Ill-Gotten Panes by Jennifer McAndrews is the first book in the new “Stained-Glass” mystery series. Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime, July 2014

Stained-glass aficionado Georgia Kelly packed up her city life for the quiet of small town Wenwood, New York. But the sleepy village’s peace is about to get shattered—by murder.

After a banking scandal loses Georgia her job and fiancé, she decides that a change of scenery will help piece her life back together. But escaping to her grandfather’s house in the old-fashioned, brick-making Hudson River hamlet of Wenwood, New York, turns out to be less relaxing than she expects. Not only is the close-knit community on edge about their beloved brickworks being turned into a marina to draw in tourists, one of those most opposed to the project winds up dead—cracked over the head with a famous Wenwood brick.

Georgia wouldn’t be broken up over the news except for the fact that the main suspect is the deceased’s biggest adversary—her grandfather. Now, to remove the stain from her grandy’s record, Georgia will have to figure out who in town was willing to kill to keep the renovation project alive, before someone else is permanently cut out of the picture.

This evenly paced light fare with a comfortable tone and chapters that flowed easily from one scene to the next culminated in a good mystery that kept me going until the end. The author did a great job in moving the story forward as I had to know what happens next. With a list of suspects who could have done the deed, it was fun watching it all fall into places with hints here and there that kept me on my toes as to the identity of the killer. With endearing characters that I wanted to embrace, the author created a solid plot that was likable and I can’t wait to see what further adventure awaits Georgia and her friends in Wenwood, NY in this pleasantly appealing debut series.

previously posted on the Cozy Chicks blog