First Print Edition (for latest edition please see High Strung: A Glass Bead Mystery published by Vetrai, available in print or Kindle) When Jax's Great-Aunt Rita dies and leaves her an old Craftsman-style house in Seattle, it has this provision: You must to live here, and find your creative passion. Jax, along with her cat Gumdrop, leaves her unfulfilling life in Miami and discovers that the house, with its huge sunny studio, quirky neighbor Val, and a newly realized love of glass beadmaking are just what she needed. Aztec Beads, in one of Seattle's funkiest neighborhoods, is hosting a weekend of workshops, demonstrations, and exhibits. The opportunities for Jax to exhibit her work in a gallery, expand her jewelry-making knowledge, and be interviewed by a handsome reporter are just too great to miss. The weekend's plans get tangled when a young woman is found dead near the bead shop. Everyone participating in the workshops is a suspect, including Jax's best friend Tessa. Jax must string together the clues to clear Tessa's name, and do it before the killer strikes again.

High Strung: A Glass Bead Mystery

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Peacock, Janice

Mystery

Vetrai Press

After inheriting a house in Seattle, Jax O'Connell is living the life of her dreams as a glass beadmaker and jewelry designer. When she gets an offer to display her work during a bead shop’s opening festivities, it's an opportunity Jax can't resist—even though the store's owner is the surliest person Jax has ever met. The weekend’s events become a tangled mess when a young beadmaker is found dead nearby and several oddball bead enthusiasts are suspects. Jax must string together the clues to clear her friend Tessa's name—and do it before the killer strikes again.

High Strung (Glass Bead Mystery Series)

Literature & Fiction

Humor & Satire

A bead bazaar turns bizarre when jewelry designer and glass beadmaker Jax O'Connell discovers a dead body beneath her sales table. Suspected of murder, Jax and her friend Tessa scramble to find the killer among the fanatic shoppers and eccentric vendors. They have their hands full dealing with a scumbag show promoter, hipsters in love, and a security guard who wants to do more than protect Jax from harm. Adding to the chaos, Jax's quirky neighbor Val arrives unexpectedly with trouble in tow. Can Jax untangle the clues before she's arrested for murder? A Bead in the Hand is the second book in the Glass Bead Mystery series.

A Bead in the Hand (Glass Bead Mystery Series)

Glass beadmaker Jax O’Connell and her friend Tessa have no idea what challenges await them when they take a glassblowing class with Marco De Luca, a famous Italian glass artist--and infamous lothario. After the first night of class, Tessa sees a body through the rain-streaked window of the studio. The next morning there’s no sign of Marco, and one of the studio owners is also missing. The local sheriff isn't taking the disappearances seriously, but Tessa knows what she saw. To complicate matters, Officer Shaw and Detective Grant are both vying for Jax’s attention as she tracks down clues in a small town that's been keeping more than one secret. Jax and Tessa must face their fears to find the body and uncover the killer before another life is shattered.

Off the Beadin' Path (Glass Bead Mystery Series)

When a wealthy theater owner is killed by a falling art glass chandelier, glass beadmaker Jax O’Connell’s boyfriend, Detective Zachary Grant, quickly determines it was no accident. Jax and her friend Tessa try to carry on with a charity fashion gala at the theater, but with only a few days before the big event, they have to scramble to keep things from falling apart. The emcee quits, and to make matters worse, Tessa’s daughters are suspects in the murder. As the chaos unfolds, Jax discovers new suspects at every turn, including an edgy glass blower, an agoraphobic socialite, and a hunky former-cop-turned-actor. Can Jax piece together the clues to find the killer and uncover the dark secrets behind the victim’s family or will it be curtains for her?

To Bead or Not to Bead (Glass Bead Mystery Series)

After being placed in witness protection, Ruby Shaw and her daughter move to the former ghost town of Paradise, Arizona, which is nothing like its name implies. The US marshal handling their case has this advice: Fly under the radar—but that’s difficult to do after their neighbor is murdered. 
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Yorker Ruby Shaw arrives in a hillside town in Arizona with a brand-new name, a duffel bag on her shoulder, and her daughter, Allie, at her side. Before arriving, Ruby witnesses a murder that lands her in the witness protection program. That decision means she’s gone from being a successful artist to being a nobody in a postage-stamp-sized town called Paradise—a name that doesn’t fit the former ghost town. Even though their new digs are a little shabby, and there may be ghosts haunting the town, they are optimistic about their new lives, that is, until a neighbor turns up dead.Having just arrived in town, living next door to the victim, and without an alibi, the community members are suspicious of Ruby. A local deputy befriends her, but the deputy still points to her as the culprit each time they find a new clue. If matters weren’t bad enough, Allie is having trouble fitting in at her new school, and Ruby can’t seem to hold down a job.As they settle in, they meet the quirky inhabitants of Paradise: Bette—the chatterbox café owner, Flora—Allie’s eccentric babysitter, and Derek—who runs local history tours, which he jazzes up with ghost stories of questionable veracity.Ruby’s life improves when she meets a handsome cook at the local café who is passionate about succulents and cacti, and may feel equally passionate about her. Even though Ruby and Allie want to stay in Paradise, a US marshal has other ideas, as he threatens to move them to a new town after Ruby gets mixed up in the murder investigation. Ruby must find the killer before she and Allie lose their new home or even worse—their lives. 
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Purchase Aloe and Goodbye to find out what happens to Ruby and Allie who must hide their true identities as they face unexpected challenges—the murder of a local real estate maven, fake ghosts, and missing feral cats—in their newly-adopted town of Paradise.

Aloe and Goodbye (Ruby Shaw Mysteries)

Genre Fiction

After inheriting a house in Seattle, Jax O'Connell is living the life of her dreams as a glass beadmaker and jewelry designer. When she gets an offer to display her work during a bead shop’s opening festivities, it's an opportunity Jax can't resist—even though Rosie Perez, the store's owner, is the surliest person Jax has ever met.  The weekend’s events become a tangled mess when a young beadmaker is found dead nearby and several oddball bead enthusiasts are suspects. Jax must string together the clues to clear her friend Tessa's name—and do it before the killer strikes again.

High Strung (Glass Bead Mystery)

Booktrope Editions

A bead bazaar turns bizarre when jewelry designer and glass beadmaker Jax O'Connell discovers a dead body beneath her sales table. Suspected of murder, Jax and her friend Tessa scramble to find the killer among the fanatic shoppers and eccentric vendors. They have their hands full dealing with a scumbag show promoter, hipsters in love, and a security guard who wants to do more than protect Jax from harm. Adding to the chaos, Jax's quirky neighbor Val arrives unexpectedly with trouble in tow. Can Jax untangle the clues before she's arrested for murder? A Bead in the Hand is the second book in the Glass Bead Mystery series.

A Bead in the Hand (Glass Bead Mystery)

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

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Books by Peacock, Janice