Publishers Weekly
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Santa Claus and a gang of gingerbread men set fire to the San Benedetto, Calif., Christmas Cow in Weiss's chuckle-worthy third Paranormal Museum mystery (after 2017's Pressed to Death). And while the burning of the straw cow, a tradition started by Swedish immigrants a century ago, is also an annual event, shooting an arrow into the person guarding the cow-Bill Eldrich, the president of the Dairy Association-is not. When Maddie Kosloski, the proprietor of the town's paranormal museum, and her mom, Fran Kosloski, discover Bill's body on the town's gazebo steps, they're met with kindness by Det. Jason Slate and suspicious hostility by Det. Laurel Hammer. Why would anyone want to kill the guy who was just guarding the cow? And did the tolling of the haunted-some say cursed-cowbells in the museum foretell the murder? Maddie feels compelled to join in when her mom starts snooping, and soon they learn that there's no shortage of possible suspects with a variety of motives. Lots of humor and a good whodunit help make this cozy a winner. A ghost-detecting cat adds to the fun. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

A yearly battle to preserve a California town's Christmas Cow turns deadly.The town of San Benedetto has two major business enterprises, vineyards and dairy farms. Every year the Dairy Association builds a large straw cow to celebrate Christmas, and every year pranksters try to destroy it. Maddie Kosloski's mother is on guard at the site when the cow is attacked by Santa Claus and four gingerbread men, each armed with flaming arrows. In the process, Bill Eldrich, the other guard, is killed. Maddie (Pressed to Death, 2017, etc.) arrives at the site with Detective Jason Slate, a cop with whom she has a good relationship bordering on romance. His partner, Detective Laurel Hammer, on the other hand, has had it in for Maddie ever since Maddie accidentally set Laurel's hair on fire. The Paranormal Museum Maddie owns has been doing a booming business ever since she added the haunted cowbells that years before had been sent to the Dairy Association from Switzerland. Every member of the original dairy board died within a year of the bells' arrival. Even though most of them were well up in years, the bells have acquired a reputation that's enhanced by Eldrich's death, since he had apparently been hearing cowbells in the days before his death. Maddie's mom, who has fingers in every pie in town, insists that they investigate even after they narrowly escape death when her car is blown up in the driveway of a married pair of dairy farmers they're questioning. A ceremony to prevent more deaths by putting a spell on the bells only makes things worse when observers complain something bit them. And the list of possible killers expands as Maddie discovers that Bill, who was quite the lady's man, had a lot more enemies than it first appeared. Despite warnings from Jason and threats from Hammer, Maddie can't stop the sleuthing that makes her a target for a ruthless killer.Weiss' many quirky ongoing characters add charm and humor, but this time the plot rambles more than a little. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Maddie Koslowski's truck breaks down while she's on her way to help her mother guard San Benedetto's traditional 30-foot straw Christmas Cow, so she's not there when four gingerbread men and Santa Claus attack the cow with flaming arrows. But she and sexy police detective Jason Slate are on the scene to discover the body of a local politician with an arrow in his chest. It may have been a prank to set the cow on fire, but someone wanted the president of the dairy association dead. Now that -Maddie is involved, it's easy to blame the death on the cursed cowbells in the Christmas display at Maddie's paranormal museum. When Slate is hit by a car aimed at Maddie, she partners with her inquisitive mother to find the culprit and dispel rumors that the haunted cowbells mean death. VERDICT Although it's easy to identify the story's killer, fans of light, humorous mysteries will enjoy the likable mother-daughter amateur sleuths and other quirky characters. The third volume in this engaging series (following Pressed to Death) will appeal to fans of paranormal cozies by Sofie Kelly and Christy Fifield.-Lesa Holstine, Evansville Vanderburgh P.L., IN © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.