Pane and Suffering by Cheryl Hollon

Title: Pane and Suffering
Author: Cheryl Hollon
Published: September 2015
Published By: Kensington
Format Read: eBook, Kobo, NetGalley
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Date Read: October 19 2015
Rating: 3/5 

I was sent a copy of Pane and Suffering by Cheryl Hollon from the publisher via NetGlley, in exchange for an honest review. 

Savannah Webb returns to her hometown of St. Petersburg Florida following the unexpected death of her father. Her intention is to sell his glass shop to their good family friend Hugh Trevor, but when he is found dead in the workshop, she begins to suspect that perhaps her father’s death is connected. Savannah is then left to teach her father’s glass art class with a cast of quirky students and an awkward apprentice, while mourning her losses and trying to decide the fate of the shop. When she discovers coded messages her father wrote her before his death she takes it upon herself to solve the mystery. 

Pane and Suffering was a quick cozy mystery that kept my attention throughout. I particularly enjoyed the setting in a glass shop. I found this to be quite unique, especially for a murder mystery. The author really showcased her knowledge in glass art. She even featured a glossary for terms relating to glasswork in the back of the book. For this reason Pane and Suffering would be best enjoyed in physical book format, rather than in an eBook, in case the reader is interested in referencing any of the terms mentioned. I learned a lot about this craft and it has inspired me to do some more research into it, for my own personal knowledge. Another interesting point to this story was the mention of geocaching and how Savannah’s father used their hobby to guide his daughter to solve the mystery. 

The use of geocaching and ciphers in this story made for an interesting engaging discovery, however I don’t think it was utilized to its fullest extent. The author used some foreshadowing throughout, which helped narrow down motives for the crimes. Yet in the end when the murders were solved I didn’t feel as if they were fully explained. I don’t know if this lack of information was due to length restrictions or the fact that the author wanted the reader to use their imaginations, but I would have been more satisfied with a more descriptive conclusion. 

Despite a couple of my own personal grievances, I did enjoy Cheryl Hollon’s Pane and Suffering and would recommend it to cozy mystery fans.