A pretty good first in a series where the editor obviously insisted on a "hook" - food, craft, whatever and they went with stained glass. The mystery itself has absolutely nothing to do with stained-glass in any way and there's only a couple of scenes that actually involve the MC working on stained glass. I'm not complaining about this at all - I think the book is better for not having tried to bend the mystery around the MC's hobby.

I'm frankly not quite sure about the characters yet - the MC, Georgia, is at times little-mouse timid and at other times strong and mouthy. I prefer strong and mouthy, so I'm hoping the little-mouse timid falls by the wayside in future books. Grandpa was an ass, even for an 80-year-old arrested on suspicion of murder. He wasn't nice to her at all and his attitude about her kitten was enough to seal the deal for me - grandpa can go pound dirt. I quite liked Carrie and even Georgia's childhood friend, the cop with "aggression issues". That added a bit of humour I enjoyed.

The murder plotting was obscure enough that I didn't see the murderer before the MC did and I didn't stumble on any obvious holes or inconsistencies. But a lot of questions were left unanswered: what the heck was up with grumpy Grandpa's staff at the movie theater? Why was that even introduced into the story line? Perhaps it's a lead-in to the next book. Guess I'll find out since I liked this one enough to read a second book. ( )

Author Jennifer McAndrews has the bare bones of what could turn into an excellent cozy series-- an appealing young heroine, an adorable kitten, a quirky best friend, and an eccentric grandfather. In a departure from the usual dream-come-true small town, McAndrews has created Wenwood. Wenwood was once a thriving town, but with the closure of its brick factory and the horrific national economic downturn, it's barely surviving. The series could receive quite a boost if Georgia and the other residents band together to save the town.

McAndrews has also written a fine mystery that kept me guessing, but then less positive things begin to rear their ugly heads. The "hook" of this series is that it's supposed to be one in which stained glass plays an important role. It certainly doesn't in Ill-Gotten Panes. The pitifully few scenes are certainly interesting, but you could also excise them from the book, and you'd never be able to pinpoint where they'd been. I will cut some slack for that because Georgia does say that everything in her life at that point must be put on hold until her grandfather is cleared of murder.

But speaking of her grandfather and the rest of the characters, most of them are so unlikeable that I really have no desire to pay a return visit to Wenwood. Her grandfather is a crotchety old cuss who drives his employees to distraction and is usually downright nasty to his granddaughter. Georgia's new best friend Carrie takes a shine to her for no reason at all-- Georgia's charm isn't exactly in evidence when they meet-- then hits our heroine up for a favor and gets contrary about the kitten Georgia's become attached to.

In addition it would appear that the economic blight in Wenwood has turned everyone into rumor-mongering grumps. Georgia's turned out of more than one business just because her grandfather has been accused of murder. Even the hunky contractor who's trying to turn the old brick factory into a marina to save the town has his anti-social moments.

Combine a hook that goes nowhere with a passel of unlikeable characters, and you have the beginning of a series with which I'm not quite sure I want to continue... even though there is true promise in those pages. ( )

ILL-GOTTEN PANES is a promising start to a new cozy mystery series set in the tumble-down village of Wenwood, New York. After a huge work scandal and getting dumped by her boyfriend, accountant Georgia Kelly retreats to her grandfather’s house in Wenwood to decide on her next move.

When she gets to Wenwood, Georgia sees that the once booming town has fallen on hard times, and for some reason, the locals give her a chilly reception. There’s a big controversy over the construction of a new marina that is meant to revitalize Wenwood. Things get worse when one of the opponents is murdered, and Georgia’s grandfather ends up the prime suspect.

I really enjoyed the mystery in this book. It was fast-paced and well-plotted, and I liked how certain things that didn’t seem consequential ended up helping to solve the case. On the other hand, I didn’t love the characters and setting quite like I’d hoped. The town had a negative, unfriendly vibe – not a place I’d want to live.

Georgia was a determined amateur sleuth, though her personality fell flat at times. Like the town, she was also in a bad way having been dumped by her fiance and canned from her job. I was very intrigued by her stained glass hobby though. Before reading this book, I didn’t know much about it.

I’m curious to see if Wenwood can be transformed and if Georgia’s character blossoms in future books. There’s also a cute, fuzzball kitten the pet cozy mystery lovers will be crazy over.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )