Born to Bead Wild: A Humorous Cozy Mystery

Glass Bead Mystery #5

by Janice Peacock

Something is strange at Full Moon Farms—and it isn’t just Val’s Eggplant Surprise for dinner. Jax, Tessa, and the rest of the arts and crafts retreat attendees are shocked when they find charred bones in a glass kiln. Are the remains human or animal? The camp owners insist the bones in the coffin-sized kiln are from a deer, but Jax finds a clue that leads her to believe the owners are lying. After Tessa’s least favorite person turns up dead, there is no doubt that a killer lurks somewhere in the deep forest of the Olympic Peninsula. As clues lead Jax and Tessa down mysterious paths, they hope they live long enough to find the culprit and make it out alive.

Genres: Cozy Mystery, Mystery, Contemporary

252 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 18, 2023

About the author

• Janice Peacock is a cozy mystery author who specializes in craft and hobby mysteries. She loves to write about artists who find new ways to live their lives and perhaps catch a criminal or two in the process. While working in a glass studio with several colorful and quirky artists, she was inspired to write the Glass Bead Mystery Series. The Ruby Shaw Mysteries, which are set in a small hillside mining town, were inspired by her trips to Jerome, Arizona, and Jacksonville, Oregon.

When Janice isn’t writing about amateur detectives, she wields a 2,500-degree torch to melt glass and create one-of-kind beads and jewelry. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and an undisclosed number of cats.

Facebook.com/JanPeac
Instgram.com/JanPeac

Reviews

[Linda Langford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written in Author Janice Peacock’s humorous style, with intriguing characters, a nature setting atmosphere, and a baffling murder mystery, “Born to Bead Wild” is a creative romp through a glassblowing camp with never a dull moment! I really enjoyed relaxing with this book, and highly recommend to cozy mystery readers.

[LORI CASWELL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Jax, Tessa, and Val along with Val’s dog Stanley are off to a craft retreat a Full Moon Farms. Reluctantly when they arrive they are forced to give up their phones due to the camp’s no-technology policy. So they have no way to contact the outside world when they see bones, supposedly from a deer in one of the kilns, or when a dead body is found floating in the lake. While one of the owners of the retreat heads to town to alert the police Jax and Tessa meet up with Val and see she failed to turn in her phone. They immediately call 911. Val’s choice of footwear lands her on the suspect list. With no confidence in the police finding the real killer Jax and Tessa start investigating on their own. What they find could get them killed, and they have no idea who they can trust. They may need to break some glass to get out of the woods alive.

After a long absence (2018) Jax and Tessa have returned. Jax and Detective Zachary Grant are now in a true relationship. Tessa’s daughters are driving and her son Joey is five. Tessa has been invited to teach beading classes at a week-long retreat at Full Moon Farms and Jax is going to be her assistant. Val, Jax’s neighbor has come along to be the chef for the week and she doesn’t go anywhere without her dog Stanley. Jax’s cats Gumdrop and her new kitten Ginger are in the hands of Dylan, her tenant in her newly renovated attic bedroom in her absence. Wendy Freeman owns Full Moon Farms with her husband Taylor. It is really a camp with a lodge, cabins, and a bunkhouse. They host all kinds of glassblowing, glass-fusing, and jewelry-making retreats. Tessa’s friend Adrianna will also be teaching jewelry-making techniques alongside Tessa’s bead-making. It was great to catch up with the characters from previous books and meet new characters attending and involved in the retreat.

Full Moon Farm was quite a place and much more rustic than everyone expected including me. The menu Val was given was just crazy. Vegan yes, but the recipes she was given would even have a vegan pushing away from the table quickly. It made for some humorous moments but poor Val was desperate to serve food that both looked and tasted good.

The murder mystery ties into another mystery and they were blended together nicely. By the way some people were acting, shady, crabby, and aloof I thought the mystery was pretty straight forward but then there was a twist that switched everything up. Some thoughts I had earlier in the story finally fit together and set up a dramatic reveal. It also made me giggle and smile.

Born to Bead Wild was a fast-paced fun read. I read it all in one sitting. A bit of suspense mixed with plenty of humor. I am so glad these characters are back and hope Ms. Peacock won’t keep her readers waiting too long for the next installment.

[Carla · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the fifth book in the Glass Bead Mystery series by Janice Peacock, we once again find Jax, Tessa, Val and basset hound Stanley were on the road once again. Tessa was teaching a bracelet making class with another artist learning to make glass beads. Jax goes along with Tessa to help out and Val has been hired to be the cook, because the cook at the farm had left unexpectedly. When they all arrive some strange things begin to happen. They run into a specialist on studio ventilation and safety who wants to shut down the classroom Tessa is scheduled to use, Val finds out that she is supposed to cook "healthy" meals that are inedible, they find bones in the kiln, someone steals their phones, and a body in the lake. Is there a murderer in their midst? What really happened to the previous cook? Will they be able to go home at the end of the week?

I really enjoyed this story. I enjoyed the mix of mystery, glass information, themes about the environment and safety as well as the storyline about being yourself and growing personally. There are secondary characters that have been in previous books, so along with our regulars, I feel like I know these people and the glass community. This book was a little more complicated than some of the previous books, which I loved. It really made me think about what was happening and where the story was going. The mystery had several clues, red herrings and suspects which kept me guessing. I thought I had it figured out, but once again, came up short. Having read all but the first book over the last few weeks, I can say that each book gets better than the last. I definitely recommend this book to cozy mystery lovers and if you enjoy learning about something else on the side, this will do it for you (glass work, environmental issues). I hope there is more to come from Jax, Tessa and Val.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bead artist Jax O'Connell goes to a beading camp in the Pacific Northwest with her friends Tessa, who will be teaching at the arts camp, and Val, who will be the camp cook for a week. They are accompanied by Val's Basset Hound Stanley. When a murder occurs, Jax and her friends set out to solve the mystery.

I wanted to read this book because I love cozy mysteries, I've always loved Basset Hounds (the cover art is so appealing!), and am interested in beading.

This is the fifth book in the Glass Bead Mystery series but I had no problem jumping in and getting to know the characters. It worked well as a standalone mystery.

Born to Bead Wild is a fun cozy mystery. It is fast moving and told with humor (especially involving newbie chef Val's attempts at learning how to do all natural, plant based cooking for an entire camp). As an animal lover, of course I loved all scenes with Stanley the Basset Hound!

The beading details in this book were fascinating! I have enjoyed making some beaded jewelry but have never actually made beads, so the glass bead process was especially interesting to me.

The mystery aspect of this story was especially well done. The friends are at a camp out in the middle of the woods, in a cabin with no locks on the doors, no cell phones, and working to solve a mystery. Jax and Tessa took some big safety risks in their detecting but of course they ultimately found the killer.

I really enjoyed Born to Bead Wild. I have the author's earlier eBooks on my Kindle and now I want to go back and read them to catch up with the rest of the series. I recommend this book for cozy mystery fans, and especially for anyone who has an interest in beading or crafting.

[marilyn peters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grab this Great Read right away

Jax has returned and this is a non-stop read so open the first page when you can block out the time to read it straight through!
Janice keeps us turning the pages ~ nothing is what we thought would come next ~ and all the better for that!

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder and glass beads.

This is book 5 in an enjoyable cozy mystery series. Jax and friends are off to teach a glass bead glass at a farm in Washington state. Naturally murder and intrigue await them. Lots of laughs and a twisting plot

[D.J. Lutz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very glad to see Ajax and this series back again! Worth binging all the books, imho.

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.6

[Karen Siddall · Rating 5 out of 5]

With an almost ensemble team of sleuths and its interesting glass bead theme, this long-awaited addition to the Glass Bead Mystery series will not disappoint!

Born to Bead Wild is the fifth book in author Janice Peacock’s delightful and quirky Glass Bead Mystery series and is a long-awaited addition, as the last book was published in 2018. The main character, Jacqueline "Jax" O’Connell, is smart and savvy, and in this story, she has quite a bit of time on her hands to look around and uncover clues to what is going on at Full Moon Farm, the site of the workshop. She’s good-hearted, and though initially annoyed by Val accompanying her and Tessa, she stands up for her neighbor at every chance and willingly lends a helping hand. Tessa is the lead instructor for the glass bead class along with their friend, Adriana Jones, and although she must focus on teaching, she still has Jax’s back and urges her on when needed. For me, it was Val’s camp experience that took center stage. Honestly, I could feel the horror of those menus and weird staples, and I applauded what Val could create out of that mess. Frankly, I would have starved to death or worn a rut in the road to Port Angeles, going for food before eating any of the camp owner’s scheduled meals.

The murder mystery and the amateur investigation were solid and intriguing. The victim doesn’t have much page/screen time, but it’s enough to know he’s trouble with a capital "T." In contrast to our three heroines, quite a few unpleasant folks are involved with the workshop, including the owners of Full Moon Farm, and some make for good suspects. I never clued in on who the actual killer was until the reveal, though, with hindsight being 20/20, perhaps I should have. Then, too, the final resolution of the case comes with its terrific twist.

With an almost ensemble team of sleuths, a great setting, and the interesting glass bead art and jewelry theme, I recommend BORN TO BE BEAD WILD to cozy mystery readers who enjoy artistic or craft-themed stories, books with a rural camp location or set in the Pacific Northwest, in general, but especially fans of the previous books in the series.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.