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.
Pane and Suffering is the first in a series by Cheryl Hollon (with the second book set to be published in February, 2016). Having read an uncorrected proof of the book to complete the review, it's hard to say if the areas I found fault with were fixed upon the final edit so please take some of the criticism lightly.
Being a huge fan of cozy mysteries, I love the basic premise behind each series (i.e. antiques, bakery, thrift store owner, etc.). What drew me to this series was the stained glass aspect. And the book definitely delivered in explaining the finer points behind making stained glass (something I hope to learn to do one day).
Some of the items that I hope will improve over time within the series is the interaction of the characters. Namely, the dialogue. Much of it is forced and none of it seemed natural. I also thought the beginning jump in logic from heart attack to murder before she found the note from her father warning of danger was a bit of a leap (but maybe it's just me).
Another plus, the cryptography within. Overall, the mystery was pretty decent and the killer was predictable (but I always seem to catch the killer before the heroine does in any series). Not a bad first book in a series. I'll be sure to read book 2 to find out what Savannah is up to next.
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