Pane and Suffering by Cheryl Hollon

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Pane and Suffering is a fun mystery with a smattering of romance. A perfect read for a lazy summer day.

Savannah Webb comes home to St. Petersburg, Florida to bury her father and put his affairs in order after his unexpected death. Her plan to sell her father's stained glass business to his best friend and long-time business partner is shattered when he suffers a sudden “heart attack” that mirrors her father’s. The last thing she expected was to be caught up in a murder, but two unexpected heart attacks are too much to ignore. Soon she is struggling with threats to her safety, and dealing with a pair of oily businessmen who each want to buy and close her father’s business.

When she finds a cryptic note from her father warning her that she is in danger, she must break the codes to catch the killer. Savannah convinces the police to take a closer look.

Reality sets in when the cops confirm that both men were murdered. She knows she can't leave until she finds out who killed them. With the help of one of her students and the handsome pub owner next door, Savannah races against time to catch the killer before an innocent young man goes to jail.




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Back in the Saddle Again

Okay, I'm not literally back in the saddle. Injuries from my ill-spent youth prevent me from being able to ride a horse, but I am working on several writing projects that I'm excited about. In later posts I'll tell readers about other projects. Today I wanted to let you know what's going on with Nessa Donnelly and her pals this summer.

Nessa is making use of that private railcar to do a bit of traveling. She, Doc Haydon, and two of the McGuire sisters are off to Chicago. The ladies are being properly chaperoned by Campbell Academy's housemother. Mrs. Ruffin doesn't think much of Ness, but with classes out for the summer, she is delighted to pick up some extra money and travel to the big city.

Not all of Nessa's friends are coming along. Sgt. Hamm is still recovering from a near fatal beating. Tad is busy getting a new house built and hard at work on his own investigation. And Beulah is putting the old Slaton farm in order with the help of her newly discovered grandson. Where Jake goes Professor Pettyjohn is not far behind. Who knows what Nessa will come home to with that crazy professor and his "helpful" improvements added to the remodeling efforts. I suspect she will have at least one clock in every room.

You and I know that Nessa isn't going to escape trouble by leaving town. The Black Hand has made its way up the Mississippi from New Orleans and discovered Chicago. When Sicilian assassins start encroach upon turf long controlled by Irish gamblers there is bound to be trouble. The question is: "How much trouble will our travelers stumble into?"

2017 Derringer Awards

   

   

BEST FLASH STORY (1 - 1,000 words)

 

The 2017 Derringer for Best Flash Story is presented to

Herschel Cozine

for

“The Phone Call” 

(Flash Bang Mysteries, Summer 2016)

 

FINALISTS

“Aftermath” by Craig Faustus Buck

(Flash Bang Mysteries, Spring 2016)

 

“A Just Reward” by O'Neil De Noux

(Flash Bang Mysteries, Winter 2016)

 

“The Orphan” by Billy Kring

(Shotgun Honey, March 18, 2016)

 

“An Ill Wind” by R.T. Lawton

(Flash Bang Mysteries, Spring 2016)

 

 

Best Short Story (1,001 - 4,000 words)

 

The 2017 Derringer for Best Short Story is presented to

Linda Barnes

for

“The Way They Do It in Boston”

(Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September/October 2016)

 

FINALISTS

“Beks and the Second Note” by Bruce Arthurs  

(Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, December 2016)

 

“YOLO” by Libby Cudmore

(BEAT to a PULP, May 2016)

 

“The Woman in the Briefcase” by Joseph D'Agnese

(Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March/April 2016)

 

“The Lighthouse” by Hilde Vandermeeren

(Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, March/April 2016)

 

 

Best Long Story (4,001- 8,000 words)

 

The 2017 Derringer for Best Long Story is presented to

Victoria Weisfeld

for

“Breadcrumbs”

(Betty Fedora: Kickass Women In Crime Fiction, Issue 3, September 2016)

 

FINALISTS

“Swan Song” by Hilary Davidson

(Unloaded: Crime Writers Writing Without Guns, ed. By Eric Beetner, Down & Out Books, April 2016)

 

“Effect on Men” by O'Neil De Noux

(The Strand magazine, Issue XLVIII, Feb-May 2016)

 

“The Cumberland Package” by Robert Mangeot

(Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, May 2016)

 

“Murder Under the Baobab” by Meg Opperman (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, November 2016)

 

 

Best Novelette (8,000 to 20,000 words)

 

The 2017 Derringer for Best Novelette is presented to

Terrie Farley Moran

for

“Inquiry and Assistance”

(Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, January/February 2016)

 

FINALISTS

“Coup de Grace” by Doug Allyn

(Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September/October 2016)

 

“The Chemistry of Heroes” by Catherine Dilts

(Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, May 2016)

 

“The Educator” by Travis Richardson

(44 Caliber Funk: Tales of Crime, Soul, and Payback, ed. by Gary Phillips and Robert J. Randisi, Moonstone, December 2016)

 

“The Last Blue Glass” by B.K. Stevens

(Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine, April 2016)

 

 

Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer

 

For more information about this award, see its complete description here:

https://shortmystery.blogspot.com/2008/10/smfs-golden-derringer-procedure.html

 

The 2017

Edward D. Hoch Memorial Golden Derringer

is presented to

Robert Randisi

 

 

Gwen Mayo and Sarah E. Glenn - Murder On The Mullet Express