After a brutal break up with her fiance, Valentine “Val” Harris refuses to let things get her down. She is determined to make her Pie Town shop a success. It’s a struggle, but owning a pie shop has always been a dream and she has no intention of not seeing it through.

To say it’s been difficult, would be an understatement. However, when a customer dies eating one of her pies, difficult is taken to the next level. Val becomes one of the main suspects. The only customer she has now is a cop.

Val’s seventy-something pie crust maker, Charlene, is also a suspect. Charlene vows to find the real killer and she insists Val is going to help her. Although Val is skeptical that they will find something the cops haven’t found, she agrees when another dead body shows up. She’s really concerned about what’s going on in their small town. They definitely don’t want to be the next victim.

This is the first book in the Pie Town Mystery series. I’ve had it on my Kindle for awhile now and I can’t believe I let it sit there. This is a fun, quirky cozy mystery that kept me engrossed and, I must admit, hungry for pie.

It’s a fast-paced story that I didn’t want to put down. I loved Val’s sidekick Charlene, who has a deaf white cat she walks around with wrapped around her shoulders. The dialogue is witty and I was totally off on who the killer was. It came as a surprise to me. I’m looking forward to reading more in this delicious cozy mystery.







FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Valentine (Val) Harris moved to San Nicholas, California, to begin a new life. She had dreamed about opening her own pie shop, so along with her fiance Mark, she settled in anticipating her new life. Six months later Val has her business, a pile of debt and her friends as her fiancecalled off their wedding. She is sleeping in her store as she has not money for rent, until her business takes off. When one of her regulars dies while eating her breakfast pie (quiche), her shop suddenly has even less customers than it had before. Even when it is discovered that he died of Castor Bean poisoning from his own coffee, customers are still staying away after the death becomes a headline in the local paper. She decides the only way to get her customers back is to find the killer herself. When she teams up with her pie crust maker, septuagenarian Charlene, the investigation and the humour begins.

The Quiche and the Dead by Kirsten Weiss is the first book in the new Pie Town Mystery series. This was an enjoyable and fun start to what I hope will be a great series. Val, the protagonist seems to be pulled along by Charlene. Charlene and her narcoleptic cat are hilarious. She bullies, in a fun way, Val and others in the story to do what she wants them to do. Val ends up in so many funny situations because she goes along with Charlene's suggestions. There is a hint that there is a possible romance in the future with Val and one of the police officers, but only time will tell. GC or Officer Carmichael is the law that usually comes calling when Val finds more than one body, but he is not a detective, so must turn the cast over to someone else, who seems to come up with excuses or reasons to deem the situation "an accident". He doesn't seem to want to do any work. This provided even more situations for the ladies to get involved in. As a start to a new series, this one is a winner. I hope the rest of the series continues to have all the action, fun, adventure, humour and mystery as this one. One I definitely recommend cozy mystery lovers give a try.

I was given this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Val follows her fiancé to California and starts a pie shop. pie Town. He dumps her, but she stays, determined to make her shop a success. Things are going well, until a customer dies in her shop after eating some of her quiche.

I really liked this start to a new series. The writing was good, and the characters were really likable. They were developed well, and even the side characters were interesting. There was a touch of romance, but she didn't run headfirst into a relationship after her break up, which was refreshing.

I really recommend this book and look forward to reading more in the series and by the author.

Amazing start to a new series! This is a fabulous mystery with amazing character builds already. I can't wait to see where this series goes!

Valentine Harris has been unlucky in love but she is determined to stay in San Nicholas and make her pie store business a success. After all, she has more than just her heart in it, she is financial all in . So needless to say this business needs to do well and when a customer dies shortly after eating breakfast quiche that she prepared in her new fledgling bakery. What's a new shop owner to do when she has a fitness junky/personal trainer who is determined to see her go out of business for selling "toxic" food runs the new gym right next door. Val makes it her business to find out who or what happened to her neighbor, the comic book caretaker. With the aid of her odd yet talented pie crust maker (and the promise of a tiny house) Val and Charlene will sort through the questionable characters, a Sherlock Holmes trio, and a handsome big city cop who has come home to enjoy a quieter(?!) pace. Good start to this new series and I hope to see more of the character development especially between Carmichael and Val.

Great start to this cozy mystery series. We meet Val who runs a Pie shop is a small town that she moved to for her rotten fiance who dumped her later. The business is still new so when a man drops dead in the dining room and it is rumored that her quiche was to blame she starts asking questions. On top of that her employee pretty much blackmails into helping as well though not in a bad way. This was a great mystery with quite a few twists to thrown the reader off with plenty of food related tidbits thrown into the mix to keep you hungry throughout. Overall it is well written and a good read for fans of the genre. I really enjoyed it so I give it 5/5 stars.

Val Harris has opened her new PIETOWN bakery at the same time as she prepares to get married. When the wedding is called off, Val throws everything into her bakery but she runs into a few problems - a hostile neighbor (her ex-fiancé's new girlfriend and a fitness nut) and a dead body in the shop.

Feeling worried by the town's reaction to the death, she decides that she needs to find out what happened. The death is determined murder but not food poisoning, so figuring out who is responsible could be tricky.

Nice start for a new series, some strange characters (maybe some a few too strange) food sounds yummy, and fun mystery.

Dollycas's Thoughts

Welcome to the California coastal town of San Nicholas. A place where Valentine Harris expected to live a happy life with Mark Jeffreys. She was going to open a pie shop and he was going to sell real estate and they would live happily ever after. But that didn't happen. Mark is selling real estate, his face is on signs everywhere. Val did open her pie shop. But there is no happily ever after, in fact, Val is living in her pie shop until she can afford to rent a place and she tries as hard as she can to avoid her ex. What did she ever see in that man?

The pie shop has a few regulars and the tourists love the place. Val is hoping to add to her business by adding breakfast pies to the menu. She cooks up a quiche to give to her new neighbor that has opened a gym, but the woman wants nothing to do with it. Regular Joe says he'll take the quiche off her hands and quickly starts chowing down. Then just a quickly drops dead. The police say the man was poisoned and the future of Pie Town and its owner are in jeopardy. When septuagenarian pie crust baker Charlene decides she and Val need to start their own investigation Val just thinks its another of Charlene's pie in the sky ideas. Then she finds herself out in the fog, in the middle of the night, trying to find out who really killed her customer. They may find out a lot more than they bargained for.

Pie Anyone?? Have one handy when you start reading!

I like Valentine Harris. She could have packed it in or moved her shop to another town, but she is sticking it out in San Nicholas. She is a smart woman with delicious ideas and a can-do attitude. I LOVE Charlene! Pie crust maker extraordinaire, a conspiracy theorist and owner of a very unique white cat. She had me laughing out loud time and time again.  Their sleuth abilities may be a bit lacking but they do make a great team. The supporting cast is diverse and really adds to the story.

I really enjoy the atmosphere of Pie Town, sans the murder, of course. Val has the coffee set up as self-serve, she offers a variety of sweet and savory pies, and allows a group of young adults who take a table daily to play games. It just feels very welcoming to residents of San Nichols and tourists too.

The mystery is very well plotted and written. Our victim Joe was a bit of a sleuth himself along with his friend Frank. When Val and Charlene start to dig into some of their "cases" they uncover some very interesting things that take their own investigation in many different directions. I followed all the clues and solved the murder right along with them.

This series is off to a wonderfully mouthwatering start. The main characters are fun and engaging and take us along on a fun whodunit. I really enjoyed my first trip to Pie Town and am excited that the second book in the series, Bleeding Tarts is already on my Kindle not so patiently waiting for me to read it.

This new series by Ms. Weiss is definitely a 'keeper'. The twists and turns of mystery kept me guessing until the end and I found the characters very likable. It's well-written and easy to read and you can't beat the location .... who doesn't love pie!

Synopsis:

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, seventy-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. (Goodreads)


Review:

The characters are well rounded and well developed. I thought Val was smart and a hard worker who has realized her dream of owning a pie shop. When one of her customers dies after eating a quiche, she realizes that she is going to have to search for the killer herself. And she needs to do it fast, before her pie shop goes up in smoke. She’ll have the help of her pie crust maker, who is not afraid of digging deep for clues. Their escapades in crime solving lead to some very funny situations.

The writing style flows smoothly and the book is a quick easy read. She is talented in creating small town settings and all the gossiping and neighborliness that occur in them. She is very talented in her descriptive writing and through much of the book, I felt like I was right there in San Nicholas, visiting, meeting people and watching all the action taking place. I thought the mystery was well written and there were enough suspects to consider and clues to sift through, and I was surprised who the culprit was.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well crafted cozy mystery. This is the first book in this series and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in the hopes of receiving a honest review. I would like to thank NetGalley and Kensington Books for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I got an ARC of this book from netgalley and Kensington Publishing.

Val Harris has moved to San Nicholas, California to marry her fiance and open her own bakery Pie Town, six months later Val only has her business since her fiance has called off the wedding. Val has put everything she has into her new shop so she's doing everything she can to make Pie Town a success. The one thing that Val doesn't need is to have a customer die one morning in the middle of eating a quiche.

After the police arrive at the scene of the crime it becomes apparent that the death is looking very suspicious or a possible murder by poisoning. Though it's quickly discovered that Val's cooking was not the cause of the death. customers are still staying away from the shop. Wanting to save Pie Town and make sure she's not a suspect Val teams up with her pie crust maker Charlene McCree to investigate and find out just what happened.

The story moves at a nice pace, with plenty of suspects and surprises, with a nice mix of humor and mystery.

I received an advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I thought it was a fun start to a new cozy mystery series.
I enjoyed the plot, characters and location of this book.
I would like to read the next book in the series.

I enjoyed the plot, characters, and location of the story. This is the first book of the Pie Town Mysteries series. Let’s hear it for strong women. Val Harris is the owner of a pie shop and unfortunately a customer dies from poisoning while eating a piece of her quiche. She must determine what happened and keep herself and her friend Charlene out of trouble. Val is a go getter. She doesn’t want her business to fail so she needs to get to the bottom of the killing(s). Charlene is a great character and friend. I had a lot of laughs with this story.
Check out the series with this book and decide for yourself.

This first book in a new cozy mystery series was fun and entertaining. It left me wanting to read more about these characters and the fictional town of San Nicholas, California, which was the setting for the story. The characters in this one were great, especially Val and Charlene. The storyline kept me engaged throughout the book.

In this book, Valentine Harris moves to San Nicholas, California, where she opens up a pie shop. When one of her customers drops dead after a bite of her quiche and the police determine he was poisoned, Val's business at the pie shop disappears. Charlene, her seventy something year old pie crust baker insists that they investigate, fearing that they will be the prime suspects. As Val and Charlene investigate, they face danger from the killer.

I really liked this one, and found it quick and easy to read. The backdrop of the pie shop was a good one for the story, and I enjoyed the small town setting. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy of the book in return for an honest review.

The idea of the book is good but the murder happens too soon. You have no time to get to know the characters or care about their lives. Then the mystery part stumbles along until the last 30 or so pages, I was looking forward to the mystery but found that I didn't connect with the main character. It felt like the standard elements of a cozy mystery were thrown at the reader in hopes that it would all be accepted like more well crafted food stories. I am afraid I have to recommend Magical Bakery mysteries by Bailey Cates and A Bakeshop Mystery series by Ellie Alexander over this first book in Pie Town mysteries.

Val Harris moved to San Nicholas to be with her fiancee, but then the engagement failed. But she stayed to run her shop, Pie Town. Then one day her neighbor, who runs the comic shop next door, drops dead after taking a bite of her quiche. After that business drops off. When a member of the library board dies, and Val finds the body, the local police term her unlucky, and say the deaths are accidents, even when the woman's former husband dies, too.

Val and her crust maker, Charlene, are not so sure the deaths are accidental, and they set out to get to the bottom of things before the person responsible for the deaths add Val and Charlene to their list of those who need to be six-feet under.

I absolutely loved this book. Val is a strong character who is willing to work to overcome her woes, including her break with her fiancee. She won't lie down when things start to go wrong at Pie Town and is willing to join with Charlene to investigate.

For me, Charlene was a perfect side kick. She is a conspiracy theorist who wears her deaf cat around her shoulders. I should have marked the number of time I laughed out loud at Charlene's antics. She is the perfect addition to this book. As are the gamers who stick around Pie Town, no matter that others stay away after the death.

All in all I could see myself in Pie Town, enjoying food and a book while Val and Charlene puttered around and solved the mystery, which was wonderfully plotted. I hate to admit I did not figure it out and was just as shocked as Val at the killer's identity.

This book has put this series on my favorites list. I'm looking forward to another slice of mystery from Pie Town.

My rating: 2 of 5 stars, it was okay.

Book one in the series.

I really wanted to like it, because PIE! And it was ok, but honestly, I think I may have finally found a cozy that's too cozy. Charlene and her weird narcoleptic cat were a little too zany for me, Heidi is just annoying and Val was kind of overwhelmed by everyone else.

It started off quick, then kind of dragged in the middle while Val and Charlene did their Keystone Cops routine, bouncing from one crazy thing to another.

I'm hoping this is just the usual, "first in the series" hiccoughs and that book 2 will even out a bit.

A great first in series book, you'll want to head over to Pie Town where your frown will be turned upside down! This book contained interesting characters and a well-planned mystery! There were enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am eagerly awaiting the next book in this series!

The Quiche and the Dead by Kirsten Weiss
Book #1: Pie Town Mystery Series
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 4½/5 stars

Nothing has the potential to kill the prospects of a new restaurant like a customer keeling over at the counter while eating. Just six months into her restaurant’s run, one of Val Harris’s regulars does just that, he keels over while enjoying a slice of her hot-out-of-the-oven quiche. All the momentum Val had going went rolling right out the door with the medical examiner and dead body. If things don’t turn around quickly, Val stands to lose everything she has.

With little else to do and very few customers, Val begins asking questions about her deceased customer. As it happens, he and his recently departed best friend liked to armchair sleuth with local unsolved mysteries and as Val continues to poke around, she discovers that one of those mysteries may have gotten both men killed. Make no mistake, Val isn’t in this alone and from the beginning she gets a load of (unwanted??) help from her crust maker, the eccentric and quite geriatric, Charlene. Charlene has lived in San Nicholas most of her life and knows the ins and outs better than anyone. For every question Val has, Charlene has either an insightful answer, a bit of backstory, or some preposterous scheme meant to unearth answers.

To be sure, Charlene is a bit crazy, but she’s got good intentions, and finding out who killed her two friends will not only get a killer off the streets, but set Val’s restaurant (and Charlene’s employer!) to rights and get the customers coming back through the doors. With each new clue, Charlene and Val get closer to not only solving two murders, but several minor incidents as well.
The Bottom Line: This is the second cozy mystery series by Kirsten Weiss I’ve dedicated time and energy to. Like the other series, I fell easily into the Pie Town Mystery series with it’s quirky characters, generally charming atmosphere and environment, and a twisty and turny plot worthy of each and every quirky character. Through late-night stakeouts, minor breaking and entering, some not-so-subtle questioning, and some seriously awkward encounters with her weasel ex, Val (and Charlene) get to the bottom of a mystery that is tanking Pie Town. With nothing but sheer will and determination to see her business succeed, Val stumbles and fumbles her way through the mess and, in the end, prevails and discovers just why armchair sleuthing was a hobby for the dead men.

This is the first book in the wonderful new cozy mystery series "Pie Town:. A winning cozy debut.
This is a delightful debut series! Al foodies will adore this new series set in a pie shop. What could be better then reading such a delicious mystery and enjoy a great sleuth.
Our protagonist Val is living in a small coastal town in Northern California and owns her dream business, a pie shop. She is popular with the locals and has many friends here in the small inviting town. When a customer dies at her shop eating her pie it is a scandal and she is determined to find out the true cause. Once she is cleared as a suspect she dives into finding the facts of the case in a quirky fun way that gives great humorous moments to the reader.
This is a fast paced, yummy cozy read with a exciting sleuth. All the perfect elements of a great cozy series are here for your reading enjoyment. I read it cover to cover and enjoyable it very much.
I adored this first in series and look forward to the next book in series.
Thank you for the ARC which did not influence my review.