Great Escapes Review: Shards of Murder by Cheryl Hollon (@cherylhollon)

Shards of Murder

Webb's Glass Shop Mystery, #2
Cheryl Hollen

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Kensington
Date of Publication: February 23, 2016
Number of pages: 304

Available at the following retailers:
Amazon     BN     Kobo     OmniLit

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…

Review: 
It's not often that Florida has a story set outside of either Miami or Orlando. That this one is set in St. Petersburg, known locally as St. Pete, makes it unique. St. Pete is an eclectic little spot, with so many different cultures having helped to build and develop the area. As a Florida native, who lives just 2 hours away, it was a real pleasure to read someone doing the city justice and getting it right. Sometimes a city is described so accurately, that it's rhythms and vibe can be likened to another character in a book. The author manages this nicely for St. Petersburg.

I was a little concerned after reading the first book, Pane and Suffering, that the author wouldn't be able to meet the high standards she set in the first book. I am pleased to announce that she did an excellent job of not only meeting them, but exceeding them. Savannah and her posse are really coming together as quite the enterprising group. Though the story is told mainly through Savannah, the story has an ensemble feel. They utilized their individual strengths to work together to solve the murder quickly, much to Detective Parker's annoyance.

If you want to read a cozy mystery that's more than just a niche book, this series would be a perfect fit. It's so much more than just about glass making, though that does play a large part. I had a hard time putting this book down, and gave it 4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley, Kensington and Great Escapes for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Giveaway: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Bio:

Cheryl Hollon now writes full-time after she left an engineering career of 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 creating glass art. In the small glass studio behind her house in St. Petersburg, Florida, Cheryl and her husband design, create, and produce fused glass, stained glass, and painted glass artworks.

To connect with the author online:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads