Born to Bead Wild: A Humorous Cozy Mystery (Glass Bead Mystery Series Book 5) by Janice Peacock

Born to Bead Wild: A Humorous Cozy Mystery (Glass Bead Mystery Series Book 5) Reviews

• 
  Linda ~ *Chatcozy*

  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

  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

  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

  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.
• 
  Pamela

  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
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  Douglas Lutz

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

  3.6