A killer's motives are not always transparent
Shards of Murder by Cheryl Hollon Kensington Books Mystery & Thrillers Pub Date: February 23, 2016 Review Exquisite art requires passion, but passion can lead to murder. Savannah Webb is thrilled and a bit daunted by the challenge of judging the glass art for the Spinnaker Arts Festival. The clear winner is Megan Loyola, whose art is both innovative and passionate. But Megan does not show up for her prize, and the festival is abuzz with rumor. Savannah does not expect to discover Megan's body on her morning run with Rooney. As she was one of the last people to speak with Megan and has no-one but her weimaraner to give her an alibi, Savannah becomes one of the main suspects. It is obvious to Savannah that the best way to clear her name is to identify the killer. With her in-depth knowledge of glass-making, and the skills of her friends, she starts her own systematic investigation. Everyone has a role to play, even Rooney who may be the only one who can identify the killer. Shards of Murder, the second Webb's Glass Shop mystery is easily as good as the first. Not only does Cheryl Hollon know a great deal about glass-making as an art, she is a skilled at making that art integral to her mysteries and appealing to the reader. Hollon is also excellent at creating vibrant characters who leap off the page. After reading Pane and Suffering and Shards of Murder, I feel I can drive into St. Petersburg, walk into Webb's Glass Shop, sign up for a class, and meet all of the characters. Three of my favorites are Jacob, Savannah's apprentice who has a talent for detecting patterns, his service dog Suzy, and Savannah's weimaraner Rooney. Dog lovers will enjoy seeing Rooney returning to play a more important role in Shards of Murder. Shards of Murder is an excellent follow up to Pane and Suffering – an intelligently plotted cozy with an array of realistic and memorable characters, both human and canine. If you are looking for a new cozy series, you won't go wrong selecting Cheryl Hollon's Webb's Glass Shop mysteries. 5/5 I received a copy of Shards of Murder from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. --Crittermom Description When a glass-making competition turns deadly, glass shop owner Savannah Webb must search for a window into a criminal's mind… As the new proprietor of Webb's Glass Shop, Savannah has been appointed to fill her late father's shoes as a judge for the Spinnaker Arts Festival, held in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. With her innovative glass works, the clear winner is Megan Loyola, a student of Savannah's former mentor. But when Megan doesn't show up to accept her $25,000 award, rumors start flying. And when Savannah discovers the woman's dead body on festival grounds, the police immediately suspect her of murder. To keep from appearing before a judge herself, Savannah sorts through the broken pieces of glass scattered around the victim for clues as to who took this killer competition too far… "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
