The Glass Thief

Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery #6

by Gigi Pandian

A locked-room mystery at a Paris mansion. A supposed ghost haunting a French family who looted treasure from Cambodia.A reclusive thriller author writing a novel in honor of historian Jaya Jones—is it a work of fiction or a devious device to lure Jaya into solving a chilling mystery?Three unsolved murders spanning seventy years have befallen the same French family, each taking place two nights before Christmas at their Paris mansion—and blamed on the family ghost. When Jaya realizes the truth hits closer to home than she realized, she must risk everything as she flees San Francisco for France and Cambodia to find a missing sculpture known as the Serpent King and stop a flesh and blood killer. - - - - - - - - - - - - -THE GLASS THIEF by Gigi Pandian A Henery Press Mystery. If you like one, you’ll probably like them all.

Genres: Mystery, Audiobook, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Action, Mystery Thriller, Christmas

274 pages, Paperback

Published November 12, 2019

About the author

Gigi Pandian is a USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning mystery author, breast cancer survivor, and accidental almost-vegan. She's the child of professors from New Mexico and the southern tip of India, and spent her childhood traveling around the world on their research trips. She now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and a gargoyle who watches over the garden.


She writes the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt mystery series, the Accidental Alchemist mysteries, and the Secret Staircase Mysteries.


Her debut novel was awarded a Malice Domestic Grant and named a Best of 2012 Debut by Suspense Magazine, her mysteries have been awarded the Agatha, Rose, Lefty, and Derringer awards, and been short-listed for the Edgar.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Glass Thief by Gigi Pandian is a 2019 Henery Press publication.

Jaya’s life has mostly returned to normal after her last big adventure. Other than an increased number of emails, she is back to perform with Sanja, and will soon be busy grading papers. But, when one of her students brings her a possible clue to a long- lost treasure, her curiosity is piqued.

The mysterious treasure is linked to an old locked-room murder mystery, involving a ghost and takes Jaya, Lane, and Sebastian on another globe-trotting adventure…

As always, there is tons of real historical details in this fast-paced adventure. With every installment the plots, instead of becoming stale, are more and more engrossing. I really, really enjoyed this installment- although Sanja was not as involved in this case.

Unfortunately, I got a distinct vibe that this installment could be the last one- at least for a while. I know Pandian has a new series about to come out and another long-running series, besides this one going on- but I do hope I’m wrong about that.

This is a very good series- and would make a terrific television series in my opinion. It’s diverse, and fresh and contemporary. Other than some added elements older, more traditional cozies tend to avoid, the series is clean and non-violent- and should appeal to young and old alike.

If you like mysteries at all, not just cozies, I think you would enjoy this series. Even if this is the last installment it definitely went out on a high note and would be an easy series to ‘binge’ on.

4.5 stars

[Debra B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it ... this is such a fun series!

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

The latest installment of the Jaya Jones mysteries did not disappoint, with its surprise twists, mysterious locations, and intriguing introduction.

Gigi Pandian is very skilled at the locked-room variety of mystery. Her investigator, Jaya Jones, never rests until a logical explanation is discovered, no matter how impossible the crime may seem. In this puzzle, a man observes his friend seemingly die twice within a matter of minutes, with no visible attacker. The family's past is cluttered and inscrutable, with ties to historical artifacts that are irresistible to Jaya. The story gets off to a bang when one of her favorite authors lays out the story for her in fictionalized form. When she's given a deadline of mere hours to become involved, there can be no doubt that, regardless of red flags, she's in the game. This is an excellent, fast-paced introduction to the story.

I was impressed by how the author tied together seemingly unrelated strands of the story in a way that felt fairly believable for this genre. She also does some more work on the back story for a significant character in Jaya's life, revealing things that have only been hinted at in other books. Overall, I enjoyed this new episode of Jaya's adventures.

***Thanks to Edelweiss and Henery Press for this advance review copy!

[Marisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was hooked from the beginning, but then I was disappointed. This entry in the Jaya Jones series was a let down in some ways. First, it sucked you into the idea that a house was going to play a critical role in how this mystery would be solved. Spoiler: It didn’t. All the hype about the creepiness and history of the house fell completely flat after Jaya reveals what really happened. Then their was the predictable Lane/Jaya fight that leads Jaya into making emotional decisions. The last few chapters were full of these weird high-low scenes, making your heart beat faster only to be let down by the next page with everything coming together in a very anti climatic way. In a lot of ways, this reads like the final book in the series, even though I know it’s not the case. Ultimately, I liked the ending between Jaya and Lane, finally knowing where they stand. It was also enjoyable to go back in time to see how Lane gave up his old life and why.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite thing about this series is all the unusual locations Jaya runs off to looking for an historical artifact. Along with adding places to my travel wish list, the author shares such fascinating information and I learn so much. My rating is actually 3.5 due to the fact that the first half was a bit slow but once Jaya hopped on a plane I was all in.

[MsArdychan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Please Note: I received an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

This is the third Jaya Jones Mystery I have read (along with a book of short stories), and I am really enjoying the series. The newest installment, The Glass Thief, is an action-packed adventure. I loved the settings, characters, and story.

What I Liked:
Settings:
The story takes place on three continent! Beginning at Jaya's home base, San Francisco, Jaya races first to Paris and then to Cambodia. I enjoyed all the details of each place. Each area comes alive with descriptions such as the foggy skylines of the San Franscisco Bay Area, the Christmas markets of Paris, and the rugged beauty of a Cambodian temple.

Food:
Something else I love about all of Pandian's books is all the mouth-watering descriptions of food! One of Jaya's traits is that she loves spicy foods. We read all about her adventures in eating spicy Indian curries in San Francisco and burning soups in Cambodia (check out her Accidental Alchemist series some amazing recipes!). All of the author's characters have a deep appreciation of everything they eat.

Characters:
I like how Jaya has a community of interesting people in her life. They are each fully formed characters that I want to know more about. There is Sanjay, her magician friend, Brenna, a tough as nails librarian, and Lane, Jaya's boyfriend who has a dark past.

This book focuses more on Lane than any other in the series that I've read so far. We come to see why Lane behaves the way he does. And he is not perfect, at times rationalizing his actions to benefit himself. This is one of the things that causes friction in his relationship with Jaya. Can Jaya love all of Lane, even the morally ambiguous parts?

Story:
I liked all the action in the story. Not only are there several puzzles to solve, but also a murders. It's up to Jaya to figure out who is behind everything. Hopefully not Lane!

As there are more than one mystery to solve, the plot does get rather complicated. Some people aren't who they say they are, and we find people have connections to others that are uncovered. But discovering all of this adds to the fun.

This was a very enjoyable book that was a real page-turner. If you enjoy mysteries, you will love it!

[Linniegayl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the sixth entry in the Jaya Jones mystery series and takes us from San Francisco to Paris to Cambodia and involves Jaya in a series of supposedly impossible murders, looted treasure, and buried treasure. I listened to this in audio, and as usual, liked the narration. The story itself was a bit less successful for me than previous entries.

As Jaya’s preparing for a musical set at the Indian restaurant she plays at, she encounters two historical mysteries. First, Tamarind, Jaya’s librarian friend, and two students come to Jaya to ask for help. They’ve made a discovery at the library; a letter was hidden in a book that hints at a hidden buried gold rush treasure. Shortly after, her assistant Miles comes in with a pile of papers. Rick Coronado, a thriller writer and one of Jaya’s favorite authors, has given Jaya an ultimatum to decide today if she’ll help him with a mystery.

Rick Coronado hasn’t written anything in years, after some mysterious event caused him to become a recluse. Apparently he’s now writing but will only continue if Jaya will read some sample pages and give him advice. His books feature Gabriella Glass, and this one includes mysterious deaths caused by a ghost, or a person who’s very clever and malicious.

We get some entire chapters from the Gabriella Glass book Rick Coronado is writing interspersed with the Jaya Jones mystery. These chapters just didn’t work for me. They felt like a gimmick more than anything else. I wanted Jaya and her friends, not chapters from a fictional book.

Early on, we also get another major disagreement between Jaya and her “on again off again” boyfriend Lane. After thinking they were finally together in the previous book, this was irritating.

This is the last in the series so far. I checked the author’s website, and it says she’s not through with Jaya, but is uncertain when she’ll write more. In many ways, this felt like the last, as seemingly all aspects of Jaya’s life are wrapped up neatly. There’s an especially cute surprise related to Jaya’s professional life.

For the most part I’ve enjoyed the series, and really hope there are more. But if there are, I hope we get back to more of the usual format of the series. The latter portion of this entry worked much better for me than the initial portion.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initially the novel felt like a potpourri of ideas. It had a fictional mystery, mysterious characters charting their own paths, turbulence in the life of our protagonists, myths, and history. That made it a strange read, and compelled me to take breaks between chapters— despite many of them ending in cliffhangers.
But the pay-off was superb! As I rushed through the last chapters, I could almost hear the 'clicks' as various parts of this complicated puzzle came together.
And the finale was as good as it can get.
The author has produced another treasure for us in this book. Invoking my inner Spock, I would also like to say, "Live long and prosper." May this humble wish come true for both Jaya Jones and her creator.
Highly recommended.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jaya Jones is a history professor who is willing to go outside academia to hunt down objects of interest. When she is contacted by one of her favorite authors to help in the writing of his newest book she is intrigued. The author had not written about his fictional detective, Gabriela Glass, in seven years and his character's new adventure sounded like something Jones would investigate herself. As he sends her more installments of the book she realizes that the story is based in truth, making it even more enticing. On her way to solving the mystery she travels from California to France to Cambodia.

[Emmalynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. It was Fine, Jaya was irritating in the bugging and a bit of a hypocrite. She’s mad at Lane for his past yet has no problem using people, including the elderly for her treasure haunts 🙄🙄🙄. Anyway, this time she’s off to Cambodia to find a treasure after storming out on Lane, not even reading the letter he gave her but agonizing over her decision( oh give me a break) time for Jaya to grow up, she’s over 30!! Clues from a book her favorite author was writing and sending to her, leads her to a ghost mystery, cold murders, and secrets from Lane’s past.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I dore this series! I am sooooo hoping there will be more books!

[PugMom · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun series! I hope there will be more!

[Gabriele Crescenzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Che il giallo classico abbia visto il proprio crepuscolo nel secolo precedente, dopo decenni di grande fulgore creativo e letterario, è una grande fandonia. Infatti, alcuni autori contemporanei, quantunque in numero nettamente inferiore rispetto a quanto avveniva in passato, hanno deciso di sfidare i tempi e di cimentarsi nell'ardua impresa di creare trame gialle originali e gradevoli, nel pieno rispetto del fair-play. Ne sono un chiaro esempio scrittori del calibro di Paul Halter, Peter Lovesey e Martin Edwards. Ma anche autori emergenti dimostrano come il giallo sia tutto fuorché caduco: James Scott Byrnside è infatti creatore contemporaneo di trame meravigliose e complicate, degne di divenire classici del genere. Curioso dunque di scoprire nuovi talenti nel mystery, mi sono imbattuto in una scrittrice molto quotata, autrice di una saga di gialli in cui mescola enigmi, archeologia e storie d'amore, con protagonista Jaya Jones, esperta di storia orientale e nota ricercatrice di tesori perduti.
Venendo a conoscenza poi del fatto che in un suo titolo figurava un delitto impossibile, non me lo sono lasciato sfuggire. Il libro in questione è "The Glass Thief".

"The Glass Thief" è un "cozy-mystery", ossia un giallo in cui la violenza eccessiva e gli aspetti più sordidi dell'esistenza vengono accantonati a favore di un'indagine più tranquilla, condotta da un investigatore dilettante e con la presenza di numerosi inserti sulla sua vita sentimentale. Insomma, dei gialli più leggeri e frizzanti.
"The Glass Thief" è un romanzo scorrevole, godibile, popolato da personaggi simpatici ed assortiti, con un delitto impossibile interessante.

La trama inizia in un ristorante indiano, il Tandoori Palace, dove si trova la dottoressa Jaya Jones, insegnante di storia in un'università californiana, in attesa della sua usuale esibizione musicale nel locale con il suo miglior amico, il prestigiatore Sanjay. All'improvviso arriva anche Becca Courtland, allieva della protagonista, assieme al suo amico Wesley Oh per sottoporle una lettera antica che ha trovato infilata in un libro dell'800 della biblioteca universitaria e che potrebbe esserle utile per la sua ricerca sulla metodologia storica che deve consegnare a fine semestre. La lettera appare autentica ed è collegata ad un tesoro che sarebbe sepolto insieme alla nave naufragata che lo trasportava dalla Francia (il messaggio infatti è scritto in quella lingua). Avendola ritrovata nell'ateneo, si suppone che l'imbarcazione sia uno dei tanti relitti su cui si sia poi sviluppata la città di San Francisco. Becca è contenta che si tratti di materiale utile per il suo compito. Nel frattempo, giunge nella sala-ristorante anche Miles, archivista di Jaya, e le annuncia una notizia sorprendente: mettendo in ordine la sua casella di posta elettronica, ha notato una mail inviatale dal famoso Rick Coronado, grande scrittore di romanzi di avventura, con protagonista la temeraria Gabriella Glass, in cui spiega che vuole sottoporre alla sua attenzione il nuovo romanzo che sta scrivendo. Allegato al messaggio vi è il primo capitolo dell'opera "in fieri". Tutto ciò sorprende Jaya, in quanto Rick Coronado non ha scritto più romanzi da sette anni, più precisamente da quando era sparito misteriosamente per 6 settimane ed era stato ritrovato in Cambogia svenuto. Che cosa ci facesse lì e cosa avesse fatto durante quelle settimane era rimasto un mistero. Fatto sta che da quell'episodio si era ritirato dalle scene, aveva cominciato a vivere come un recluso e non aveva più scritto nulla. Il suo ritorno ora è dunque sorprendente, tanto più che Jaya è una nota fan dello scrittore. Non vede dunque l'ora di terminare la sua serata per poter leggere il primo capitolo e inviare il suo giudizio all'autore, come egli stesso gli aveva raccomandato nel messaggio. Le premesse dell'opera sembrano interessanti: Gabriella Glass, eroina dei suoi libri sempre al servizio di donne vilipese e cercatrice di tesori, si trova alle prese con la maledizione che pende sulla famiglia Delacroix, la cui villa sembra infestata da uno spettro che in passato ha ucciso due membri della famiglia nello stesso giorno dell'anno, il 23 dicembre. Per questo è usanza dei Delacroix lasciare l'abitazione ogni anno in quel periodo in modo che non possa ripetersi la triste fine dei loro predecessori. Ciononostante il giovane Luc Delacroix, assieme ad un amico, vuole visitare la magione proprio in quel giorno e finisce per essere strangolato davanti a quest'ultimo, in una stanza con una porta di vetro chiusa dall'interno, da un essere invisibile. Non solo: subito dopo verrà spinto dall'invisibile presenza giù dalle scale, "morendo" una seconda volta. Cosa è successo? E come è possibile? A tutto questo trambusto si connette il furto impossibile di una statua antica, che sembrerebbe essere stata trafugata da un tempio in India. Proprio quest'ultimo fatto porta il caso all'attenzione dell'avventuriera Glass.
Qui finisce la storia narrata nel primo capitolo e Jaya, dopo aver inviato la sua approvazione all'autore, non vede l'ora di leggere il seguito. Sorgono però nella sua mente dei sospetti: Rick Coronado infatti non le risponde mai al telefono, contattandola solo per messaggio; inoltre scopre che neanche la sua editrice, la signora Abby Wu, sa cosa stia tramando. Comunque continuano ad arrivargli altri capitoli e alla fine di uno di essi l'eroina Gabriella Glass richiede l'aiuto di una studiosa di storia, di cui non è accennato il nome. Che Coronado si stia riferendo a lei stessa? Nella mente di Jaya comincia ad insinuarsi il dubbio che Rick non stia scrivendo un'opera di fantasia, ma che, attraverso quei fascicoli, voglia richiedere i suoi servigi per scoprire la verità in merito ad un omicidio impossibile e il furto di un antica statua che raffigura il "naga", un dio-serpente protettore dei tesori nelle antiche leggende indo-cambogiane. Tra indagini, vari indizi, un altro misterioso omicidio e vari attacchi intimidatori, Jaya Jones, viaggiando tra la Francia e la Cambogia, riuscirà a svelare tutti i misteri che si celano dietro l'ultima opera di Rick Coronado.

"The Glass Thief" è un'opera fresca, scritta molto bene, con uno stile scorrevole e divertente. Nonostante ciò è un romanzo che mi ha lasciato perplesso su molteplici aspetti, sia strutturali che contenutistici.
L'opera si snoda su numerosi piani narrativi che sembrano non aver punti di contatto (lettera ritrovata da Becca, nuova opera di Rick Coronado, la maledizione dei Delacroix, la leggenda cambogiana dei naga), ma che alla fine risultano strettamente correlati tra di loro. Conseguenza di ciò è che all'inizio il lettore si sente leggermente disorientato dai molteplici fili narrativi da seguire che sembrano non portare ad alcun progresso nell'indagine. Infatti la narrazione è costruita su un reticolo di livelli apparentemente distinti e a sé stanti, che alla fine però conducono nel medesimo punto. Se tale impianto può risultare gradevole per la scoperta, nel corso delle pagine, di legami insospettati che tengono alto l'interesse del lettore, dall'altra proprio la natura di tali nessi rende un po' perplessi. La storia è infatti costellata da colpi di scena e ribaltamenti di prospettiva che, lungi dallo stupire il lettore, creano ulteriore confusione e alcuni risultano altamente improbabili. Lo scopo della scrittrice sembra essere stato unicamente quello di stupire, di ammaliare e di avvincere eccessivamente, sino a risultare pletorica nell'uso di tali espedienti.

Altro grande problema, anche se mi rendo conto che si tratta più di una questione di gusto personale che di altro, è l'inserzione di molteplici scene sentimentali rigurdanti la complicata relazione tra la nostra eroina e il suo amato (ex ladro alla Robin Hood) Lane. Una storia d'amore non è così strana in un giallo, anzi, spesso è funzionale nel creare la situazione ideale per il delitto (si pensi ai capolavori della Christie "La parola alla difesa" e "Il ritratto di Elsa Greer"), ma qui assume un tono troppo patetico che risulta alquanto stucchevole ed è inoltre poco attinente alla vicenda centrale. Va bene che ci sia un po' di sdolcinatezza, ma qui interi capitoli sono dedicati ai tormenti passionali della protagonista, descritti tra l'altro in maniera troppo standard per i miei gusti per risultare verosimili. Ammetto però che questa è una caratteristica ricorrente nei cozy-mystery, per cui è un giudizio prettamente scaturito dal mio gusto personale in fatto di gialli.

Ulteriore perplessità mi ha suscitato l'enigma che è il fulcro del romanzo: troppa azione e pochi fatti. Jaya Jones (alla pari di Indiana Jones) è una personalità attiva, portata all'azione e al viaggio, e ciò comporta l'evidente riduzione di parti dedicate all'indagine, alla riflessione e alla raccolta di indizi. Non che non ci siano, ma essi sono nettamente sovrastati da un andamento picaresco e avventuroso. A tal riguardo si nota una certa ingenuità narrativa, in quanto pochi sono i dettagli che vengono resi noti e, perciò, difficile è riuscire a formulare ipotesi sui vari crimini. Si pensi che dell'ultimo omicidio non viene menzionato neanche come sia morta la vittima.
La soluzione dell'enigma poi è per me molto forzata, troppo cinematografica, in quanto mira a creare pathos e ad innalzare la tensione, senza però risultare molto credibile. In ultima analisi la storia si configura come una gigantesca caccia al tesoro, che si snoda in giro per il globo, tra Jaya ed un fantomatico assassino. Per quanto concerne il delitto ed il furto impossibile, la soluzione di entrambi è abbastanza deludente: il primo viene risolto nel mezzo dell'opera in modo piuttosto banale, utilizzando una tecnica molto nota; il secondo ha una soluzione più carina ma quasi impossibile da capire per i pochi spunti dati al lettore, sebbene un minuscolo indizio ci sia. Insomma, non il massimo per chi ama i delitti impossibili. Il fatto poi che le rivelazioni non vengono effettuate in un unico momento, a ridosso della fine, ma gradualmente nella storia, crea un calo di tensione nella seconda parte della storia e non c'è quell'effetto sorpresa che di solito ti aspetti al termine di un giallo.

Però l'opera presenta alcuni aspetti certamente positivi: dapprima la descrizione dei luoghi, che dimostra la grande abilità narrativa della scrittrice nonché una profonda conoscenza delle località in cui ha ambientato le varie vicende, cosa che si riscontra in particolare nell'attenzione mostrata nel narrare la storia dell'antica civiltà cambogiana; inoltre la figura dell'eroina è molto ben delineata e si empatizza con lei nelle varie avventure, per le sue debolezze ma anche per i suoi innegabili punti di forza.

Insomma, "The Glass Thief" è un'opera leggera, divertente, adatta ad una lettura poco impegnata, ma decisamente carente dal punto di vista dell'enigma.

[Andrea Stoeckel · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I was already leading myself astray, and I knew it. By accepting Rick Coronado’s challenge, I was not only risking tenure, but opening myself up to whatever danger had nearly killed Rick seven years ago.”

Jaya Jones: How can she be so “well rounded” at her age: full professor, tabla player, mystery “junkie”, curious, as well as a great mentor to her students. Question is: where is this found letter going to take them? And why are three deceased members of the same French family pointing towards the puzzle solution?

I love Gigi Pandian. I love that this book is dedicated to “the memory of Elizabeth Peters (Barbara Mertz), whose intrepid heroines inspired Jaya Jones.” I love that this book meets and exceeds any thoughts I might have had about locked room mysteries and historical treasure puzzles. And, in my opinion as a reader first, and a reviewer second, this series is worth exploring but each can be read as a stand alone. A young woman professor who is smart, funny, talented and “Socratic”? Yes please. Highly recommended 5/5

[disclaimer: I received this book from Edelweiss and voluntarily reviewed it]

[Sarah-Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second foray into Jaya Jones territory. The first was The Cambodian Curse, a collection of short stories. I enjoyed The Cambodian Curse, but definitely preferred The Glass Thief because the novel format gives a great deal more room for development of characters and the relationships among them. The book started out a bit slowly, but by about a third of the way in, I found myself resisting putting it down because I'd become fully engaged and wanted to know what would come next, not just in terms of the central mystery, but also in Jaya's personal and professional lives. I will definitely continue reading this author.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series - so much history, action and adventure.

[Jen Parenti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t like this one as other Jaya Jones’ books but I still loved the history and Cambodia and Paris settings. I love that history you learn while reading these!

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review originally published in Looking For a Good Book. Rated 4.5 of 5

Jaya Jones is back in action, and I couldn't be happier!

Even a well-known history professor and adventurer such as Jaya Jones has her own heroes, and one of Jaya's is author Rick Coronado, whose tales of adventurer Gabriella Glass were inspirational to Ms. Jones. Coronado hasn't written a book in seven years and word is that he's been missing for the last few weeks. But one day Jaya gets a large envelope in the mail. It's the first chapters of a new Gabriella Glass novel that Coronado is writing, called The Glass Thief. Coronado is asking for Jaya's input on his manuscript. This is unusual, but Jaya is thrilled to be reading her literary hero as the story is unfolding.

It doesn't take long, however, for Jaya to read between the lines of Rick's manuscript to understand that he is asking for Jaya's help. Delivering on that help will first mean figuring out where Coronado is and then what sort of trouble he is into.

In the meantime, Jaya is also mentoring a couple of her students who think they've found a letter, written during the Gold Rush days, tucked between the pages of an old book.

Gigi Pandian really understands her characters. That should seem pretty obvious - that an author understands the characters that they've created - but too often that's not the case. But in the two different series that I've been reading by Pandian, I've noticed that her characters, aside from being smart and wise and bold, have grown over the course of the books.

The mystery itself is well defined - and also grows. First it's wondering who's sending the book chapters, then it's wondering what's in them that is so important, and then it's solving that mystery. It's a complex story cleverly disguised as a simple cozy.

And then there's the setting. All of the settings in the Jaya Jones mysteries so far have included some unusual or unique locations. A haunted mansion in Paris? Definitely! A Pandian clearly does some great research to present these so well to the reader.

There are a lot of well-written mysteries on the market, but Gigi Pandian's Jaya Jones series is one of the smartest.

Looking for a good book? The Glass Thief by Gigi Pandian is a tremendously good read. It is the sixth book in a series and you should read them all.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

[Lelia Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

The Glass Thief
A Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery #6
Gigi Pandian
Henery Press, November 2019
ISBN 978-1-63511-555-0
Trade Paperback

When I read the first Jaya Jones mystery, I thought, “Aha, the lady version of Indiana Jones!” and I’ve been a big fan ever since. After that first book, I’ve gone on a number of adventures with historian Jaya and have enjoyed every one of them.

This time, our treasure-hunting, ghostbusting heroine gets dragged into a locked room mystery involving a French family with a sordid history of Cambodian treasure looting, a resident ghost and several murders that have all (coincidentally?) occurred in their mansion two nights before Christmas. Perhaps most puzzling, a famous novelist is writing a new book and needs her help in a very odd way. Not only that, Jaya’s boyfriend, Lane, throws her for a loop and may have brought their relationship to an abrupt end.

The story takes place in San Francisco, Paris and the exotic land of Cambodia and I felt like an armchair traveler the whole time because Ms. Pandian is so good with settings. Jaya is on the hunt for the elusive Serpent King sculpture which has mysteriously vanished from the Delacroix home and the twists and turns abound, enough to keep me on tenterhooks as I waffled from one possible solution to another. That’s another thing the author does well—dream up a boatload of threads that may or may not connect to each other.

As always, Jaya’s friends are appealing and as well drawn as you could possibly want although Jaya is on her own through much of the tale. By the way, anyone with a taste for scrumptious food will be drooling over the dishes the author has everyone chowing down on—as I write this, I’m craving some mouthwatering Indian delicacies 😉

[Kylie Westaway · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first two books in this series combined smart treasure hunting with real history. I was astounded at how much of an impact India had on world history, purely through how many people had colonised them and then exported their gems, their beliefs and their ways of life. It was a fascinating (and sobering) history lesson, and I thought it was an excellent way to write a fantastical story grounded in real life, and educate people about Indian history.

Unfortunately, as the books went on, the real Indian history was left by the wayside and the books just became fantasy. The Glass Thief was far and away the worst. The book tried to be all meta by introducing a dual narrative that had Jaya reading a manuscript that was coming to life all around her. But the storyline was dull and I ended up listening to it at double speed to get it over and done with faster.

Jaya as a character was also irritating. She was supercilious and patronising with her students, and her relationship with Lane stalled as Jaya still refused to trust him, so there had been no character growth over the entire series of books. The romance with Sanjay, which the author tried to shoehorn in and then realised she somehow had to Houdini her way out of without making Jaya look like a bad person, ruined their friendship for me, as the author’s solution was just so ridiculous. There was no denouement for Jaya’s brother, who was unknowingly dating a criminal.

The latter books have actually ruined the series for me as a whole. When I read the first two books I added them to my audible collection, excited to have new books that I could re-listen to over and over. But the rest of the series went downhill so fast that I don’t want to reread these books again.

[Choyang · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The Glass Thief' (Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt #6) (Audible) written by Gigi Pandian, narrated by Allyson Ryan.

An interesting mash-up of a sort of Gothic ghost story melded with a wealthy family's cursed history, embedded as a "work-in-progress" fictional storyline inside of a contemporary mystery-adventure tale, in the spirit of Indiana Jones meets Laura Croft, so you're reading two storylines intertwined.

Both storylines, occuring over several generations of this wealthy family, occur over multiple locations:
from San Francisco to Paris to Cambodia, including the denouement at an older historical Buddhist temple near Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

High mystery-adventure, with lots of twists and turns, unexpected betrayals, old friends and colleagues, and new friends/acquaintances.

And somewhere in the midst of this chaos there's a love story.

When I chose this adventure to listen to, I wasn't paying close attention, only later to discover that I'd gotten hooked into this fascinating (albeit sometimes confusing) storyline that was part of a series.
So...missing info and connections. My bad.

Still, it held my interest, as anthropology and art were parts of my education, coupled with a love of travel. And the historical research was captivating; I love this kind of stuff!

Oh, and the narrator's attempts at male voices was pretty funny (unintended, I think), but it didn't detract from the story.

Now I'll have to check back to find the prior books in this series, lol. Sounds like more fun times!

[Ribbqah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jaya and Sanjay are still good friends.ie. bro & sis, while Jaya is still trying to get along with Lane. However, it is the end of the semester, students are visiting her office like cats & catnip; and two in particular seem very needy.
Due to a request from one of her favorite authors, she investigates a 50+ years case of family deaths by "ghosts" in a magnificent Mansion set in Paris, France. In addition, she learns Lane may be involved some 25 years ago and Ava has renunited with "Fish" her brother.
Lots of interesting going-on with the help of the 80 years French artist and Miles & Tamarind, her lovely librarian friend.

[Jenny Schultz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding Books

I absolutely love e very book Gigi Pandian has written. They are totally fascinating and just so good. With my background is in anthropology, cultural geography and urban planning, basicly interested in everything under the sun. These books a my cup of tea. l love how she brings history and lost mysteries of the past, and combines that with first rate mysteries, i mean aa treasure hunt based on researched history? What's not to love. Ms Pandian has become one of my all time favorite authors.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the most recent Jaya Jones mystery I've found. Magician friends Sanja The Hindi Houdini and Sebastian are back for minor roles, as well as many of the recurrent characters from earlier books in the series. This one finds Jaya jetting off to Paris and Cambodia to solve a missing treasure mystery. The usual style twists are employed to wrap things up.
The writing style is breezy easy to follow, as is the rest of the series. While this one had nearly no magician input, for a quick read, it was OK.

[Megan Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good. It's Christmas and Jaya's book author crush reaches out with a mystery. She tries to ignore it but...Jaya just can't. When she finds that he's been killed trying to get to San Francisco to show her something she is unable to resist trying to find the answers. She is off to Paris and then more clues send her to Cambodia. This is so GOOD but it reads as the last of the series. Pandian said she will write more when she has time but with two other series going it looks doubtful. Find the six books and read them! They are so worth it!

[Allison Talbot · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Jaya Jones series and The Glass Thief did not disappoint! Lots of intense situations, fabulous descriptions of exotic places, and plenty of mystery. The series gets better with every book and it was already great from the very first book. Keep up the amazing writing Gigi!

[Virginia Kessen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this when it was new but it got buried on my kindle - that's one disadvantage of e-books, I find them easier to lose or forget than ones with pages. It was a happy surprise to unearth this and like all the Jaya Jones books, it was an absolute delight. Ready for the next one!

[Keith Raffel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A professor named Jones who goes on adventures to faraway places to discover hidden treasure? Sound familiar? Grappling with the mysteries of a haunted house in Paris and an ancient temple in Cambodia, Professor Jaya Jones does the family proud. Just finished the book, and I am breathless. Bravo!

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Jaya Jones mystery!

I have enjoyed reading all of the Jaya Jones mystery series. Not only does Pension give us a treasure-puzzle to solve, she teaches some history along the way.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good entry into the globe-hopping, (mostly ethical) treasure hunting series. As usual, I love seeing San Francisco as her home base, and as usual I could do without Lane and wish the series didn’t include the romance.