4 out of 5 stars.
I would like to thank Booktrope for providing me with a free ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an open and honest review.
Seriously my kind of American cosy crime. Loved it. Though am giving Ms Peacock the squinty eye for possibly getting me addicted to lampwork beads. Yes I already had a bit of a crystal, bead and necklace habit… but I now do feel I’ve found a new form of wearable art to fall in love with and it’s her fault. 😉
But back to the story! If you haven’t guessed, it is in some ways about beads. It’s actually the second in a series by Ms Peacock called the ‘Glass Bead Mysteries’ and so we can all be safe in assuming there will be beads involved in all the books in this series – yay!
I loved the story line, good pace, fun characters you can associate with and all in all this book really lets your mind go and allows you to be absorbed into the tale. I will freely admit here and now I figured out ‘whodunnit’ early on, but I am notorious for that and tend to do it to the majority of mystery books I read. However I thoroughly enjoyed the journey of getting to the big reveal as, just because I guessed right, it didn’t mean I knew the motive and so loved reading through it all to get to the moment that explained why I guessed right. If that makes sense?
And I must say I really enjoy a mystery that gives you that journey. You sometimes get stories that throw so many plausible and implausible red herrings your way you get bored of the faux suspense and just want to read to the end of the book to say you finished it… and to see if your guess was right. Totally the opposite of ‘A bead in the hand’! There were a couple of red herrings, a few pink ones and maybe the odd orange one to keep the mystery going. But the tale itself was kept interesting and amusing all the way through and was not a chore to read. In fact, it was one of those ‘book hangover’ moments when it was done as I just wanted more.
I am officially a major fan of this series. Not that I will become biased and say I love it by default… just a major fan. 😉
Would I recommend this book to others?
Yes I would. And it is almost a stand-alone story so you wouldn’t necessarily have had to have read the first book to enjoy this one. It’d help you learn more about the main characters and catch up on a few things… but it’s not essential to have read the first one before embarking on ‘A Bead in the Hand’. I, personally, recommend you read both as they’re so good!
Would I buy this book for myself?
Yes I would. Though I’m pretty sure my ‘major fan’ moment gave me away on this answer. I would happily add this series to my physical or virtual bookshelves and proudly own as a light hearted ‘American Mystery’ or, as I like to call them ‘cosy crime’.
In summary: a well-paced, thoroughly entertaining and totally enjoyable read. It can be read as a stand-alone or as the second book in the series – your choice. But, personally, I say go grab yourself a copy of both ‘A Bead in the Hand’ as well as ‘High Strung’, take over the couch and have an indulgent weekend of cosy crime reading. Thank me later.
Until next time,
Janis.
Janis's Journal 