What do you think?
Rate this book
Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-n-Craft Mystery #11
Shotgun, Wedding, Bells
“Till death do us part” comes way too soon for newlywed Kiki Lowenstein. Instead of church bells, gunshots ring out after Kiki says her vows. Shotgun, Wedding, Bells is the newly revised and enhanced version of Book #11 in the ongoing, 13-book cozy mystery series featuring ace scrapbooker and crafter, Kiki Lowenstein. A very pregnant Kiki Lowenstein and her fiancé Detective Chad Detweiler are trying to race the stork to the altar, when their vows are interrupted by a shoot-out. With the help of her nanny, Bronwyn Macavity, Kiki vows to track down the man who ruined her wedding and put her family at risk. The super-crafter and mousy mom is well-accustomed to playing amateur sleuth, but now she faces a new role, one that’s a stretch even for her, when she steps into the spotlight as an exotic dancer! Even a big belly bump won’t stop this intrepid amateur sleuth from pursuing justice.
283 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 14, 2015
397 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Campbell Slan
164 books859 followersNational bestselling and award-winning author Joanna Campbell Slan was born in Jacksonville, Florida, but she grew up in a small town in Indiana. After graduating from Ball State University with a degree in journalism, she worked as a newspaper reporter, a newspaper ad salesperson, a television talk show host, a college teacher, a public relations professional, and a motivational speaker. In that capacity, she was named by Sharing Ideas Magazine as “one of the top 25 speakers in the world.”
Slan's work has appeared in five of the New York Times Bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and one of those became a television show. She is the author of nearly 80 books, nonfiction and fiction, including Death of a Schoolgirl, which won the 2013 Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence.
Joanna's personal essays have appeared in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and one was made into a television program on the Pax Network. The college textbook Joanna wrote—Using Stories and Humor: Grab Your Audience—has been praised as an invaluable resource by Benjamin Netanyahu’s speechwriter and endorsed by Toastmasters, International.
RT Book Reviews has called Joanna “one of mystery’s rising stars.” Her first novel—Paper, Scissors, Death—was an Agatha Award finalist. It features Kiki Lowenstein, a spunky single mom who lives in St. Louis. The sixth book in that series will be released Summer 2013.
Kirkus Reviews has said, “Slan’s mysteries are most valuable for the well-developed characters and the issues they raise.” RT Book Reviews has said, “Kiki is so darn entertaining that she’ll keep readers hooked.” A series of short stories featuring Kiki are available on Kindle.
Joanna’s newest series—The Jane Eyre Chronicles—began with Death of a Schoolgirl (Berkley) and continues with the release of Death of a Dowager. The series features Charlotte Brontë’s classic heroine Jane Eyre as an amateur sleuth.
As “Lila Dare,” Joanna has penned the fourth book in the Southern Beauty Shop series—Wave Good-bye.
Joanna is married to David Slan. The Slans live on Jupiter Island, Florida.
Website: www.JoannaSlan.com
Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/JoannaCampbel...
Twitter: @JoannaSlan
Slan's work has appeared in five of the New York Times Bestselling Chicken Soup for the Soul books, and one of those became a television show. She is the author of nearly 80 books, nonfiction and fiction, including Death of a Schoolgirl, which won the 2013 Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence.
Joanna's personal essays have appeared in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, and one was made into a television program on the Pax Network. The college textbook Joanna wrote—Using Stories and Humor: Grab Your Audience—has been praised as an invaluable resource by Benjamin Netanyahu’s speechwriter and endorsed by Toastmasters, International.
RT Book Reviews has called Joanna “one of mystery’s rising stars.” Her first novel—Paper, Scissors, Death—was an Agatha Award finalist. It features Kiki Lowenstein, a spunky single mom who lives in St. Louis. The sixth book in that series will be released Summer 2013.
Kirkus Reviews has said, “Slan’s mysteries are most valuable for the well-developed characters and the issues they raise.” RT Book Reviews has said, “Kiki is so darn entertaining that she’ll keep readers hooked.” A series of short stories featuring Kiki are available on Kindle.
Joanna’s newest series—The Jane Eyre Chronicles—began with Death of a Schoolgirl (Berkley) and continues with the release of Death of a Dowager. The series features Charlotte Brontë’s classic heroine Jane Eyre as an amateur sleuth.
As “Lila Dare,” Joanna has penned the fourth book in the Southern Beauty Shop series—Wave Good-bye.
Joanna is married to David Slan. The Slans live on Jupiter Island, Florida.
Website: www.JoannaSlan.com
Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/JoannaCampbel...
Twitter: @JoannaSlan
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
October 24, 2017
I didn't seem to like this book as much as the previous books. There was excessive drama and very mystery solving as to who would want to shoot Kiki and Chad at their wedding.
March 1, 2022
Kiki and Detweiler are finally getting married but their wedding turns into a shotgun affair in more ways than one when two armed intruders interrupt the ceremony. I really enjoy this series, though it's lost some of its charm over the course of the last few books. There wasn't much investigating but there was so much going on I didn't miss it much. There were some things that happened that were pretty wild. Kiki tries out a new side job and Brawny shares some skills no one knew she had, that made the story fun. I did miss the scrapbooking tips and crops and I miss some of the characters who have been killed off or shuffled aside but one of them makes an appearance at the end.
November 26, 2015
I like Kiki Lowenstein. Joanna Campbell Slan's character has become so real to her readers that Kiki is a good friend. In this latest installment, Kiki and Detweiler finally get married--and no sooner say "I do" than shots ring out and everyone dives for safety. I love the little guy, Erik, and I am so glad that we got more of him (as far as I'm concerned, I can't get enough of the this charmer). I'm already longing for the next Kiki book--hurry up, Joanna!
January 15, 2018
Another wild ride with Kiki!
I’ve fallen in love with Kiki and her merry band. The scenarios are often far fetched, but they’re fun, and I love that Kiki is a complex character, with realistic emotional ups and downs.
AND I love that she isn’t your typical fairytale heroine, waiting passively for rescue by a handsome prince. Kiki has proven herself quite the (reluctant) badass many a time in this series—not that she’s some kind of superhero; she’s just got a lot of courage and common sense, and that is so refreshing!
It’s also refreshing to see beloved characters struggling with real, challenging problems, as the characters in this series do. Abuse, infidelity, and alcoholism, for example, feature in this series, and don’t just magically get solved. Yet the overall tone manages to stay light.
In this book, #11 in the series, the story starts off with a bang (literally!) and the pace almost never lets up from there. Kiki and Dettweiler finally tie the knot (no spoiler—this happens in the first few pages), and we finally get to the root of a mystery that started a few books back.
Only two books to go! What am I going to do without more Kiki books to read?
I’ve fallen in love with Kiki and her merry band. The scenarios are often far fetched, but they’re fun, and I love that Kiki is a complex character, with realistic emotional ups and downs.
AND I love that she isn’t your typical fairytale heroine, waiting passively for rescue by a handsome prince. Kiki has proven herself quite the (reluctant) badass many a time in this series—not that she’s some kind of superhero; she’s just got a lot of courage and common sense, and that is so refreshing!
It’s also refreshing to see beloved characters struggling with real, challenging problems, as the characters in this series do. Abuse, infidelity, and alcoholism, for example, feature in this series, and don’t just magically get solved. Yet the overall tone manages to stay light.
In this book, #11 in the series, the story starts off with a bang (literally!) and the pace almost never lets up from there. Kiki and Dettweiler finally tie the knot (no spoiler—this happens in the first few pages), and we finally get to the root of a mystery that started a few books back.
Only two books to go! What am I going to do without more Kiki books to read?
January 4, 2021
END OF THE LINE IN THIS SERIES FOR ME
Over the last 5 books, the executions of the various plot arcs have deteriorated substantially since the end of Book 6 when Kiki shot & killed her husband's murderer and her kidnapper (arc started in Book 1).
Throughout the following books, the moments of brilliance & insight have been increasingly overwhelmed by tidal waves of illogic, denseness and artistic license.
My end-of-the-line was when, in this book, Kiki, at 8 1/2 months pregnant, performs - practically naked - an erotic dance in a strip bar. She supposedly does this to be able to pinpoint, from the stage, a cigar-smoking assassin among a plethora of men in the audience - an audience she cannot actually see clearly due to the darkness and smokiness of the room. All I could think as I read this passage was: "Oh, come on! You have got to be kidding me! What happened to just watching all the exits until the bad guy showed up?"
At this point, my ability to suspend disbelief and accept this character's repeated short-sightedness and stupidity just failed flat.
We are done here.
Over the last 5 books, the executions of the various plot arcs have deteriorated substantially since the end of Book 6 when Kiki shot & killed her husband's murderer and her kidnapper (arc started in Book 1).
Throughout the following books, the moments of brilliance & insight have been increasingly overwhelmed by tidal waves of illogic, denseness and artistic license.
My end-of-the-line was when, in this book, Kiki, at 8 1/2 months pregnant, performs - practically naked - an erotic dance in a strip bar. She supposedly does this to be able to pinpoint, from the stage, a cigar-smoking assassin among a plethora of men in the audience - an audience she cannot actually see clearly due to the darkness and smokiness of the room. All I could think as I read this passage was: "Oh, come on! You have got to be kidding me! What happened to just watching all the exits until the bad guy showed up?"
At this point, my ability to suspend disbelief and accept this character's repeated short-sightedness and stupidity just failed flat.
We are done here.
September 6, 2022
Mostly good I won't even discuss the few minor editing issues. My biggest problem was the lack of continuity on several points. The largest being the entire reason brawny was there. They'd already covered the fact that Lorraine's house was bugged and Erik was in danger but somehow this is suddenly not only a surprise but an impossible thought? Also the fact of her friendship with Mert, she said in this one they hadn't seen each other in over a year but over the last 2 books before this they'd talked and in order to help laurel had sort of made up and worked together, so this just felt very off kilter and unharmonious. Seriously? I think continuity is one of my biggest pet peeves in series writing. I mean it's your story get it right... it shouldn't be that difficult to keep the trajectory in focus. Overall I enjoyed it though and there were parts that made me laugh, cry, feel angry, as well as happy. So it's worth a 4 🌟 rating but just barely.. more like a 3.8 but I rounded up.
February 21, 2021
This book was a hoot! It starts off all serious with Kiki and her family being shot at during her marriage to Detweiler. It lightens up a bit though when Kiki does her own little investigation of the shooting with the help of Brawny and Johnnie at the Badda Bing Night Club. Kiki actually has to be a dancer, and her stage name was Kinky. That scene in the book brought a lot of comedic relief which is what made this book great. Even though Detweiler and his partner, Hadcho, were shot, they recover from their injuries. We also find out why Kiki and her family were shot at. It was an excellent book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 18, 2022
another wonderful Kiki adventure
This was a detailed mystery that definitely included information on Topics most people are unfamiliar with. I enjoyed reading the author note at the end because it confirmed the deeper social issues that appear in the Kiki Lowenstein books are an intentional and conscious inclusion in each book. I would recommend reading the series in order as there are building relationships and past stories referenced in the books. I enjoyed this book but readers should know it didn’t have as much light hearted banter as many of the series do. It is definitely a heavier cozy mystery
This was a detailed mystery that definitely included information on Topics most people are unfamiliar with. I enjoyed reading the author note at the end because it confirmed the deeper social issues that appear in the Kiki Lowenstein books are an intentional and conscious inclusion in each book. I would recommend reading the series in order as there are building relationships and past stories referenced in the books. I enjoyed this book but readers should know it didn’t have as much light hearted banter as many of the series do. It is definitely a heavier cozy mystery
December 29, 2019
In a previous book in this series, Kiki verbally threatens the life of a teacher and an administrator. - but that's OK because they weren't very nice or competent people? Now we have vigilante justice. - and that's just hunky dory because the bad guy was really, really bad? I'm not at all sure how I feel about this. I really enjoy this series, but I'm finding the moral ambiguity disturbing. When do the 'good guys' become no better than the bad guys? 4 stars, dinged 1 star for not finding a better way to 'off' the bad guy. - or at least not wrestling with it more... Heck, you could have done another book, or two, on bringing this particular bad guy to justice.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 19, 2023
Kiki and Chad get married in a last minute outside in the snow ceremony with just them, the kids, Brawny, Leighton, Lorraine and Hadcho when gunshots ring out. One of the shooters is taken out immediately and the other one goes after Kiki and the kids but Kiki jabs him with a pitchfork and he runs away. They dream up a plan and Kiki finds him and Brawny takes care of him and everyone is finally safe. Chad and Hadcho were both shot but are making progress with their recovery. At least the threat is over.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2020
Kiki's wedding
Kiki and Chad finally decide to get married, but an ice storm prevents most everybody from coming. Right after the outside ceremony shots ring out. Two shooters invade the property, one ends up dead by Brawny. Hadcho and Detweiler are shot and end up in surgery. In the meantime Shiela has drunk herself into into a coma and Robbie drives her to a rehab clinic. Kiki works with Brawny to figure out who ordered the hit on their family and why.
Kiki and Chad finally decide to get married, but an ice storm prevents most everybody from coming. Right after the outside ceremony shots ring out. Two shooters invade the property, one ends up dead by Brawny. Hadcho and Detweiler are shot and end up in surgery. In the meantime Shiela has drunk herself into into a coma and Robbie drives her to a rehab clinic. Kiki works with Brawny to figure out who ordered the hit on their family and why.
June 15, 2022
Wow
I didn't know that a pregnant woman could do so much in so short of time. Kiki sure knows how to protect her kids and herself. Without giving anything away, I know I'd never be able to do all that she has done in this book. Taking care of her business, her new home, etc. plus getting married in a last minute wedding. She is one tough heroin. Loved all of these books and recommend them to all. Thanks Joanna!😎
I didn't know that a pregnant woman could do so much in so short of time. Kiki sure knows how to protect her kids and herself. Without giving anything away, I know I'd never be able to do all that she has done in this book. Taking care of her business, her new home, etc. plus getting married in a last minute wedding. She is one tough heroin. Loved all of these books and recommend them to all. Thanks Joanna!😎
March 22, 2024
This installment was disappointing, as anyone who read the prior book knew exactly what happened from the first chapter. And the climatic resolution was set in a situation that requires the reader to totally suspend disbelief. If I weren't so invested in the peripheral characters, I might not read the next one, as Kiki has now become ridiculous. It seems the author has changed genres from mystery to comedy.
May 14, 2024
Another great Kiki story
As Detective Detweiler and Kiki rush to get married before their baby is born, shots are fired during their wedding! Both Detweiler and his partner Detective Hadcho are seriously wounded. What the heck?? Throw some ice storms into the mix... Fantastic, keeping-you- guessing (and reading) to the very end sorry make me eant to buy thr entire Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series! Seriously!!
As Detective Detweiler and Kiki rush to get married before their baby is born, shots are fired during their wedding! Both Detweiler and his partner Detective Hadcho are seriously wounded. What the heck?? Throw some ice storms into the mix... Fantastic, keeping-you- guessing (and reading) to the very end sorry make me eant to buy thr entire Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series! Seriously!!
January 31, 2021
I loved this book. Finally Kiki is getting married to her love Chad but gunshots start as soon as the I dos are done and Chad and his best man Hadcho are wounded. I love Kiki and her love of family and her work. I love her husband Chad and all the other characters especially Brawny. The story line was exciting and fast paced. A great book.
May 12, 2021
All I can say is wow!
Great book! I figured out who the actual target was and why but that all came from the previous book! Indie not count on ...oops... Can't give the story away! But read it.. Some of these are stand alones, but I'd read them in order, in order to really get the family feel of being right there hidden in the background! Great story continues! On to book 12!
Great book! I figured out who the actual target was and why but that all came from the previous book! Indie not count on ...oops... Can't give the story away! But read it.. Some of these are stand alones, but I'd read them in order, in order to really get the family feel of being right there hidden in the background! Great story continues! On to book 12!
September 2, 2023
Altra serie in cui sono rimasta indietro e confesso che ho letto questo libro solo perché pensavo, sbagliando, di poterlo utilizzare per una delle tante challenges mensili che faccio. Comunque sia, la storia mi è piaciuta molto, un po' meno il finale perché non penso che sia "giusto" (giro di parole poco chiaro per non fare spolier).
June 15, 2018
Kiki and Chad are finally married but someone is shooting at them.
There wasn't any scrapbooking going on but she found plenty of future customers during her investigation.
It was a good mystery story but I was surprised it took them so long to figure out who the target really was and why.
There wasn't any scrapbooking going on but she found plenty of future customers during her investigation.
It was a good mystery story but I was surprised it took them so long to figure out who the target really was and why.
July 28, 2020
Wedding nuptials for them along with a shotgun being fired. Figure out why someone wanted to add this to their day, and put the family at risk. What she does to find the person , is only Kiki would do. Full of mayhem .
August 6, 2020
A delightful series.
I enjoy the complexity of the author's characters and the authentic dialog that flows so easily. The story fits the characters so well. I would love to see Kiki dance.
I enjoy the complexity of the author's characters and the authentic dialog that flows so easily. The story fits the characters so well. I would love to see Kiki dance.
September 6, 2020
24 hours or less
I usually read the Kiki books in 24 hours or less! I'm drawn into the story line right away! And into the social issue as the story. Also living scrapbooking as I do, keeps me reading!
I usually read the Kiki books in 24 hours or less! I'm drawn into the story line right away! And into the social issue as the story. Also living scrapbooking as I do, keeps me reading!
August 22, 2021
Murder
Kiki sees t always be in the middle of death and destruction. On the day f her wedding Twin shooters she up. Robbie goes out of town and his brother-in-law that hates Detweller takes over Kiki has to find UT what's going on to protect her family. Read!!!!
Kiki sees t always be in the middle of death and destruction. On the day f her wedding Twin shooters she up. Robbie goes out of town and his brother-in-law that hates Detweller takes over Kiki has to find UT what's going on to protect her family. Read!!!!
October 30, 2021
These are supposed to be stand alone stories but nothing is ever finished. For the record patients that have been shot in the stomach are not allowed beverages, even water, right after surgery. Ice chips, perhaps , water , no.
February 3, 2022
Unusual Wedding Interruption...
I love Kiki's determination in the series and how she is always protecting her loved ones. Good laughs and mystery at the same time allow for good reading.
I love Kiki's determination in the series and how she is always protecting her loved ones. Good laughs and mystery at the same time allow for good reading.
November 2, 2017
Enjoyed the book was surprised as I thought I had it figured out.
November 18, 2017
I love my Kiki!!!!!
December 9, 2017
Baby
And still we have no baby! I've never read a series where it took so many books for a baby to arrive! I can't wait for the little guy to show up.
And still we have no baby! I've never read a series where it took so many books for a baby to arrive! I can't wait for the little guy to show up.
January 4, 2018
Great. Book
This book has some hilarious moments. Which has proven this writer is great. I can’t wait till the next book
This book has some hilarious moments. Which has proven this writer is great. I can’t wait till the next book
April 1, 2018
The series is just great. This one had a lot of places that made me laugh. And although I had figured the bad guy out right off it was a wonderful read. Many thanks to the author.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews