A Murderous Glaze: A Clay and Crime Mystery

another good one, I like the characters and look forward to more in the series.

What a fantastic first book in a new series! I really enjoyed this clever little mystery. Great characters, good plot, and wonderful setting. I look forward to many more in this series.

Tim Myers, a.k.a. Melissa Glazer, has yet another winning cozy series on his hands with the debut of A Murderous Glaze, featuring pottery shop owner, Carolyn Emerson. The setting is a cozy, small town in Vermont, and the book opens with the murder of Betty Wickline having already taken place inside Carolyn's shop, Fire At Will, the night before. Since Betty was murdered inside Carolyn's shop with one of Carolyn's tools, and since her animosity toward Betty was common knowledge, the town sheriff, John Hodges, considers Carolyn a viable suspect, or is that just to deflect suspicion from himself? When the entire town starts to treat Carolyn like some sort of pariah and her business dwindles down to nothing, she decides to take matters into her own hands. She enlists the help of an unlikely bunch of investigators - the Firing Squad - a group of artisans from all walks of life (including a reformed crook and a retired judge) who meet regularly at Fire At Will to share their lives and their love of pottery. They waste no time uncovering all sorts of interesting information about Betty and all kinds of motives for plenty of people to have wanted to hasten her demise. Carolyn is a likable, albeit somewhat abrasive, middle-aged woman with a sweetheart of a husband, Bill. Carolyn's proclivity for sarcastic wit tends to get her into trouble at times and is undoubtedly part of the reason that some of the townsfolk think her capable of murder. But underneath her gruff exterior, Carolyn is actually a bit of a sweetheart herself. She is the kind of friend anyone would be glad to have on their side, and she obviously instills that same fierce loyalty in her own family and friends. Watching them go out on a limb for one another was heartwarming! The ending was quite interesting, and leaves the reader with a few unanswered questions - undoubtedly in order to keep us anxiously awaiting the next book in the series (which, of course, I've already ordered!). Carol Ann Hopkins 3/22/2008

I loved this book. It is a great cozy read with fun characters. I will be looking for more from this author!

I absolutely love this wonderful Book. I had a tough time putting it down. Melissa needs to write faster! I am sorry I just think that this is a great book and a terrific author. The characters are very believable! The writer is up ther with Diane Mott Davison, Valerie Wolzien and the list goes on! I will be waiting for May 6, 2008 to roll around!