Pane and Suffering

Webb's Glass Shop Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Cheryl Hollon

Narrated by: C.S.E. Cooney

Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

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...

©2015 Cheryl Hollon (P)2018 Tantor

Interesting Read

This was a very interesting read, at first it did grab me as it went along I enjoyed the book.

Over The Top Narration

This is a great story. I enjoyed the setting, the plot and characters. The narrator has an excellent voice, but was overly dramatic, which took away from the story.

Interesting

Not bad. It’s was an okay read,a lot of information about glass making throughout. The characters can use some development but considering it’s the first book, there’s hope.

Great book with strong characters

Savannah Webb has had to return home to St. Petersburg, FL from Seattle upon the death of her father, John, in Pane and Suffering by Cheryl Hollon. Having moved from making stained glass windows to studying glass blowing, Savannah is not willing to carry on her father’s store, Webb’s Glass Shop, where he both cut glass and taught classes in the art. She has made plans to transfer the glass shop to her father’s longtime associate, Hugh Trevor. However, when her father’s apprentice, 17-year-old Jacob Underwood, who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, goes to find Hugh, he finds the older man lying dead, a mere week after the death of Savannah’s father. Though the highly incompetent police officer who responded to the call insists the death was natural, Savannah finds things suspicious.

Then she finds a letter from her father, with the envelope specifying that if Savannah is reading this, it means John Webb has been murdered. The glass worker once worked for the government as a Cold War cryptographer, leaving him with a lifelong love of codes and puzzles. Inside the envelope, Savannah finds a coded message that directs her on the first stage of a scavenger hunt that gives her hints to help her locate the murderer.

I thoroughly appreciated getting to listen to the performance of
Pane and Suffering. The book has an exciting plot, with some interesting details related to the scavenger hunt that John Webb has set up for Savannah. I especially enjoyed the delightful characters in this book, in particular Jacob and his service dog, Susie. I appreciated the depiction of this young man with Asperger’s Syndrome, showing the challenges faced by someone with this mild form of autism but also his strengths. Savannah would never have been able to solve all the codes from her father without Jacob. His loving concern for Susie adds further to his in- depth character.

The audio edition of this book is performed by C.S.E. Cooney, who sounds as I imagine Savannah sounding, though a little overly dramatic. Cooney uses credible voices for the various characters, including spiteful ones for the twins who take Savannah’s class. I enjoyed the performance well.

I really had a great time listening to Pane and Suffering. The book has an exciting ending whose resolution really satisfies. This author was new to me, but she won’t remain a stranger, as she has several books on Audible that I intend to listen to now that I have discovered these delightful books. I give this book five stars.

A nice listen

This was a good kick off for a new series. There is a good mix of character development, craftsmanship and mystery. I’m looking forward to the next book!

Difficult to listen to

The narrator is overly enthusiastic making this a very difficult listen. I gave up after several chapters.

could have been shorter

I struggled to finish this. I grew tired if her angst and mood swings.The main characters were cartoon like and unconvincing. I wanted so much to like it.

Great first book in a new series

Cheryl Hollon has crafted a great first book in a new series. Her characters were well developed and likable with a good mystery too. C.S.E. Cooney have a great performance bringing it all to life. I look forward to the next in the series.

pretty good

This is a pretty good cozy mystery. The villain is unpredictable. The narration is overly dramatic and annoying. I look forward to the next book, even if CSE Cooney is the narrator.

Excellent

Great beginning book in series! Plot is good as are characters. I wish more of the series were on audible!