Book Review – To Bead or Not to Bead (Book 4 in the Glass Bead Mystery series) by Janice Peacock.

4 out of 5 stars

Let’s start with me being open and honest – as always. If I gave half stars, this would be a 4 ½ out of 5.

Oh, and I would also like to thank the author Janice Peacock for accepting me as a Beta Reader for ‘To Bead or Not to Bead’. I have been a fan of her work since book one of the ‘Glass Bead Mystery series’ and so did indeed do a little happy dance when given the opportunity to read the next book in the series before nearly anyone else.

I read, I review, and I love free books from my favourite authors. So, yes, this was an awesome opportunity for me. Though, I will add here, that in this case I then went and BOUGHT my own eBook copy of ‘To Bead or Not to Bead’ with my own money. Yup, I put my money where my mouth is and supported an author. So you can’t think that I am just saying all of this as I was paid to do so… not that any of my frequent readers would think that, right? 😉

So, let’s get on with the actual review rather than my open and honest statements about how I got the book!

Okay, so the story is set back in Jax’s hometown, where she has partnered up with her best friend Tessa to help out with a fashion parade in aide of charity. The usual gang – met via the other books in the series so far – are all there, including my favourites Val – Jax’s next door neighbour – and Jax’s catnip addicted cat Gumdrop.  Plus there are a few new characters to get to know, even if for just a short time.

As always, the setting is well described, the plot sound and the little side stories – like Val’s fad dieting – always highly amusing and relevant to the overall tale being told. Jax once more finds herself in the midst of a murder and the ensuing whodunit required to ensure a friend is not blamed for the crime. The reason I gave it a half star off the full 5 stars is simply because there were too many love interests for the one gal. Perhaps I am just jealous? 😉 Pssst, don’t tell my husband that!

I mean, she has the “Clark Kent cute” Zachary the cop, while also trying to help a former love interest Ryan and for a moment I thought the cute vet was also a candidate buuut…. Well, you can wait and see what happens there without any spoilers. 😉

As far as your cosy crime/ mystery series go – this is a fantastic read. It has all the plot lines, characters, twists and turns an excellent cosy/ mystery needs. So, it carries on in quality seamlessly from the previous books in this series.

And, although I’ve not yet read the final print copy of ‘To Bead or Not to Bead’, I would like to think you won’t find any clangers or typos in it. But that could just be me being a bit prideful. 😉 Oh, let’s face it…. “My Padawan” thrilled me! 😀

Would I recommend this book to others?

Yes I would, and do feel it could possibly be enjoyed as a stand-alone read. However, you would be doing yourself an injustice if you didn’t go and grab the first three books (and the novella) and read them first. Go on… they’re available at all good online bookstores (and not so good ones like Amazon) so go grab them, thank me later.

Basically, if you love cosy crimes/ mysteries with a craft based under current – you will love this book and this whole series. Janice’s love of lamp work beading really shines through in all her stories and can be quite addictive.

Would I buy this book for myself?

This section is fairly redundant, isn’t it? I’ve already said that I did go and buy it and I can’t wait to have a read through once more to see if it’s as good the second time as it was the first. I bet it will be!

In summary: Craft loving cosy crime/ mystery fans will love this book. Go buy it now! Thank me later.

Until next time,

Janis.