Kristina A. reviewed on 8/10/2016 + 1528 more book reviews

A Bead in the Hand by Janice Peacock is the second book in Glass Bead Mystery series. Jacqueline "Jax" O'Connell is a glass bead maker and jewelry designer. Jax and her friend Tessa are heading from Seattle, Washington to Portland, Oregon for the Portland Bead Fun show. Jax will be selling her wares and Tessa will be buying stock for her shop. The first day of the show is a big hit. Jax would be thrilled except Saundra Jameson (diva) and Wendy Wilson. Wendy has the table behind Jax and uses a scooter (she uses it to her advantage). Towards evening there is a blackout. When the lights do not come back on, everyone is asked to leave. Wendy manages to hit Jax with her scooter on her way out. When the lights come back on, Sandra Jameson is found dead. The suspect list is not short and Jax is on it (she was right next to Sandra's booth). Jax is determined to find the culprit before the show ends and everyone scatters back to their homes. Jax gets some help from the security guard, Ryan (who seems more interested in guarding Jax than the conference room). Tessa is not much help since she is always on the phone dealing with arguments between her teenage daughters. Then Val, neighbor and friend, shows up at the show with Jax's cat Gumdrop (Val was cat sitting). Val broke up with her boyfriend and needed to get away. Great! Now she has to hide a cat in her room and deal with Val (who seems to lack common sense). Will Jax get herself off the suspect list and the killer behind bars?

A Bead in the Hand was not for me. I'm afraid I found this book just ridiculous with the over-the-top characters, the quick romance between Jax and Ryan, the annoying friends, and the easy to solve mystery. I knew who was going to be killed and the killer before the body was found. I give A Bead in the Hand 2 out of 5 stars. The book started out interesting, but the further I got into the story the less I liked it (I really had a hard time liking Jax). A Bead in the Hand can be read alone because what happens in the first book is mentioned a few times (especially the detective who investigated the case). A Bead in the Hand was just not the right book for me.

I received a complimentary copy of A Bead in the Hand in exchange for an honest evaluation. The comments and opinions expressed are strictly my own.

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