<I>Paranormal museum owner Maddie Kosloski has the perfect exhibit for the harvest festival—a haunted grape press. But when she's accused of stealing the press, and her accuser is murdered, all eyes turn to Maddie. Knowing the perils of amateur sleuthing as she does, Maddie is reluctant to get involved...until her mother insists she investigate.

Does her mom have a secret agenda? Or is she somehow connected to the murder? Facing down danger and her own overactive imagination, Maddie must unearth the killer before she becomes the next ghost to haunt her museum.</I>

This is an adorable cozy murder mystery, a real page turner. Maddie or Mad Dog as her friend likes to call her, seems to fall into the whole who dun-nit situation. And help hazardously ends up solving the murder in a true Agatha Christie way. She also finds herself in a very awkward love triangle — having to call time on her budding relationship with Mason as his past comes back to bite him. <b>I’d definitely recommend a read!</b>

<b>**Thanks to the author and netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.** </b>

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Amazing book. This book is an adventure that is similar to Mary Janice Davidson. I could put this book down and read it again right away. Also similar to the Bill Crider novels.

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite cozy mystery series. The characters are well-rounded and feel like real people. It is a pet peeve of mine with characters in cozy mysteries act like morons for the sake of the plot. There is none of that here.
The small town setting of San Benedetto with the Paranormal Museum as an anchor point is vast enough to keep the locations interesting whilst keeping that cozy feeling.
The story is simple: Maddie is accused of stealing a grape press. Before she has a chance to prove her innocence and resolve the matter, her accuser is murdered. Now Maddie reluctantly solve the murder. Simple. Yet there are so many twists and wonderful moments that keep this basic story a pleasure to read. Highly recommend to cozy mystery fans.

**I received this copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

As long as you don’t expect any ghosts floating around, disembodied voices, or other supernatural phenomenon to occur in the story, I suggest reading Pressed to Death, especially if you have already read The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum. The mystery is enjoyable, as are the characters. And, although the book has some humor, it also has serious issues for Maddie to deal with (beyond solving the murder). I liked the book enough to continue reading the series.

My full review can be read on my blog http://bthreviews.com/

Pressed to Death (Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum #2) by Kirsten Weiss
Midnight Ink, 2017
Crime Fiction (Cozy); 338 pgs
Source: Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the first book in the series and was pleased with this second installment as well. The Harvest Festival is about to get underway and Maddie, owner of the Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum, just has to put the final touches on her display. Only, good ol’ Laurel, a detective with a chip on her shoulder, is accusing Maddie of being a thief. Evidently the former owner of the haunted grape press Maddie is using for her display has reported it stolen. Maddie knows it wasn’t. She got it fair and square from a collector who had bought it from the wife of the accuser. With the grape press taken as evidence, Maddie must get creative if she is going to put up a display at the festival. While there, she agrees to help her mother who is a part of the Ladies’ Aid Society set up their event. Then Maddie unwittingly discovers a body—the body of the very man who had accused Maddie of stealing his grape press. Of course, this puts her at the top of the suspect list.

Maddie does not want to investigate another murder. It isn’t her place after all. But it seems the town is taking bets, and her mother is applying pressure. Could the murder be related to someone in the Ladies’ Aid group whose members recently had a falling out? Perhaps one of the people the victim rubbed the wrong way? He wasn’t well liked after all. Or what about the outsider looking into buying up area vineyards? Maddie's mother is acting awfully strange and so are her friends for that matter. As Maddie tries to ascertain the truth, she must stay under the radar of Laurel as Laurel is determined to pin something on Maddie, no matter what it is. (Laurel’s grudge against Maddie is rather ridiculous if you ask me. I really do not like that woman.)

Maddie can’t help it that she’s been caught up in recent murders in town (both this and the first book in the series). They really aren’t her fault, are they? I love how in this novel she doesn’t start out investigating, but people seem to expect her to and so open up to her. Which, of course, leads to her asking questions.

On the personal front, Maddie’s boyfriend’s is hiding something, and while he praises Maddie’s understanding and patience, his long absences and failure to return her calls are weighing on her. Maddie isn’t sure she wants to know, and uses the murder investigation as an excuse not to confront him. I cannot say I am disappointed about this turn of events with Mason. It may open a door for Detective Slate, with whom, even in the first book, seems to have some sort of connection with Maddie. I quite like Detective Slate, and so would not mind if that’s the direction the series goes. Even so, I do like Mason.

One of my favorite aspects of this series is the mystery involving a haunted object. In the first book, it was a photograph, and in this one it is the grape press. The grape press is sending out quite a few negative vibes and no one wants it around. Maddie isn’t exactly one to embrace the paranormal being rather skeptical herself, but she does love a good mystery. Finding out what happened to the two lovers associated with the grape press would certainly make a good story for the museum too.

This could easily be one of my favorite cozy mystery series given how much I have enjoyed the two books I have read so far. It is funny and entertaining, with the right dose of suspense and drama that keeps me wanting to come back and visit with the characters. Pressed in Death had plenty of twists that kept me guessing, although I had a strong suspicion of the whodunit early on. I need to make time soon to read the next book in the series, Deja Moo!

Funny, cosy murder tale involving a vineyard and winery, hence the title.

I find the Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum series to be quirky and fun.  Maddie is a flawed character who is both relatable and easy to follow as a reader.  She's doing everything she can to ensure her new business venture is a success and that drive leads her into precarious situations where she stumbles onto one murder scene after another.  I like how the author uses significantly ordinary events like a festival to incorporate the murder in this book.  These little touches of ordinary small town events helps to add to the allure of a cozy mystery such as this.  Another key feature is the quirky townspeople who come to light throughout each story.  These characters help to add humor, create intrigue, or just continue to develop the world around them.

I like that Maddie is still reluctant to investigate the murder.  Too often authors have their characters just dive right in and I find that takes away from the story itself and cheapens the experience of this non-detective character discovering the truth.  Maddie is not only reluctant throughout the entire book, but apparently everyone is taking bets on whether or not she'll succeed.  Little elements like this help to create an enjoyable storyline, especially when Maddie's investigation is supposed to be a "secret."  But as we all know, nothing stays secret for long in a small town.

My biggest complaint about the series is Laurel Hammer.  This character is highly focused and determined to prove Maddie is a murderer.  She's truly an unlikeable character and some of the things she does seems like it would cost her badge in the real world.  I'm not a fan of this character and honestly, I hope one of the next installments includes having her murdered.  While I understand the need for having an antagonist in a story, this character is so narrowly focused that her actions nearly make me want to stop reading.  For example, she claims Maddie stole the haunted wine press that is at the center of this mystery.  However, when it's proven she didn't, Laurel still confiscates the item.  Not only is that illegal and unlawful, but it's utterly ridiculous.

Despite my dislike for the antagonist of this series, I really do enjoy this series.  I would highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries.  I hope you'll check it out and let me know what you  think!

Pressed to Death is the second in the Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum mystery series and I really liked it. It took me a little bit to refresh my mind of the characters but soon as it came rolling back I really got into the story.

It starts off with Laurel, the local cop who pretty much despises Maddie, asking about her haunted grape press that she had purchased from her collector, Herb. She is told that the owner is saying that it was stolen and that she stole it but she has a receipt that she bought it from the owners wife. Maddie is using the grape press as part of her display at the harvest festival and if she has to give it up then she will have nothing to display.

Then while helping her mom get things ready for the festival she finds a man dead in the grape stomping vat, and it happens to be Romeo the man who was accusing her of stealing the grape press. It also messes up her mother and the Ladies Aid's grape stomping event. It seems something has happened with the Ladies aid and they have had a split in the ranks and her mother wants her to help as she knows the new president will ask for her help. Something is brewing with her mother but she doesn't know what nor figures it out till the end. 

Because her helper at the Museum is Romeo's son she figures she should go back to the Museum to let him go home and grieve but needs someone to watch her booth, so she makes a deal with the Visitor's center that she would help them decorate their room in the haunted house not knowing exactly what she got herself into! :) 

Asking questions around town gets her into lots of trouble as normal and it also frustrates Laurel, but it seems Maddie is getting a little closer to Detective Slate which I didn't see coming. Although her relationship with Mason did take a very different turn that I didn't see coming, so not sure what I think of this development yet. 

I did guess the killer but I wasn't sure of the motive till the end, so I enjoyed the mystery. I do love all the characters even Laurel! 

It's a fun series with a slight paranormal element so if you don't mind that then go grab book one!

I have enjoyed both books in this series and I hope there will be more. First off, these are not heavy on the paranormal - not full of ghosts, etc. Maddie runs a paranormal museum housing items that have paranormal history and she is also, as they say, a murder magnet. She has an adversarial relationship with the local police and a mother who, in this case, is more hindrance than help. Maddie has purchased a grape press and wants to showcase it in her booth at the harvest festival. Fine, until the owner of the press accuses her of theft and the police come to impound the press, regardless of the fact that she bought it from the owners wife. He turns up as the corpse and Maddie is right in the thick of it. As a suspect she really wants to find the killer and her mother is all for it. This entry can be read out of order but I, for one, like to read series in order.

"Pressed to Death"gets off to a furious, full-throttle start. From there it zooms from story idea to story idea, bouncing around and having trouble settling on just a few. The story is mostly fast-paced, but slows down occasionally due to family angst, community happenings, etc.; there's a troubled romance, a potential new romance, a betting pool, a haunted house, rivalry and intrigue in a local ladies organization, a senseless feud that's already old and tired and needs to be ditched or resolved, and other events. It felt as if Weiss had lots of ideas and didn't know where to focus her attention. The story kept meandering and getting off track.


The paranormal aspect is subtle but sharper than it was in the first book, and added a nice bit of texture to the story. Weiss makes good use of the museum and also incorporates a cat into the story. Cats have a reputation for sensing the supernatural and GD is no exception. He also adds a bit of humor to the story. Some of the human characters were annoying, particularly Detective Laurel Hammer, and a few of the Ladies Aid women. There's some character development but it's low key.

As in the first book, Maddie is simultaneously investigating a historical case and a present day case, despite her protests to the contrary. Although she's very much an amateur detective, she does a better job than the police at solving things. Maddie initially gets involved when she's a possible suspect in the current day murder but her continued involvement was iffy and didn't really hold up. The mystery was not too hard to figure out though Maddie's attempts to solve it were often bumbling, which made sense given her amateur status. I would have liked to see her take a more active part in the investigation as she mostly wandered around, quizzing people, but doing little actual research or investigation.

Now it may seem like I didn't like "Pressed to Death" but I did. It wasn't great but it was pleasant. It has a good setting, interesting characters, and a good blend of mystery and paranormal. Despite the story's meanderings, it held my attention. Weiss has an eye for quirky and a gift for historical detail. It's different from other cozies, and worth a read if you like quirky mysteries mixed with a hint of paranormal.

Maggie ran the Paranormal Museum that even had a ghost cat- GD. Detective Laurel Hammer loathed Maggie as she had accidently had Laurel’s hair catch on fire. It wasn’t rational she ran into the burning museum. The Detective said Maggie was trafficking stolen goods. Hammer said Mr. Paganini said the antique wine press ahd was stolen from his winery and in maggie’s possession. Maggie had said she had brought the press from Herb Linden - her collector and she had a copy of the receipt. Mrs. Paganini had sold the press. Maggie had taken over the museum less than a year ago but was determined to make it the best paranormal museum in the country. October was high season for paranormal museums. Then Maddie’s mom showed up and whisked Maggie away to go set up for the Harvest Festival. Her mom needed maggie’s help with some grapes stuck in the vat and Maggie finds a body - Mr Paganini. Maggie knows Laurel will make her a suspect and maggie’s mom suggests Maggie start her own investigation. Maggie does just that.
I had mixed feelings about this book. I liked the plot but the pace dragged at times. I loved the twists and turns. This is the second book in a series and i suggest you read the first one before this so everything just goes smoothly. The romance was okay in the book but nothing earth shattering. It basically keeps you guessing throughout the book. There just seemed there was too much going on at times. There was also too many side plots as far as I am concerned. Also things seemed to wrap up too quickly. I didn’t like Detective Hammer I don’t think she was acting professionally with Maggie letting her ill feeling toward Maggie come through. I also didn’t care for the past and present mystery thing. I did love the ghost cat GD. As i said there was things I liked and then others not so much

Pressed to Death is the second book in the Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum series by Kirsten Weiss. I think that those that have read the first book, The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum, will have a head start with character and location details. However, it has been so long since I read the first one that I forgot some of the relationship particulars. So, I think newcomers will be able to catch up pretty quickly and not miss out on much. Weiss does a good job of including reminders and details that are important in the story.

Paranormal museum owner Maddie Kosloski has the perfect exhibit for the harvest festival—a haunted grape press. But when she’s accused of stealing the press, and her accuser is murdered, all eyes turn to Maddie. Knowing the perils of amateur sleuthing as she does, Maddie is reluctant to get involved, at least until her mother insists she investigate. Does her mom have a secret agenda? Or is she somehow connected to the murder? Facing down danger and her own overactive imagination, Maddie must unearth the killer before she becomes the next ghost to haunt her museum.

Pressed to Death is a good mystery, and offered more twists than I was prepared for. I think knowing some of the previous relationships I was almost at a disadvantage, because some of the things I needed fleshed out or expanded on from the first book were almost ignored, and the coverage they had was not very deep. I liked the book, and the writing style, but the characters did not really grab me as much as they did in the first book. Although, some of the secondary characters were even more interesting than I was quite prepared for. While I was not overjoyed with the read, I do plan on continuing the series, because it has a lot of potential and I think it could get even better.

Pressed to Death is not as good as I was hoping, but it was still a fun read with plenty of adventure. I think the mystery and danger part of the book were on point, but I was distracted by all the side plots and felt like some of them could have been fleshed out in their own short story or book.

Although Maddie owns/runs the Paranormal Museum, a lot of the action takes place at an event she was looking forward to, the Harvest Festival. Her haunted grape press exhibit seems interesting for fall, until Maddie herself is accused of murder.

Maddie Kosloski owns the Paranormal Museum and is exhibiting her newest acquisition, a haunted grape press, at the harvest festival. But when local police detective Laurel Hammer shows up at her museum and insists the press is stolen, Maddie is going to have a problem, since Detective Hammer wants to take the press in as evidence. Then Maddie goes to the festival with her mother to help out, and while doing so manages to discover the body of Romeo Paganini, the man who accused her of stealing his press.

While she is high on the suspect list, it doesn't completely rule out anyone else, including her friend Adele Nakamoto, who was seen having an argument with him, nor even his wife Jocelyn and son Leo, who works for Maddie.

So her mother insists she investigate, and so do the members of Ladies' Aid, since they think she'll find the killer before the police do. But she has a lot on her plate besides investigating, with helping at the local haunted house, avoiding a cop that hates her, hosting a death café, and dealing with the fact she's just been sucker punched by her boyfriend Mason. Maddie has her work cut out for her, and if she doesn't find the killer soon, she may be the next one with the life squeezed out of her...

This book appeared to have all the right elements for a great mystery - paranormal museum, ghost detecting cat, curses, etc.; unfortunately it fell short in several areas for me. While I enjoyed the historical aspect (the haunted grape press and its history), I didn't much care for the direction the story was going regarding Maddie and Mason. It seemed too easy of a cliché; too convenient all around. Not to mention the fact it rather paints the ex-girlfriend as a master manipulator and/or liar, and Mason as an imbecile for accepting things as fact without proof - but those are my opinions.

I also didn't like Detective Laurel Hammer at all - she has a personal grudge against Maddie that seems like harassment. I didn't understand how she could remove the grape press - without a warrant - on hearsay. Yes, hearsay. Maddie had a receipt signed by the wife, but Romeo only said it was stolen - without proof except him saying so. I would think Detective Hammer should have gone back to him and told him everything looked legal and it was a matter for the courts to decide. As it was, it made Hammer totally unlikable and appearing to carry a personal vendetta using any means possible.

But I didn't allow these things to color the rest of my enjoyment with the book. As stated above, I really liked the paranormal aspect, but felt it pushed aside because of those things mentioned. I also would have liked to have seen some sort of connection between GD and Maddie, but perhaps she'll grow on him in future books. I did like the friendship between Maddie and her two best friends; there's an obvious fondness for each other that is nice. It was nice to learn a little bit about wine making, and as I stated above, I did like the historical aspect.

When we come to the ending and the murderer is revealed it made a pretty good mystery all around. There weren't any big revelations, as I felt the clues were there all along, but it was put together well and everything came together nicely. Recommended.

It was actually a good read, not has great as the first one but still very entertaining. The twists and turns this book takes will keep you turning the pages. The murder mystery is well-plotted and will keep you guessing, as well as looking over your shoulder for rogue Buick's and falling wine barrels. As in the case of the first book, there is also an old murder mystery to solve this time involving the wine press.
Maddie's mother belongs to The Ladies Aid Society and is more involved with the mystery in this second book much to my delight. I really enjoyed her so much more this time. The paranormal element is still relatively light but intriguing and I would a little more of that

Maddie a curator for a small paranormal museum in wine country California who also huelps out with the harvest festival gets into the middle of a drama she has no control of. Of course she is a suspect as she was the first on the scene and she has to investigate as she didn't do. Has some fun, quirky characters with a haunted plot. It was a fun read and looking forward to the next book in the series.

I enjoyed the first book of the series, The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum, where Maddie was setting up her museum and trying to figure out if it could work.
Not only is the museum up and running, it is becoming a popular tourist attraction. Maddie even has to hire an employee! For some reason, her best friend running the proper tea shop next door (connected by a secret passage) isn't as happy about the success of the museum as we would expect.

It is the harvest season in wine country - time to celebrate.
It is also almost Halloween, the most popular month for any attraction tied to hauntings and curses. Maddie's latest purchase seems to tie into everything perfectly, until her least favorite police officer tries to use it to send Maddie to jail - the longer the better.
While Maddie is trying to dodge that result, her new boyfriend seems to be dodging Maddie, when she wished he had her back. Thank goodness for loyal girlfriends!

Everyone seems to be acting oddly. Maddie's mom even seems to have some secrets and manages to drag Maddie into the muck with her. She then seems surprised when Maddie discovers not just one but TWO murder victims. Doesn't Maddie understand how poorly this reflects on her family?

The events and obligations keep multiplying and the troubles keep moving closer and closer to home, affecting Maddie personally. She really does not want to be investigating but how can she stay out of it? She much prefers looking into the history of her haunted items.

This book is more about the ladies of the town and their fundraisers than the actual museum.
We do spend time there along with GD, the cat. We learn more about Maddie's best friends, too.

I look forward to seeing what new items will be found in the future and what trouble they may cause.

I was excited to see the second title in this series available on Netgalley as I enjoyed the first so much, it didn't fail to deliver another murder mystery with a paranormal twist. Read in one sitting, the only way to improve on this excellent series would be to include some of the recipes for the tasty treats described within the books' covers.

Love a great cozy mystery and this is one of my faves. I can't wait for more!

"I was going to jail.
Worse my arch nemesis would be the one to drag me from my own paranormal museum."

Pressed to Death by Kirsten Weiss starts with the above lines; the cozy, possibly paranormal mystery novel is exciting, quick-paced and fun.

Maddie, the present owner of San Benedetto's Paranormal Museum, is the unlucky person who discovers the body of a man ahead of wine festival. To make things worse, the same man had accused her of stealing his antique grape press and told the police as much.

Maddie is then forced/asked – which ever you decide – to investigate the man's murder, with her former school nemesis Laurel Hammer being right on her tail and constantly trying to drag her to jail, especially after Maddie accidentally set Hammer's hair on fire.

While investigating, Maddie can't help but notice that her mother is acting strangely and so is her mother's entire group, the Ladies' Aid.

"It was one thing for me to discover a dead body, another to suspect my mom had some knowledge of the crime."

After the discovery of the dead body, a Romeo Paganini, Maddie keeps telling herself that she wouldn't interfere with the investigation, especially after the last one nearly got her killed.

"This investigation—"
"I'm not going to interfere."
"Oh yes you are, Madelyn."

As with the previous book, Pressed to Death sees Maddie investigating a case that is supposed to be the police's responsibility as well as a historical cold case pertaining to her recently-acquired antique grape press.

A relatable character, I absolutely loved Maddie, even more than in the first book in the series. She has a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong, even if that means that her actions will hurt her. She is also caring, has good instincts and has learnt to trust them. This is significant for her character development.

Narrated from the first person perspective of Maddie, Pressed to Death allows the reader to see how Maddie's mind works as an amateur sleuth, and engrosses the reader in the novel, the events and the mystery-ies.

"Haven't you ever seen something you can't explain?"
"Yeah, the way people tend to drop dead in your vicinity, and it's never your fault."

There were a lot of beautiful lines and images in the novel. The characters are down-to-earth and I liked the friendship Maddie, Harper and Adele have.

"I wanted to evoke the romance and mystery of tea, using lush descriptive phrases."
"Lush? These are pornographic," Harper said. "No wonder people were snatching them up."

Pressed to Death is the second instalment in The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum series, but can be easily read as a standalone novel.

Overall, Pressed to Death is a perfect Halloween read and enjoyable cozy mystery.

Overall rating: 5 stars