Pane and Suffering by Cheryl Hollon is the first book in the NEW “Webb’s Glass Shop” mystery series. Publisher: Kensington, September 2015

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 of the two deaths wasn’t suspicious enough, Savannah discovers a note her father left for her in his shop, warning her that she is in danger. With the local police unconvinced, it’s up to Savannah to piece together the encoded clues left behind by her father. 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.

I like it. With a cryptic message found after the death of her father and that of her “uncle,” Savannah begins an investigation using the skills she learned at her father’s hand to unspackle a killer who cunningly hides in plain sight. From the moment Savannah finds the message, this light drama takes off and the author takes us on an exciting ride as the crime and motives are explored by the clues planted and the potential suspects exposed as I watched it all played out. With a few surprising twists, the direction that pointed to the killer caught me a bit unaware until all the pieces of the puzzle stood out. The set-up of the mystery was good as it kept me reading on and I especially love the internal dialogue that Savannah has that adds to the telling of this enjoyable story. With a likable, a diversely quirky cast of characters and engaging conversations, this is a welcome addition to the cozy genre and I look forward to reading about Savannah and friends’ next adventures in “Shards of Murder.”

previously posted on the Cozy Chicks blog