Pane and Suffering

Cheryl Hollon

Oct 2015 · A Webb's Glass Shop Mystery Book 1 · Kensington Cozies

About this ebook

The first mystery in this sunny series set in Florida “will keep you guessing to the end” (Krista Davis, New York Times bestselling author).
 
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 . . .
 
“Cheryl Hollon clearly knows her glass craft, but better still, she also knows how to craft a good mystery.” —Sheila Connolly, New York Times bestselling author
 
“There’s plenty of variety and not just workbenches in the lively story by Cheryl Hollon.” —Fresh Fiction
 
“Webb’s Glass Shop is certainly a place where you’d want to hang out.” —Kings River Life Magazine

Ratings and reviews

Pane and Suffering by Cheryl Hollon is the first book in her new A Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery series. Savannah Webb has spent the last few years in Seattle studying at the Pilchuck Glass School. She had to return home to St. Petersburg, Florida due to the passing of her father, John Webb. She was told that he had a heart attack which made no sense. Her father was in good shape and did not have a heart condition. Savannah enters the glass shop on Monday to sell the shop to her father’s longtime friend and co-worker, Hugh Trevor. When Hugh does not show up before the scheduled class, Savannah starts teaching it. Then Jacob Underwood, apprentice, enters the custom workshop and finds Hugh dead. The officer assigned the case (a blundering and incompetent idiot) does not believe it is a crime. Savannah cannot believe that two people from Webb’s Glass Shop died of a heart attack within days of each other. Then she finds a note that her father left for her. John Webb was a cryptographer during the Cold War and taught Savannah ciphers. He has left her clues to follow to find the person that killed him. With the help of her new friends Edward Morris (owns Queen’s Head Pub) and Amanda Blake (new assistant manager at Webb’s Glass Shop), Savannah sets out to find who hurt her father and Hugh Trevor. Will she be able to convince the police that they were murdered? Will they be able to find the murderer before he takes another victim? And why were those two people killed? I enjoyed Pane and Suffering. It was a fun book to read. It started out at a fast pace and just slowed down some in the middle. The books was easy and fun to read. I like the characters (Savannah, Edward, Amanda), the setting (St. Petersburg, Florida—I am about an hour or so from this city), and the ciphers (I really liked the ciphers probably because I like puzzles) as well as the geocaching. I have only seen one other cozy mystery use geocaching. I found the murder mystery to be a medium level mystery (though the author was clever). I was able to solve it before I was halfway through the book despite the authors attempt at misdirection. I cannot wait for the next book in this series. I give Pane and Suffering 4.25 out of 5 stars. I think Pane and Suffering is a very good start to a new mystery series. I received a complimentary copy of Pane and Suffering from NetGalley (and the publisher) in exchange for an honest review.

I could not put it down. Surprise villian. I visit St Petersburg once a month to see my granddaughter . Loved the use of real names of businesses so I could reference the locations. I bought the next book before I was half way through wi th this one. [And my name is also Cheryl :)]

This is a delightful book with a nice mystery. It was made even better because I live near the location.

About the author

Cheryl Hollon now writes full-time after she left an engineering career designing and building military flight simulators in amazing countries such as England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India. Fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, she combines her love of writing with a passion for oil painting and creating glass art. Cheryl and her husband live in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. Visit her online at CherylHollon.com, on Facebook @CherylHollonWriter, on Instagram @CherylHollonAuthor, or on Twitter @CherylHollon.