The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum

Kirsten Weiss

When Maddie gave up her international career to return to her California hometown, she didn't realize she would still be job-hunting nine months later. A temporary job as curator of the Paranormal Museum wasn't exactly what she had in mind. But, when a dead body is found before her first day and her best friend is arrested, Maddie knows she needs to help figure out what happened to clear her friend's name.

The more cozy mysteries I read, the more obsessed I become with when the murder takes place. In this book, the murder is at the end of the first chapter and, given the description, I was pretty sure it was a character that the reader had yet to meet. However, because this character had at least been mentioned in the first chapter, I was pretty sure I knew who the victim was. (I was right!)

The book started a little slow. There was a lot of background information in the first chapter, but by the end I knew who the main characters were and what the story was about. As the story progressed, I could really picture the story and follow the multiple storylines. I found the story engaging and didn't want to put down the book. I thought I knew whodunit and was a little surprised that it was someone else.

Although I had some issues with the formatting and the editing, as well as some inconsistencies in both the point of view and tense, I enjoyed the story overall. One of my favorite lines in the book was "I returned to my sprawl on the couch and finished reading my self-help book. My self did not feel helped."

Overall, I enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more in the series. I would rate this story four quills and place it on my middle shelf.