Running a stained-glass shop isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sorry, it's so hard to resist puns when you're enjoying a cozy mystery series. Latest in Cheryl Hollon's Webb's Glass Shop series is the sparkling third installment CRACKED TO DEATH. Savannah Webb inherited a glass making business and shop in Florida.

Savannah is six feet tall and wears practical clothes to deal with heat and glass. Her new office manager Amanda Blake dresses more extravagantly and has an eye for color combinations. As the shop is small, Savannah has bought an old warehouse to work and give classes, with the help of Jacob who loves the job and copes well with his Asperger's condition. Today, a new student has brought in some cobalt blue bottles he found while diving. Some detective work and experts are required to confirm that the bottles are hundreds of years old, possibly from a pirated ship. Where there's treasure, there are modern day pirates too, however. A body of a diver is found on the beach, and the police bring fragments of glass from his dive bag to Savannah to identify.

I love the craft work demonstrated throughout this tale. I also enjoy the different personalities and how they change - Amanda becomes disorganized and stressed as she nurses her ill mother, but still tries to do her best for the shop. Local people we met in earlier books reappear, from twin senior ladies in the class to an English store owner across the road. Nobody we meet is a one- dimensional person. Location detail is also excellent, with crushed-shell roads, weathered driftwood, and a diver's home base described for us. Savannah keeps trying to prioritize repairs and purchases, wondering if a new computer is more important than a stout new door. We've all been there.

I got thoroughly involved in this mystery which uses each main character to contribute a clue or check out a line of inquiry. There's even the latest in undersea exploration tech. I can safely say that Cheryl Hollon is writing very intelligent cozy mysteries which any reader can relate to and enjoy. CRACKED TO DEATH is a perfect combination of the craft-based cozy and the exotic location thriller. If you go down to the beach today, don't step on any broken glass. Do bring a copy of CRACKED TO DEATH, and you may see the ocean in a whole new light.