Savannah Webb has had to return home to St. Petersburg, FL from Seattle upon the death of her father, John, in Pane and Suffering by Cheryl Hollon. Having moved from making stained glass windows to studying glass blowing, Savannah is not willing to carry on her father’s store, Webb’s Glass Shop, where he both cut glass and taught classes in the art. She has made plans to transfer the glass shop to her father’s longtime associate, Hugh Trevor. However, when her father’s apprentice, 17-year-old Jacob Underwood, who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome, goes to find Hugh, he finds the older man lying dead, a mere week after the death of Savannah’s father. Though the highly incompetent police officer who responded to the call insists the death was natural, Savannah finds things suspicious.
Then she finds a letter from her father, with the envelope specifying that if Savannah is reading this, it means John Webb has been murdered. The glass worker once worked for the government as a Cold War cryptographer, leaving him with a lifelong love of codes and puzzles. Inside the envelope, Savannah finds a coded message that directs her on the first stage of a scavenger hunt that gives her hints to help her locate the murderer.
I thoroughly appreciated getting to listen to the performance of
Pane and Suffering. The book has an exciting plot, with some interesting details related to the scavenger hunt that John Webb has set up for Savannah. I especially enjoyed the delightful characters in this book, in particular Jacob and his service dog, Susie. I appreciated the depiction of this young man with Asperger’s Syndrome, showing the challenges faced by someone with this mild form of autism but also his strengths. Savannah would never have been able to solve all the codes from her father without Jacob. His loving concern for Susie adds further to his in- depth character.
The audio edition of this book is performed by C.S.E. Cooney, who sounds as I imagine Savannah sounding, though a little overly dramatic. Cooney uses credible voices for the various characters, including spiteful ones for the twins who take Savannah’s class. I enjoyed the performance well.
I really had a great time listening to Pane and Suffering. The book has an exciting ending whose resolution really satisfies. This author was new to me, but she won’t remain a stranger, as she has several books on Audible that I intend to listen to now that I have discovered these delightful books. I give this book five stars.
To purchase this book for yourself, click here on Amazon.
