Review: Pane and Suffering by Cheryl Hollon

Publisher: Kensington Books
Rating: 4*

Savannah Webb is forced to return home after the death of her father from "natural causes."  She is forced to take over running his glass shop after a second person, whom she plans to sell the shop to, also dies from the same "natural causes," leaving Savannah convinced that foul play is at hand, As Savannah struggles to decide whether to sell the shop, her father's clues lead her on a cipher-filled hunt to reveal the killer.  An inept police officer adds humour and a group of local merchants band together to perform their own investigation to find the killer before he strikes again.

The story is a little slow paced in the beginning as the author develops the main characters and sets the scene, but this pays off well later on.  Throughout the book, there is a beginner's class taught at the shop where the students make glass sun catchers.  Tidbits about how to cut and solder glass is woven into the story, but this enhances the story rather than feel intrusive to the overall book.

There might be a romance between two of the characters that gets explored in later books, but the fledgling romance feels a little out of place here.

I thought for sure I knew who the killer was, but it turned out to be a character not even remotely on my radar.  I enjoyed that twist in the plot-line and Savannah's ultimate decision of what to do with her family's store.

Overall, this was an enjoyable mystery. I learned a bit about the glass business and I'm looking forward to the next story, Shards of Glass, when it comes out next year.

Bookstore Links:  Amazon.com  |  Amazon.co.uk  |  B&N  |  Waterstones  |  WH Smith

Reviewed for MCT by Jamie A.

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Review: A Beeline To Murder by Mary Weimer

Publisher: Kensington Books
Rating: 4*

In this book we meet some interesting characters. Abigail Mackenzie is a beekeeper and she owns a small farmette outside of Las Flores, California, which is not too far from Napa Valley. Which is California's big wine country area. Abby was a cop on the Las Flores Police Department where her best friend Kat still works.  Abby also does some work for the DA in the town along with some private investigations for certain people. She has a standing order with the pastry chef in town to deliver honey to him for his many confections.

On this morning Abby was early delivering the honey because she had paperwork to deliver to the DA also. Abby was looking around for Chef Jean-Louis, but could not find him and he did not answer when she called his name. She continued to look and finally found him behind a baking table in the kitchen, DEAD. She quickly called the police and Kat responded with some new people from the morgue. The police did their investigation and when they were done in a few days, they determined that the death was a suicide.

When Philippe, the Chef's brother came to claim the body he said that no way would his brother take his own life, the chef was planning a big trip to the Caribbean in July for his birthday. So, Kat connected Phillippe with Abby who agreed to investigate the death for $10,000. She needed the money for renovations for her farmette.  Little did she know that she would find a love interest in the handsome French-Canadian.

She was able to prove that the death was a murder, but the trail lead them to many people and many twists and turns, before they finally got the correct people.

This book was well written, kept my interest, and I have recommended it to all my friends and family. I loved the descriptions of the small town setting which transformed me back to days spent at a farm.  The book helped me as an escape from busy daily life to an idyllic place and time.  I loved the adventure of solving the puzzle of the murder with Abigail who was easy to like and identify with. I would surely buy it for Christmas presents.

Bookstore Links: Amazon.com  |  Amazon.co.uk  |  B&N  |  Waterstones  |  WH Smith

Reviewed for MCT by Mary W.

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Review: LITTLE BLACK LIES by Sharon Bolton

Publisher: Minotaur Books, Macmillan
Rating: 4.5*

After finishing this, I don’t know whether I need a nap or a stiff drink. If you’ve read the author’s Lacey Flint series, you know she’s a master of creating dark, gripping stories with complex and sympathetic characters. That continues in this stand alone novel.The promotional blurb gives you the gist of the story but there is so much more to this richly atmospheric book set in a small, isolated community on the Falkland Islands.

When we meet Catrin, it’s clear she was broken by the loss of her two young sons three years ago. She still eats, sleeps and goes to work but is just a shell of the woman she used to be with room for only one emotion. Hate. As the anniversary of the boys’ death approaches, she puts the finishing touches on her plan for retribution. The book begins to count down the next two days. In the meantime, a little boy goes missing, the 3rd in two years.

There are good and bad aspects to living in any small town. Everyone knows everyone’s business. And in times of trouble, neighbours band together to help. There’s also a naiveté based on the belief that people you know can’t possibly be capable of horrific acts. But as one of the characters notes, fear changes a community. Residents begin to eye each other with doubt & when one of their own falls under suspicion, it’s scary & all too realistic how quickly a mob mentality can infect a group of people looking to lay blame.

The book is told in three parts, each with a different narrator. Just when you think you have a grip on what happened and who is responsible, you read the next account of events through a different set of eyes and start to question what you thought you knew. The first two parts end abruptly at crucial moments and you may find yourself yelling at the pages in frustration. The tension is palpable and you’re acutely aware of the passage of time as the clock ticks down on Catrin’s plan. It will mess with your head & make you realize you may have rushed to judgement just as quickly as some of the islanders.

The three main characters are well drawn and complex. Each has experienced the pain of loss in some form and you can feel their grief as they stumble through the aftermath of a horrible event, trying to figure out how to go on living or if they even want to. As in real life, no one is all good or all bad and each is guilty of something. As the story progresses and your grasp of the situation expands, you start to wonder if maybe there are no true villains here, only victims.

The setting itself is an important character. Descriptions of the isolation, cold rock, creeping fog and relentless pounding of the ocean lend a chill and quiet sense of menace to the background. The result is a growing unease as the story unfolds. With three plausible versions of events to choose from, it’s not ’til the final few pages that we learn the truth.

It’s a profound and at times, difficult read that examines some of the darker aspects of human nature and will suck you in from the get-go. Set aside a few hours before you start. With expert pacing and heightened suspense, this is a book you’ll resent having to put down. Highly recommend.

Bookstore Links:  Amazon.com  |   Amazon.co.uk  |  B&N  |  Waterstones  |  WH Smith

Reviewed for MCT by Sandy S.

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