Friday, 4 March 2016

Pane and Suffering by Cheryl Hollon (Cosy Mystery, Crime, 10E/10E, short 'n' sweet review, NetGalley)

Gorgeously inviting cover!
September 2015, Kensington Books, 320 pages, Ebook, Review copy, NetGalley

Content: murder, lots of danger, humour by the bucketful 

Summary from Kensington Books
To solve her father’s murder and save the family-owned glass shop, Savannah Webb must shatter a killer’s carefully constructed façade…

After Savannah’s father dies unexpectedly of a heart attack, she drops everything to return home to St. Petersburg, Florida, to settle his affairs—including the fate of the beloved, family-owned glass shop. Savannah intends to hand over ownership to her father’s trusted assistant and fellow glass expert, Hugh Trevor, but soon discovers the master craftsman also dead of an apparent heart attack.

As if the coincidence isn’t suspicious enough, Savannah discovers a note her father left for her, warning her that she’s in danger. With the local police unconvinced, it’s up to Savannah to piece together the encoded clues. And when her father’s apprentice is accused of the murders, Savannah is more desperate than ever to crack the case before the killer seizes a window of opportunity to cut her out of the picture…

 Nayu's thoughts
This is a funny read with lots of twists, learning about glassmaking and a murder to solve! Humour in books is a must with me at the moment, which made this an ideal read. I've always admired glassmaking because it's a skilled craft which takes years to master, and like all craft there's always more to learn. I loved how slowly I learnt more about glassmaking, which wasn't overwhelming in the amount of information, purely because it was a book about life and trying to figure out a murder. 

I liked that both children and pets featured in Savannah's life because they add another dimension to the story, and help solve the murder with her. If only it was murder alone that was her problem. I was intrigued by what danger she was in (a lot, as it turned out), and was on tenderhooks in most chapters as I watched the mystery unravel. As expected when one clue was solved many more popped up, which was frustrating for Savannah as she had to keep her father's classes while juggling with the other parts of her life. I hope to read more books about Savannah as she's an admirable character and fun to be with. 

Find out more on Cheryl's website

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