Through a Shot Glass Darkly

Through a Shot Glass Darkly
Siobhan Kelly
Cat's Paw Press
Long Branch, New Jersey
ISBN: 978-0-09887090-2-7
2012
$ 15.00
300 pages

Everyone always thinks about following their dream but few people really do. We envy those people who have the courage to actually give up everything in their lives to jump on that one chance of a lifetime. That is exactly what Alex Fitzpatrick achieves when she leaves New Jersey to open an Irish pub in a small college town in Nebraska. What she doesn't plan on are those non-published set of rules in this town. Who would be threatened by a female running a bar in a small town?

When you inherit money, this gives you an opportunity. Alex invests in a bar in Sherman, Nebraska. Her plan is to develop a true Irish pub which is definitely different from a bar. For economics and convenience, she is living over the place as she learns the business and the community.

One of her first friends in Sherman is Barb who owns a successful bookstore, Book Ends, a few blocks away. Barb is bothered by something but tells Alex that she will discuss the matter when she has time in a few days. However that doesn't happen. Barb's body is found in her apartment above the bookstore after it burned. Was this an accident or intentional?

Alex's guilt over not knowing what was bothering Barb quickly converts into her own investigation, of course, alongside of the local law enforcement.

This is a fast-paced, well-developed mystery that captures both the advantages and the disadvantages of living in a small Nebraska town. The characters are realistic with a perfectly planned setting, truly making the reader feel as if they are in the town with the characters. The strengths are the sense of setting and the character development in this novel. Through a Shot Glass Darkly excels in these areas.

Who is the intended audience for Through a Shot Glass Darkly? For this particular novel, it is easier to state who should not read this book. Unquestionably, the author has not had many positive experiences with Lutherans who are from the Missouri Synod. Also, those who are not comfortable with same sex relationships would not enjoy this novel. Those who would most enjoy this book are open-minded readers who have had experiences in small towns.

Siobhan Kelly taught for thirteen years in Nebraska. She has returned to the Jersey area and is working on a sequel to Through a Shot Glass Darkly.

Through a Shot Glass Darkly is a cozy mystery that keeps you wondering about the possible killer to the very end.