A Deathly Display by Kirsten Weiss 💕 Fun Facts, New Release Tour and $10 Gift Card Giveaway 💕 (Cozy Mystery)

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A killer stalks her sister.

A mysterious painting holds the key.

Can Maddie unravel the mystery before Melanie meets a deadly fate?

A killer stalks her sister.

A mysterious painting holds the key.

Can Maddie unravel the mystery before Melanie meets a deadly fate?

When Maddie and Herb attend a curation class at the upscale Domus Vinea museum, the mood turns darker than a gothic portrait after Maddie’s opera-singing sister, Melanie, discovers the museum director’s body. Now, with a cunning killer targeting Melanie next, Maddie must act fast.

Racing against time, Maddie and friends investigate a gallery of suspects, including a dashing vintner with a haunted painting that may hide a deadly secret. If Maddie can’t crack the case, and fast, her sister’s life could end in one fatal stroke.

A Deathly Display, the latest in the Paranormal Museum series, blends quirky sleuthing, small-town chills, and paranormal thrills with a dash of humor. Perfect for fans of cozy mysteries!

Grab A Deathly Display and start reading this hilarious whodunit!

For readers who crave a cozy mystery about a woman finding belonging through small-town wine-country sleuthing and the gentle absurdity of everyday hauntings. Perfect if you like breezy pacing, light supernatural quirks, and warm humor over gritty tension—think vintage charm, quirky neighbors, and just-enough chills to keep pages turning without losing sleep. Book 11 in the series.

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Romance in Cozies (and Why My Heroine Can't Pick Just One)

by Kirsten Weiss

Let’s talk about something that sneaks into just about every cozy mystery I read (and write): romance. It’s there, it’s delightful, but in the cozy world, it’s rarely the fireworks-and-running-through-airports kind. Nope. We’re talking slow burn, the kind where the sparks fly so gradually you almost miss them until—bam—book five rolls around and suddenly there’s a kiss that feels like it took an eternity to earn.

Why drag it out like that? Well, for one thing, cozy mystery readers (you know who you are) pick up these books primarily for the mystery. We want the puzzle, the amateur sleuth stumbling over clues, the satisfying “aha!” moment when it all clicks. Romance is the cherry on top, not the whole sundae. If the love story takes over, it can eclipse the dead body in the library, and nobody wants that.

But there’s another reason, and it’s the best one: that delicious tension. The will-they-won’t-they. The lingering glances across the crime scene tape. The almost-moments that get interrupted by a nosy neighbor or a suspicious cat. Stretch that out over several books, and readers stay hooked. We get invested in the characters’ lives, not just the murders. We cheer when they finally figure it out… or groan when yet another obstacle pops up. It’s emotional catnip.

In a lot of cozy mystery series, that slow burn centers on one main love interest. Think of it as the classic setup: heroine meets brooding detective (or charming baker, or quirky bookstore owner), and the series becomes their gradual courtship wrapped around standalone mysteries. It works beautifully. Readers love rooting for “their” couple.

But in my Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum series, I went a different route with Maddie Kosloski. Maddie doesn’t have just one love interest—she’s got options. And she dates them one at a time, figuring things out as she goes.

Why? Because Maddie’s in her thirties, back in her small hometown after years abroad, running a museum full of cursed objects and questionable exhibits. She’s rebuilding her life, not rushing into “the one.” She’s curious, a little wary, and she’s got enough chaos with haunted grape presses and ghostly apparitions without forcing a forever commitment too soon.

It starts in the first book, The Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum. There’s Mason, the sexy motorcyclist next door—laid-back, a bit mysterious, with that easy charm that makes you wonder what he’s really up to. Then there’s Lieutenant Slate, the by-the-book detective who keeps showing up at crime scenes (often ones Maddie’s tangled in). He’s steady, serious, and there’s this quiet tension whenever they’re in the same room.

Maddie doesn’t play them against each other in some dramatic love triangle. She dates, she reflects, she moves forward. It’s messy in the most human way. And readers seem to love it—because who among us hasn’t had a phase of “hmm, maybe this one?” before figuring out what (or who) actually fits?

Which brings us to A Deathly Display, the 11th book in the series, where Maddie meets romantic interest number three. (No spoilers on who or how, but let’s just say her latest curation adventure draws in someone… intriguing.) Third time’s the charm? Maybe. Or maybe Maddie’s still sorting through her own baggage, her museum’s weirdness, and the small-town gossip that never quits.

I wrote Maddie this way because real life rarely serves up one perfect person right when you need them. Sometimes you date a few frogs (or nice guys who just aren’t quite right) before you get clarity. And in a cozy mystery series, that journey can be as fun to watch as the mysteries themselves.

So if you’re a reader who gets frustrated with endless will-they-won’t-they, or if you love when the romance evolves slowly but surely, give the Paranormal Museum series a try. Maddie’s not in a hurry, and neither am I. The tension’s half the fun.

What about you? Do you prefer the classic one-love-interest slow burn, or do you enjoy when characters explore a few possibilities?

Drop a comment—I’m always curious what keeps you turning pages. And if you haven’t started the series yet, book one’s waiting. Ghosts, grape stomps, and a heroine who’s still figuring out her heart? Sounds like a perfect cozy escape to me.

There are a few things in life you can be sure of. Death. Taxes. And divas being divas.

“Why?” Melanie sobbed. “Why is this happening to meeeee?”

I jogged to the fallen man and knelt beside him in the courtyard. Pressing a finger to his neck, I tried to find a pulse.

“Another body,” my sister hiccupped. “Why here?”

I sat back on my heel. The dead man faced the pristine marble fountain. And he was definitely dead. Though his skin was still warm, his eyes stared, as blank as the nearby statue of Hermes.

Yanking my phone from the rear pocket of my khakis, I called 9-1-1. The scent of orange blossoms billowed in the warm night air, but now the odor seemed sickening.

My mother appeared at my side. “Oh, my God. That’s—” She gripped my shoulder, her nails digging in. Just as suddenly, she released me and edged the toe of her low camel-colored shoes away from the pooling blood.

“I just f-found him there.” Melanie pointed.

“And it’s a terrible shock,” my mother said in a low voice. “Now, we need to pull ourselves together.” She looped one arm around Melanie’s hourglass waist.

“Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?”

“Murder, I think,” I said. “My sister found a dead man. His head is—” I swallowed and looked away. “There’s a lot of blood. We’re at the Domus Vinea Museum, in the smaller courtyard.”

“Are you in danger?” the operator asked.

“No. There’s a reception going on here. There are lots of people...” I glanced toward the opening to the courtyard. Guests had begun to gather, staring, in its arched entrance.

“Why does this always happen?” Melanie wailed. “First Sicily and now this. Am I cursed?”

“No, no,” my mother murmured, touching the squash blossom necklace beneath the collar of her denim shirt. “It’s just bad luck.”

“Help is on the way,” the dispatcher said. “Is the man you found breathing?”

“No. He’s dead.” I knew dead, and I knew what came after for the people left behind.

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Kirsten Weiss writes laugh-out-loud, page-turning mysteries, and now a Tarot guidebook that’s a work of experimental fiction. Her heroes and heroines aren’t perfect, but they’re smart, they struggle, and they succeed. Kirsten writes in a house high on a hill in the Colorado woods and occasionally ventures out for wine and chocolate. Or for a visit to the local pie shop.

Kirsten is best known for her Wits’ End, Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum, and Tea & Tarot cozy mystery books. So if you like funny, action-packed mysteries with complicated heroines, just turn the page…