Review – The Glass House by Nancy Lynn Jarvis

About The Book:

The Glass House: A PIP Inc. Mystery by Nancy Lynn Jarvis

Law Librarian Pat Pirard got an unexpected thirty-fifth birthday present: a pink slip. Now she has nine weeks to reinvent herself before she runs out of money. Her best friend Syda gives her a glass forming class as a birthday present and distraction where Pat gets another surprise: a murder.

Purchase Link: Amazon

My Thoughts:

The first few pages of the book tell the reader everything they need to know about Pat Pirard. She is smart, in brains and looks. Plucky, with a burst of color and a leopard print briefcase. When she is “downsized” from law librarian research job on her 35th birthday she could have wallowed in self-pity, but instead she allows her well-meaning, but slightly unaware best friend Syda to maneuver her into a last-minute glass forming class. Then when the opportunity to put her talents and skills to work for her in a new direction comes along, Pat jumps on board with both feet all the while staying true to herself.

Along with a snappy whodunnit, there is a bit of mystery over which love interest will charm Pat as she finds herself pondering the merits of sexy lawyer Mark Bellows and self-assured officer Tim Lindsey. The murder victim is a beautifully written over the top diva artist that you just can’t quite feel sorry for when he drops dead. There are plenty of suspects with plenty of motives and of course not everyone is being totally honest. While I figured out the bad guy fairly early on, I was totally wrong about the why and how and I am okay with that. Readers from the Santa Cruz area will enjoy the amount of local color dripped throughout the pages of the book. I do think this was a nice introduction of a new series though I assume Pat’s private eyeing will be put to the test at some point later on when her lack of license and training become an issue. A knack for legal research and a business card will only go so far. This is a series that I am looking forward to continuing.

About The Author:

Nancy Lynn Jarvis was a Santa Cruz, California, Realtor® for more than twenty years before she fell in love with writing and let her license lapse.

After earning a BA in behavioral science from San Jose State University, she worked in the advertising department of the San Jose Mercury News. A move to Santa Cruz meant a new job as a librarian and later a stint as the business manager for Shakespeare/Santa Cruz at UCSC.

Nancy’s work history reflects her philosophy: people should try something radically different every few years, a philosophy she applies to her writing, as well. She has written seven Regan McHenry Real Estate Mysteries; a stand-alone novel “Mags and the AARP Gang” about a group of octogenarian bank robbers; edited “Cozy Food: 128 Cozy Mystery Writers Share Their Favorite Recipes” and a short story anthology, “Santa Cruz Weird;” and even done a little insider’s book, “The Truth About Hosting Airbnb” about her first year as a host.

“The Glass House” is the first book in a planned series of PIP Inc. Mysteries. Now she’s trying to figure out when to work on another series she’d love to do called “Geezers with Tools” about two older handymen who will solve mysteries in the course of doing their work, and setting up writer retreats at her house.

Author Links: Website / Facebook / Goodreads