Customer Reviews

Snake in the Glass (A Glassblowing Mystery)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I felt a little guilty when I wrote my critical review of Atwell's last book in her Glassblowing Mystery series, because I so wanted that book to be better than it was. So I'm VERY relieved to shout Huzzah! Atwell -- and heroine Em Dowell, who owns a glassblowing shop in Tucson -- are back on track with a fun, engaging mystery novel.

In this third novel in the series, Em's brother Cameron is moving to Tucson to be near his new ladylove. Except a situation arises in the first few pages that causes Cam to stomp off in a huff, mad at the world. At first she isn't concerned, but when his absence stretches to days... Meanwhile, a Mysterious Stranger wants to use Em's glassblowing equipment for an odd-sounding experiment with gems... peridot, in particular. Eventually these events are tied to the discovery of a body in the desert, and Em, naturally, has to find out what's going on.

Atwell is doing a great job with these characters (and the other folks you've met in previous books, starting with Through a Glass, Deadly) and they're growing in a thoroughly nice way. The situation is entirely plausible, or at least I was able to suspend my disbelief enough to not-question anything while I was reading Snake in the Glass. Admittedly there's more here about gems than about glass, in this book (more glass! more glass!) but that was okay because I learned plenty of neat stuff.

You probably DO want to read the earlier books in the series, but the book could work as a standalone.

This is a fun, quick, relaxing read. Completely enjoyable.

I love all the glass blowing mysteries. This one is great. Em is a good character. This one has huge twists.
You will love it.

Sarah Atwell's SNAKE IN THE GLASS provides a mystery revolving around glassblower Emmeline, who not only blows glass but investigates the murder of a stranger who has begged to use her kiln for an experimental gem treatment. A fine pick for lending libraries strong in murder mysteries.

The title says it all, except for one thing: Allison. For some reason her character annoys me and I think phony, phony, phony. Cam would do well to look elsewhere. Em's character as usual is very good and she's very likable. Matt is kind of wishy-washy and I don't think much of the relationship between him and Em. It's on quicksand, it doesn't blend, there's no "meat and potatoes" to how they feel about each other. Em should find another Peter Ferguson (a wonderful character in one of Atwell's other books). Very good read - recommend highly. Follow Atwell's books - they are good, meaty reads. Also look at her other a.k.a. writing: Sheila Connolly. Wow! Good books, too.

This book is a really great easy read. Characters from the glassblowing series continue to evolve and the "who-dun-it" part kept me reading until the end! This time the focus on detail was more on altering gems with heat... to produce a desire effect in the stones. Since I've read about "treated" gemstones... I found it very interesting! The setting is still in Arizona with great descriptions.

In her ACKNOWLEDGMENTS section the author sets the
scene: "Gems have always fascinated people, so of course
glassblower, Em Dowell has to check them out when she's looking
for glass ideas. Besides, she lives in Tucson, home of the
annual Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, the largest in the world, so
she couldn't ignore them completely.

Less well known is the fact that the San Carlos
Indian Reservation not far from Tucson is the primary source
for the gemstone Peridot - - - a fact that Em learns quickly,
but for the wrong reasons."

A stranger appears at SHARDS, Em's studio, and begs
to use her equipment to test Peridot, to find his fortune
through an experimental treatment. Instead a body is found,
a body somehow connected with Em's brother, Cam, who is missing.

One of Atwell's strengths is her character development.
And in this third book, all our favorites, both human and
animal, are back: (1)Emmeline Dowell and her police chief
pal, Matt Lundgren. (2)Em's brother, Cameron and his lady
love, Em's employee, Allison McBride. (3)Frank Kavanah, Allison's
uncle, and his sweetie, Em's employee, Nessa Spencer.
(4)Fred and Gloria, Em's pups, Fred "a wire-haired dachshund with
a Napoleon complex," and Gloria "a more substantial and dignified
English buldog," with a "cool demeanor." {PAGE 20}

Atwell's humor and humanity are felt throughout.
Here Em and Frank are searching in the desert for clues of
any kind: "After the fifth or sixth try, the sun was low in
the sky. I stopped at the end of yet another nowhere road,
turned off the engine, and got out of the car. I guess I'd
been clutching the steering wheel hard, because my neck was
stiff. It felt good to be standing in the open air - - - but
that just drove home how futile our task was. We were very
small, and the desert was very big. . . . 'Frank, are we crazy
to think we can find anything at all out here?'

Without looking at me, he said, 'Em, if you know what you are
looking for, you can read this like a book.

'You mean all those old television shows I watched
when I was growing up were right? You can look at a bent
twig and tell me a six-foot-two man who walked with a limp
and was blind in his right eye passed this way a week ago
Tuesday?'

Frank glanced at me and smiled slightly." {PAGES 265-266}

In the HEADNOTES we learn about the gem, Peridot,
of course, but we also learn more about glass in history.
For example: "In ancient Egypt, only pharaohs, high priests,
and nobles were permitted to own glass, and used it to
decorate their thrones, funeral masks, and mummy cases."
{PAGE 300} I do think a GLOSSARY OF TERMS would have
been a good addition to the book. I found myself searching
through the earlier books to find out the meaning of terms.

I was happy to see that this time around no recipes
were included. I liked those in the first two books, don't
get me wrong, but, Em is definitely not a cook. She enters
a kitchen and finds her guests cooking for her with items
she didn't know she had. So no recipes is a good thing, right
in character.

I dawdled over SNAKE IN THE GLASS because it was
published in 2009 and none seem forthcoming. If this was
the last in the series, I shall miss it. Thank you.

My favorite books are one where the protaganist has a day job but also solves crimes. This one took a little slow to get going, and some of the minor characters were not featured as much as I would have liked.
I enjoy the glassblowing techniques that are explained. It makes me want to try it myself.