Review of "The War of the Squirrels" by Kirsten Weiss

 

Welcome to the book blast for War of the Squirrels by Kirsten Weiss! I had the opportunity to review this quirky cozy mystery and invite you to check out both my review and an excerpt! Follow the tour to see what other people had to say as well. I also have another excerpt posted over at Candrel's Crafts, Cooks, and Characters. Best of luck entering the giveaway!

Helicopter parents, suspicious squirrels… and murder.

All Susan wants is to get through this visit from her controlling parents without tumbling down a black hole of despair. But galactic forces are colliding at her whimsical B&B, Wits’ End, and her parents have plans of their own.

When two men die on the same day, both mysterious deaths are tied to her mom and dad. Meanwhile, a squirrel scofflaw is riling up the tiny mountain town of Doyle, and Susan realizes she’s the only person who can stop the madness. And if this B&B owner can’t put these crimes to rest fast, her carefully organized life may come crashing to earth.

This fast-paced and funny cozy mystery is book four in the Wits’ End series. Packed with quirky characters, small town charm, and murder, it’s perfect for fans of Jana Deleon, Tricia O’Malley, and Charlaine Harris.

Buy War of the Squirrels and start this hilarious caper today.

Read an excerpt:

As if my fingers were far, far away, I felt my hands loosen. I dimly heard my cleaning bucket of brushes and other supplies thud to the carpet in room seven.

Bailey howled and raced from the room, his ears flapping. And who could blame him? The room itself seemed to revolt at the scene. Even the faked pie-tin UFO photo hung at an awkward angle above the rumpled bed.

Early evening shadows knifed across my mother’s sensible shoes. She sat in a vintage wing chair in one corner of the room. “Shut the door,” she commanded and removed the clip from a Russian pistol.

Automatically, I obeyed.

Mouth slack, I backed against the door. “You... That’s...” My breath came in quick gasps. Dots swam in front of my eyes. This wasn’t my first body in the B&B. But…

The leg slipped in my father’s grip, the shoe inching closer to his shoulder.

Briefly, I wondered if this was what lost time felt like, this sense of being out of phase, outside ordinary reality. Unthinking, I groped for my day planner. But of course it wasn’t there. I didn’t carry it around when I cleaned.

Should I?

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**My thoughts**

"If there's anything worse than walking in on your parents in the throes of disposing of a body, I don't want to know what it is.

But I'm getting ahead of myself."

They say that the opening lines of your book can make or break it. With these words, I knew I was in for a zany ride and then couldn't put the book down for the rest of the night.

Quirky characters can also make or break your book. I've read other cozies that had some quirky characters that just fell short of the mark for me. But I was completely dedicated to this crazy cast. Susan's parents have just arrived at her B&B, which has a UFO theme to it, making it its own quirky character. They are spies and are adept at eliminating people who are a threat. Susan walks in on the one and then her parents are also suspects in another murder that happened in her little town of Doyle. 

Her mother is one of those controlling mothers who is constantly fussing over everything her daughter says, does, wears, etc., and her dad just kind of stays back and lets it all happen. They're completely eccentric, too, of course, being spies who have murdered someone and are still waiting for the "cleanup crew" to come take it away. I actually like them in spite of disliking them, if that makes any sense.

So as we get to know them, we better understand why Susan is rather neurotic about her planner, obsessively writing in it and planning every aspect of her day down to the minute. She has to be able to control something in her life, right? But as she notes, that detail-oriented mind actually benefits her in her unofficial career of being a sleuth.

Sticking by her side is her beloved significant other, Arsen. He also has a knack for questioning and is always supportive of Susan, embracing her and her planner. Wouldn't we all love to have someone like that?

Rounding out the crew are all of the suspects, including the children of the deceased and their spouses, and of course, the butler, plus some UFO-obsessed tourists, Susan's cousin Dixie who is apathetic towards everything, and the ever-suspicious sheriff. 

The situations they find themselves in are completely out-of-this-world and I want to see this played out on a screen somewhere. It's just that much fun.

This book is the fourth in the Wits' End cozy mystery series, but definitely works as a standalone. There are enough references, though, to previous installments that I am finding myself wanting to go back and read the full stories. Well done!

Thank you to Goddess Fish and the author for providing me with a requested review copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About the Author:

Kirsten Weiss has never met a dessert she didn’t like, and her guilty pleasures are watching Ghost Whisperer re-runs and drinking red wine. The latter gives her heartburn, but she drinks it anyway.

Now based in Colorado Springs, CO, she writes genre-blending cozy mystery, supernatural and steampunk suspense, mixing her experiences and imagination to create vivid worlds of fun and enchantment.

If you like funny cozy mysteries, check out her Pie Town - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/pie-town-mysteries, Tea and Tarot -https://www.kirstenweiss.com/tea-and-tarot-mysteries , Paranormal Museum - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/the-perfectly-proper-paranormal-mus-1 and Wits’ End - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/doyle-cozy-mystery-series books.


If you’re looking for some magic with your mystery, give the Witches of Doyle - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/doyle-witch-cozy-mysteries, Riga Hayworth - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/riga-hayworth-paranormal-mysteries and Rocky Bridges - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/rocky-bridges-mysteries books a try.


And if you like steampunk, the Sensibility Grey - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/sensibility-grey-steampunk-suspense series might be for you.


Kirsten sends out original short stories of mystery and magic to her mailing list. If you’d like to get them delivered straight to your inbox, make sure to sign up for her newsletter at kirstenweiss.com


Feel free to follow her on Pinterest at KirstenWeiss, or on Bookbub - http://www.bookbub.com/authors/kirsten-weiss, get in touch on Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/kirsten.weiss/, post a picture of this book to Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/kirstenweissauthor/ and tag her @kirstenweissauthor, or send her an email. She’ll answer you personally…which may be a good or a bad thing, depending on your perspective.


Email: kweiss2001@kirstenweiss.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kirsten.weiss/
Instagram: @KirstenWeissAuthor
Bookbub: www.bookbub.com/authors/kirsten-weiss

Book Series: Sensibility Grey Steampunk Suspense - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/sensibility-grey-steampunk-suspense, Tea and Tarot cozy mysteries - https://www.kirstenweiss.com/tea-and-tarot-mysteries, the Pie Town cozy mysteries - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/pie-town-mysteries, the Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum cozy mysteries - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/the-perfectly-proper-paranormal-mus-1, the Doyle Witch - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/doyle-witch-cozy-mysteries and Doyle Cozy - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/doyle-cozy-mystery-series mystery novels, the Riga Hayworth - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/riga-hayworth-paranormal-mysteries paranormal mysteries.

Kirsten Weiss will be awarding a signed, paperback copy of War of the Squirrels, an "Ever Vigilant" squirrel notepad, a squirrel wish bracelet, and a squirrel baseball cap (black) (US ONLY) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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