Paper, Scissors, Death: A Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-N-Craft Mystery [Paperback]

Joanna Campbell Slan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 8, 2008

Every scrapbook tells a story. Memories of friends, family . . .
and murder?

Mousy housewife Kiki Lowenstein has two great loves: scrapbooking and her young daughter, Anya. But her happy family album is ruined when her husband, George, is found naked and dead in a hotel room. As Kiki tracks down George's murderer, she discovers his sordid secret life.

Cruel taunts by George's former flame compel Kiki to spout an unwise threat. When the woman is murdered, Kiki's scissor-sharp words make her the prime suspect. She could be creating scrapbook keepsakes for the rest of her life-behind bars. Supported by her loyal friends, along with a little help (and a lot of stomach flutters) from the dashing Detective Detweiler, can Kiki cut the true killer out of the picture and design a new life for herself and Anya?

Includes expert scrapbooking tips and techniques, and a coupon for free Snapfish photos!

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Scrapbooker Kiki Lowenstein leads a comfortable, if unexciting, life in St. Louis with her husband, George, and 11-year-old daughter, Anya. George’s sudden death brings that comfortable life to an end. Kiki suspects murder, and equally devastating, she suddenly has no money. Managing to cope, Kiki soon has a job teaching scrapbooking skills, a new small rental home, and a new big dog. Then George’s college girlfriend also turns up dead, and Kiki finds herself a murder suspect. Slan has written a neatly plotted mystery with engaging characters. She has previously written a number of nonfiction books about scrapbooking and stories for the Chicken Soup series. This is her first published attempt at writing fiction, and the dialogue is a bit stilted, and most of the humor seems forced. However, as Kiki matures in the story, Slan’s writing style also becomes much more fluid and natural. Scrapbookers will love the whole idea of forensic scrapbooking and will relish the tips on the craft sprinkled throughout the story. Books combining crafts and mysteries are becoming increasingly popular. Like the scrapbooking series by Laura Childs, this should quickly become a favorite. --Judy Coon

About the Author

Joanna Campbell Slan (Washington, D.C.) is an international authority in the scrapbooking community. She is the author of over ten books on the subject, and her work has appeared in all of the industry's top magazines. In 2004, Slan founded a contest for scrapbookers in the U.K called "The Best of British Scrapbooking," which still runs today. Additionally, Joanna is one of the early Chicken Soup for the Soul authors, and in 2007, she co-founded Sisters in Crime's Forensic University of St. Louis.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: MIDNIGHT INK; 1 edition (September 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738712507
• ISBN-13: 978-0738712505
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #312,803 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joanna Campbell Slan started storytelling - and winning awards for her writing - at an early age. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, Joanna grew up in Vincennes, Indiana, and graduated cum laude from Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana) where she majored in journalism. Today she's the author of eleven non-fiction books, a mystery series featuring Kiki Lowenstein, a spunky single mom who loves to scrapbook, and a new series featuring Charlotte Brontë's classic heroine Jane Eyre as an amateur sleuth. Joanna's first novel--Paper, Scissors, Death--was a 2009 Agatha Award finalist. The Kiki Lowenstein series has been praised by the Library Journal as "topically relevant and chock-full of side stories." Publisher's Weekly calls them, "a cut above the usual craft-themed cozy."
RT Book Review has said that Kiki Lowenstein is that she is "our best friend, our next-door neighbor and ourselves with just a touch of the outrageous." Once you've met Joanna, you can guess where the outrageous comes from. Ready, Scrap, Shoot, the fifth book in the Kiki Lowenstein series, has just been released along with short stories featuring Kiki. A sixth book in that popular series has been scheduled. In addition, Joanna is writing a new historical mystery series featuring Jane Eyre as an amateur sleuth. Death of a Schoolgirl (August 2012/ Berkley) marks the first entry in The Jane Eyre Chronicles. In her ongoing quest to never see snow again, Joanna lives with her two dogs and her husband on a nearly deserted island--Jupiter Island, Florida.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Cropped My Socks Off September 9, 2008

By Sarahlynn Lester

Format:Paperback

I'm no scrapbooker. In fact, I'm not very crafty at all, so I wasn't sure how much I'd enjoy a "Scrap and Craft" mystery.

I needn't have worried. Kiki the professional victim drove me a little crazy at first, as I'm more of a (less hairy) Dodie, myself. But I loved the way Kiki's friends Dodie and Mert quickly signed her up for "Tough Tamales University, School of Hard Knocks" and toughened her right up.

What I'm saying is that I was hooked from the first line to the last. I finished the book this morning, and have spent the rest of the day still thinking about Kiki's life and imagining what will happen next. The characters were real to me, the sense of place was perfect, and the mystery was solid, deftly handled.

One of my favorite things about this book was the setting. I love a good book set in St. Louis, and this one was more so than most. It wasn't just the names of the streets and malls: I know those Ladue moms, and I loved how Kiki held her flashlight like she was Albert Pujols at bat when she was going after the intruder in her house.

But it's not just local flavor. Slan is a great writer with a real knack for description. When she's depressed, Kiki sees a November sky like mixed concrete. The whole book is full of great little observations like that. And while most of the book is very fast-paced and funny, occasionally Slan slows things down with some fabulous descriptive prose.

I assumed that a scrapbooking mystery would *have* to be a cozy, but I'm not sure if this one is or not. It's definitely a traditional mystery, but there's more heft to this novel than most cozies, weighing in at 327-trade-paperback-sized pages, though it's still a very quick read. That's because there's a bit more action and violence than you might find in most cozies. Not too much violence, and definitely no bad language (Kiki wouldn't stand for it!) but she does find herself in harm's way from time to time.

This was a good, fun read. Highly recommended!

22 of 25 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Same Old, Same Old July 2, 2010

By Nancy VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

First, the lead character, Kiki Lowenstein, came across to me as being too dumb for words. Her husband had a heart attack, or was is murder, under rather questionable circumstances and his business partner swooped in a little too quickly demanding repayment of missing funds,. What woman who has an 11 year old to support would just up and sell everything she owns to pay back a supposed half a million dollar debt. No proof, no paperwork, no anything. Dumb.

Second, if you are being investigated for murdering said husband, why would the lead investigator come to your home and make dinner or was it breakfast, for you? Any episode of Law and Order would show you that this would never happen, and it doesn't matter how cute your great dane is.

I am really beginning to question this whole cozy mystery genre. Many of the books are just getting ridiculous, the same plots are used over and over with only the location / business / craft / and pet de jour changing.

When I first started reading cozies I loved them. The writers were unique but now it appears that anyone can jump on this bandwagon and publish a book. Sort of like Harlequin does cozies, but without the bodice ripping.

The plot is simple. Kiki Lowenstein, a scrapbooking extraordinaire, is accused of murdering her husband, her mother in law thinks that she is now an unfit parent, her husbands ex-business partner is demanding repayment of missing funds. Her husbands girlfriend is making a nuisance of herself, and wants Kiki to make her a scrapbook. Sells her million dollar home in record time and her fancy cars, keeps daughter in private school at all costs, can't have your friends talking about you. Live in substandard conditions, own a dog that is too cute for words, and when that isn't enough, in walks a police detective who will either charge you with your husbands murder or make you a meal.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great read! September 16, 2008

By landmarkengr

Format:Paperback

As soon as I started reading Paper Scissors Death, I knew it would be an enjoyable read. It really kept me coming back and the end has quite a twist that I didn't see coming at all. The last sentence in the book will keep you coming back for more. Joanna did a great job with this book. The references to scrapbooking were right on. She hit the ball out of the park with this one. I can't wait for the sequel!