �6 hours earlier.� Her chapters don’t all have headings, but when they do, they tend to relate to the timeline, giving the reader information on where, from the original scene, the action is taking place. For instance, the first chapter (position 41 on my Kindle) heading is “Mid-August/LaDue, Missouri, Early Thursday morning…� Other chapter headings are Chapter 2, (80 on the Kndle) “One hour earlier�,� Chapter 18 (886 on my Kindle) “Late evening after discovering the mess at Marla’s,� and Chapter 19 (894) “Friday/one day after discovering the mess at Marla’s.� I’d not seen this type of chapter heading before, but I found it neither particularly helpful nor distracting, just mildly interesting.
It was certainly a quick read. I started the book on Oct. 26th and finished it Sunday night, Oct. 27th. I think I read somewhere that this was a novella � but then I also read somewhere that this was the first book in the series, but according to the author, it’s the third book in a 9 book series. It looks like it might have been written in either 2008 or 9, but revised this year (2013). I’m holding out on believing that it’s been revised --- and the reasons for that will come later.
I want to stress again that I enjoyed this read. I found the writer’s style to be interesting and fun. I found the characterizations to be nicely done. I liked the way the author moved the plot forward and how the action kept me engaged. I would have liked to have given it 4, maybe even 5 stars.
I also loved the extras at the end of the book: Kiki Lowenstein’s Craft Projects, Kiki Lowenstein’s Best Pet Album ideas, Kiki Lowenstein’s Fun, Cheap and Fast Album Idea, Kiki Lowenstein’s Ideas for using Zentangle Inspired Designs, Marla Husovsky’s Frito Pie Casserole, Candi Bise’s Lemor Curd Cupcake recipe, Rebekkah’s Pumpkin Cookies, -- great fun! And on the strength of this alone, I’ll probably recommend the book to a couple of my scrapbooking friends!
So, if I liked it so much why didn’t I rate it higher?
If you follow my reviews on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, I’m betting you already know the answer: bad proofreading and editing. And yes, what follows is why I’m having trouble believing the book was revised in 2013 and I’m wondering what it was like before if what I’m listing here still exists. Also, we’ve come to why I rated this a 3 star, rather than a 4 or 5 star read.
As I usually do with an author who is new to me, I visited Slan’s website: . This is not an inexperienced author. The Kiki Lowenstein series has 9 books and some short stories existing, plus the 10th book will be out in 2014. The Jane Eyre Chronicles series has a couple of books in it. The Southern Beauty Shop Mystery series has 4 books in it (written evidently under the name Lila Dare). Plus Slan is about to launch a new series, the Cara Mia Delgatto series, in November of 2013. She also has some other books, including scrapbooking books, inspirational books, and a how to about letter writing. So, I see no reason why there should be poor proofreading and editing in a newly revised novel.
Near the beginning, Kiki’s landlord is leaving town and has Kiki dog sit his Pug, Petunia (about 919 on my Kindle). Kiki has a Great Dane named Gracie. (I would have loved to see more interaction between these Mutt and Jeff canine characters, by the way.) When she goes to work, she takes the dogs with her, but there is no mention of Petunia when she gets to the shop, just Gracie (939): “After putting Gracie in the doggy playpen, I set aside my purse and my lunchbox.� So, where is Petunia? Did she leave him (yes, him) in the car? There was no mention of making a stop along the way, other than to drop her daughter off for day camp. Also, Petunia is not mentioned again from the time he is loaded in the car at 927, until position 1339, when he suddenly reappears at Kiki’s house. Where has he been all this time?
At 2326, once again, only Gracie is mentioned being put in the pen at work. Petunia is again not mentioned. But, finally, at 3287, Petunia actually shows up at work and is clearly shown being put into the doggie playpen.
Yes, it’s nit-picky since the dogs are not real players in the plot, but it bothered me that Kiki was supposed to be caring for this dog throughout the story, yet, even when Gracie does appear, often Petunia mysteriously is missing. As a pet owner, it was something I picked up on. Like misused words (to come), it takes me out of the action when I stop to wonder what happened to that little dog. A good editor and proofreader should have picked up on these omissions.
There were other, more evident mistakes that should have been picked up by Slan’s proofreader or editor. At 1401, Mert says: “But we won’t remove it from the premises until you say so. That way you can you sort through it.� Two occurrences of the word “you,� probably due to a rewrite of the original sentence and not caught on proofreading.
At 1455, Kiki is thinking about a stalking problem she may have: “Once I came home to a bloody mess on my porch, a clear warning that the killer hadn’t forgotten about me.� What she is referring to was never really explained. I’m assuming that the stalking or harassment reference comes from one of the two previous books in the series, as I know her husband was murdered and his killer not captured, so I can figure out that is the killer she refers to. However, the “bloody mess� isn’t set out, nor are any other instances of harassment, leaving me wondering what that was all about. Yep, stopped my immersion in the story and I hate that.
At position 1687 is this sentence: “These were labeled with the name of each scrapbooker on the end where it could easily been seen when the containers were stacked in alphabetical order.� Oh, I have so much to say about this sentence! First, “been seen?� I think she meant “be seen.� And, of course “could been(sic) seen� is an infinitive, so the “easily� should have come either before the “could� or after the “seen.� Yes, I know split infinitives aren’t a big deal in today’s grammar world, but it jumped out at me. And finally, so the labels only are seen easily when the boxes were stacked in alphabetical order? Again, one of those little nit-picky things that make me crazy. “…easily could be found…� would have said it better, as surely the labels were as seeable when stacked randomly as when stacked alphabetically, but might be a little harder to find.
While Kiki is working with Mert’s crew to clear and clean Marla’s home, Mert asks Kiki to pack up Marla’s deceased child’s room. The child has been deceased for a long time and Marla has kept the room in pristine condition, just as it was the last time he was in it. As a mother of a young child, this is a disturbing task for Kiki. She says this: “I hated her to asking me to do that.� Again, a good proofreader should have seen the “to� where “for� should be. This little mistake, that takes the reader out of the action, also spoils a very poignant moment in the narration.
At 2826, we find this: “Touching all this symbols of a boy’s inner life had set my internal clock to ticking.� Again, Kiki is referring to packing up the deceased child’s room. That little mistake of “this� instead of “these,� again spoils a very poignant moment.
At 3100, when talking about the possibility that the packaged meat found in the freezer was venison, and might have internal parasites, Kiki says: “She gets her cat back, and she realized that he’s been eating deer meet. If they were parasites, and her vet noticed them…� I’m pretty sure she meant, “If there were parasites, and her vet noticed them…�
At 3222, after a long and nearly sleepless night, Kiki says this: “I didn’t want to climb back into bed and surrender to sleep, to a place where I couldn’t control my thoughts. Instead, even though it was really, really early, I showered and dressed for my job at the scrapbook store.� This was very confusing. Her home had been vandalized, she was sleeping at her mother-in-law’s home, had been having nightmares, been up pacing most of the night. So, did she really mean she did not want to “go back to bed and surrender to sleep, to a place where she couldn’t control her thoughts?� If so, why the “Instead,� to start the next sentence? Or did she mean she wanted to get lost in sleep? Doesn’t really make a difference, as once again this wording threw me out of the action as I pondered what was meant.
I often get asked why these things bother me so much � and if you’ve read this or other of my reviews closely, you’ve seen me say this before: because it takes the reader out of the action. It spoils the flow. It makes the reader realize she is just reading words on a page, not living an adventure. I read for fun. Trying to figure out whether the syntax or grammar or spelling or word usage is correct is not fun. This was a revised edition?
To wrap up, part of me loves this book and wants to let the world know about it. Another part of me is really struggling with whether I want to take a chance and read more books in this series, a series I desperately want to like, just to be disappointed by finding the same type of problems once again.
July 16, 2022
While this was not my favorite book in the series I have to admit I liked all the interactions of the main characters. You may appreciate this book better if you are reading the series in order.
If you visualize scenes as you read, this one may be tougher for you. It is an edgier cozy mystery.
We also experience more turmoil in Kiki's home and romantic lives.
The word that first came to mind for me was "convoluted." Not that the story is difficult to read or follow, but that it is original, nontypical, somewhat twisted and at times, a bit on the darker side.
I liked the roles Mert and Johnny played. I like how Rebekah grew and worked out some of her issues.
This is a series about family, friendships and overcoming obstacles.
It also deals with much grief.
If you visualize scenes as you read, this one may be tougher for you. It is an edgier cozy mystery.
We also experience more turmoil in Kiki's home and romantic lives.
The word that first came to mind for me was "convoluted." Not that the story is difficult to read or follow, but that it is original, nontypical, somewhat twisted and at times, a bit on the darker side.
I liked the roles Mert and Johnny played. I like how Rebekah grew and worked out some of her issues.
This is a series about family, friendships and overcoming obstacles.
It also deals with much grief.
July 22, 2022
While this was not my favorite book in the series I have to admit I liked all the interactions of the main characters. You may appreciate this book better if you are reading the series in order.
If you visualize scenes as you read, this one may be tougher for you. It is an edgier cozy mystery.
We also experience more turmoil in Kiki's home and romantic lives.
The word that first came to mind for me was "convoluted." Not that the story is difficult to read or follow, but that it is original, nontypical, somewhat twisted and at times, a bit on the darker side.
I liked the roles Mert and Johnny played. I like how Rebekah grew and worked out some of her issues.
This is a series about family, friendships and overcoming obstacles.
It also deals with much grief.
If you visualize scenes as you read, this one may be tougher for you. It is an edgier cozy mystery.
We also experience more turmoil in Kiki's home and romantic lives.
The word that first came to mind for me was "convoluted." Not that the story is difficult to read or follow, but that it is original, nontypical, somewhat twisted and at times, a bit on the darker side.
I liked the roles Mert and Johnny played. I like how Rebekah grew and worked out some of her issues.
This is a series about family, friendships and overcoming obstacles.
It also deals with much grief.
August 14, 2022
On a roll with the intrigue. Although I will admit this one was a little on the ewww side, it was really a good read. I'm still happy with the backburner stories of Kiki and Shelia's relationship progress. I also really like Shelia and Robbie's storyline. I'm a tad upset at the Detweiler situation and the fact that he knows Brenda is harassing Kiki but he's not doing anything to stop her plus he's making it worse but continuing to see her. I also really like the scrapbooking understory. And I loved that Kiki made an effort to fix the issue with Rebekah. All in all I'm happy with this one.
July 19, 2023
Another Exciting Tale In The Life Of Kiki
Kiki has a knack for finding mystery and adventure, but not finding the perfect man, not that she needs one. She's pretty busy raising her daughter, scrapbooking, working two jobs, and solving murders. I'm enjoying this series with all of the amazing characters and their experiences. Now trying to solve the mysteries, I'm not so good at, but I have fun trying. Looking forward to reading more about Kiki's adventures in the next book.
Kiki has a knack for finding mystery and adventure, but not finding the perfect man, not that she needs one. She's pretty busy raising her daughter, scrapbooking, working two jobs, and solving murders. I'm enjoying this series with all of the amazing characters and their experiences. Now trying to solve the mysteries, I'm not so good at, but I have fun trying. Looking forward to reading more about Kiki's adventures in the next book.
March 21, 2022
Wow!
So much happens in this book it's almost too hard to keep track! That said, I adore this series. Between all the characters and the animals, it's almost too much fun. Of course finding dead bodies in freezers is not. So, again Kiki has her work cut out for her. Can't wait to see what happens in the next book.
So much happens in this book it's almost too hard to keep track! That said, I adore this series. Between all the characters and the animals, it's almost too much fun. Of course finding dead bodies in freezers is not. So, again Kiki has her work cut out for her. Can't wait to see what happens in the next book.
April 28, 2024
Overall, the series is pretty good. It's improving as the characters are developing. the mysteries are getting more involved and intense. Also, the murderers are not always that obvious. There have been some conclusions to some issues that have arisen. Not exactly certain how I feel about Kiki and the detective though.
October 24, 2021
Kiki managed to become involved with a hoarder that also is an animal hoarder. The subject of hoarding is horrific enough but throw in a serial killer and it is overwhelming. This isn’t a lighthearted,humorous cozy mystery
April 4, 2022
This was an exciting continuation of the series, with an interesting plot. I'm enjoying getting to know the characters more, as well as watching their development, as the series progresses, and loving all the paper crafting tips.
May 13, 2022
Cute mystery
This was a cute mystery. Lots of twist and turns. Never would have suspected who the killer was. Loved the way the author used comedy and self introspection of the main character Kiwi. Good read!
This was a cute mystery. Lots of twist and turns. Never would have suspected who the killer was. Loved the way the author used comedy and self introspection of the main character Kiwi. Good read!
December 8, 2023
Fun scrapbook cozy
Kiki is sent to teach at a crop party but finds a horders paradise and the hostess sick and unconscious. She searches for info and findsout she didn't know the man she was interested in as well she thought
Kiki is sent to teach at a crop party but finds a horders paradise and the hostess sick and unconscious. She searches for info and findsout she didn't know the man she was interested in as well she thought
January 1, 2024
Kiki Lowenstein as the best detective
Kiki Lowenstein gets another chance to play detective with the Detective of her life. One of the ladies wants to have a scrap session at her house.When Kiki shows up to do it, What A Surprise!
Kiki Lowenstein gets another chance to play detective with the Detective of her life. One of the ladies wants to have a scrap session at her house.When Kiki shows up to do it, What A Surprise!
July 12, 2024
Wow!
The best book so far, and I have loved every one I read. The murder mystery was, well, just wow! I could not put this book down until I finished reading it. The book is too good for any hints of plot or spoilers.
The best book so far, and I have loved every one I read. The murder mystery was, well, just wow! I could not put this book down until I finished reading it. The book is too good for any hints of plot or spoilers.
August 16, 2024
Not a Cozy Mystery
I love the characters but won’t be reading any more. Serial killers, mutilating bodies and descriptions. This was not a story i enjoyed at all. I also don’t believe in married men who are romantic with the main character. It’s just not a happy book
I love the characters but won’t be reading any more. Serial killers, mutilating bodies and descriptions. This was not a story i enjoyed at all. I also don’t believe in married men who are romantic with the main character. It’s just not a happy book
August 30, 2024
fun light read
I think you will completely enjoy this series of mystery and sisterhood. It has friends, and a little romance and a great way to take you away from the day to day with a smile
I think you will completely enjoy this series of mystery and sisterhood. It has friends, and a little romance and a great way to take you away from the day to day with a smile
December 4, 2021
A crop at a remote location isn’t what they thought, was it??? Cats, cats, and more cats!!! Kiki and her crew kept at it, didn’t they??? I enjoyed this romp and recommend the book.
January 19, 2022
There were some errors in the grammar and punctuation used in the book. Otherwise, the story was a good one and I enjoyed my time reading.
June 26, 2022
I like characters with a little grossfbut I would read another one
February 21, 2023
Spoiler Alert -
I don't think a Cozy should include serial killers using a wood chipper and feeding the remains to cats.
I don't think a Cozy should include serial killers using a wood chipper and feeding the remains to cats.
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