Falling Glass

A locked records vault. A deadly betrayal. And a weather instrument that reveals a killer's lie.

Every March, Hagstone Island gathers for its annual town meeting, where old grudges resurface, tempers flare, and everyone has an opinion.

But this year, the stakes have never been higher.

A wealthy developer wants to buy the island's wild northern coastline. And seventy-four-year-old lighthouse keeper Janie Pettengill faces a vote that could force her out of the home she's occupied for fifty-four years.

Then a town selectman is found dead in the records vault, locked inside overnight without his heart medication.

A terrible accident, everyone agrees.

But Janie isn't convinced.

The town clerk claims she was out on her husband's boat and turned back when the barometric pressure began falling. Unfortunately for her, Janie has been recording Hagstone's weather for more than fifty years-and the purple ink line on her ancient barograph tells a very different story.

Someone is lying. And someone has already died to keep the truth hidden.

With a fierce nor'easter cutting the island off from the mainland, Janie and her loyal Wednesday Watch have just one week to untangle a web of suspicious alibis, political rivalries, and secrets buried in the town's oldest records.

But Janie is fighting battles of her own.

Her cardiologist has ordered her to slow down. Her grandson is growing increasingly protective. And her oldest friend is facing a crisis that threatens to change their lives forever.

As the storm rages and the town meeting approaches, Janie must uncover the truth about a woman the island has trusted for thirty-two years-while fighting to save the lighthouse home she loves.

Because on Hagstone Island, the weather never lies. But the people certainly do.

Falling Glass is the seventh book in The Hagstone Light Mysteries, an atmospheric Maine coastal cozy mystery featuring a sharp-witted older sleuth, a wonderfully eccentric island community, long-held grudges, and a cleverly plotted murder.

A clean, standalone cozy mystery with no graphic violence or profanity, a satisfying, fairly clued solution, and plenty of lighthouse charm, stormy seas, small-town politics, and New England atmosphere.

Janie's family relationships, enduring friendships, and the mystery surrounding her daughter's disappearance continue to unfold throughout the series.

The pressure is falling. The storm is coming. And Janie Pettengill knows when something doesn't add up.