I’m excited to share news of the official release for the Hiding Cracked Glass audio book! Over the last six months, I’ve been working with an amazing narrator, Laura English, and her amazing partnership has brought this story to life. We’ve saved a few free download codes, so if you’re interested, drop a comment in this post and we’ll reach out.
About the Book(s)
An ominous blackmail letter appears at an inopportune moment. The recipient’s name is accidentally blurred out upon arrival. Which member of the Glass family is the ruthless missive meant for? In the powerful sequel to Watching Glass Shatter, Olivia is the first to read the nasty threat and assumes it’s meant for her. When the mysterious letter falls into the wrong hands and is read aloud, it throws the entire Glass family into an inescapable trajectory of self-question. Across the span of eight hours, Olivia and her sons contemplate whether to confess their hidden secrets or find a way to bury them forever. Some failed to learn an important lesson last time. Will they determine how to save themselves before it’s too late?
Each chapter’s focus alternates between the various family members and introduces several new and familiar faces with a vested interest in the outcome. As each hour ticks by, the remaining siblings and their mother gradually reveal what’s happened to them in the preceding months, and when the blackmailer makes an appearance at Olivia’s birthday party, the truth brilliantly comes to light. Although everyone seemed to embrace the healing process at the end of Watching Glass Shatter, there were hidden cracks in the Glass family that couldn’t be mended. Their lives are about to shatter into pieces once again, but this time, the stakes are even higher. Someone wants to teach them a permanent lesson and refuses to stop until success is achieved.
Excerpt: Olivia Finds the Letter
While pulling into the driveway, Diane’s phone vibrated in the top of her handbag. Olivia glanced at it, noticing a new message from an unknown number. “Someone’s asking if you mailed or received something? It’s cut off, I can’t read the rest.”
Diane stepped heavily on the brakes, jerking the car to a stop. “I love you, Liv, but we are two different people. Must you nose into every part of my life?” After putting the car in park and turning off the ignition, she grabbed the phone and her purse and bolted out the door.
Olivia smirked and followed her. “You’re very touchy today, Diane. That message wouldn’t happen to be related to another birthday present for me, would it?”
Diane quickly turned before entering the house and sneered at her sister. “I suppose you’ll find out soon, won’t you?” She promptly volunteered to check with Pilar on the evening’s plans and made a right from the mudroom into the kitchen. “I’ll see you a bit later. I have some things to take care of for tonight. Off you go!”
Waltzing through the central hallway, Olivia acknowledged Margaret and Matthew’s lack of any substantive changes to the family home. Given the move, a new baby, Matthew’s recovery, and the unknown circumstances of where Olivia planned to live, it made sense. Why rock the boat until you had to? Olivia still owned the house but had surrendered responsibility to them during her absence.
The original plan was to buy something smaller with the money Ben had left her, sharing a lovely home with her sister on the other side of Brandywine, where life would be quieter and less stressful. Olivia wasn’t prepared to move into a retirement complex, no matter how elegant the options. The thought of dating again had also never crossed her mind. At sixty-eight, she’d experienced a lifetime of love, and the rest of her days would be focused on bonding with her children and sister. Being a grandmother was the most important task in front of her. She’d begun dreaming about their poolside cannonballs, braiding each girl’s hair, and reading stories before naptime. All the priceless moments she’d neglected with her own boys but promised to concentrate on now that she was free from commitments. Imagining their innocent smiles and boisterous laughter as they matured into beautiful young ladies would make up for the anguish Olivia still carried over Ethan’s death.
When Olivia entered the octagonal foyer, she searched for the girls but found no one else present. Margaret was likely romping upstairs with the baby and children. It was too early for the rest of her sons to arrive for the big event.
Olivia leaned against the only wall with no paintings or art, her back arched and hands wrapped around herself in a moment of nostalgia. All the memories of kissing Ben goodbye each morning before he took off for work… all the moments when the kids returned home from school and raced up the stairs toward their bedrooms… all the times she let life pass her by without stepping in to show everyone how much she loved them. It was essential to make amends for the past, and if there were anything she had an excess of these days, it was time.
Before Olivia ascended the grand staircase, Anastasia’s juice box on the antique table caught her attention. Olivia scrambled toward it, her instincts comprising an amalgam of frustration and acceptance over the new order of things, and attempted to remedy the situation. When she found the blurry envelope under the juice box, she wrinkled her brow and wondered to whom it belonged. A birthday card for her? Should she wait to open it until later in the day? Slightly annoyed about the abandoned juice box, yet eager to smile over the contents of the birthday card, she traced her finger across the unreadable name. “Must be for me.”
Olivia carefully sliced open the envelope, excited to learn who’d left her a surprise. She unfolded the parchment, curious why it wasn’t an actual birthday card but a handwritten note. As she read its contents, her body stiffened. Blood rose up to her face, then drained away. Heartbeats accelerated. Sweat puddled on her brow. The letter, inches away from her dumbfounded face, called to her in a way she hadn’t felt for months. A woodsy scent emanated off the parchment and lingered between Olivia’s nose and hands, haunting her like a ghost from the past. The smell was one of her favorite colognes. Full of aromatic citrus head notes, a dash of sandalwood and pine. Ben’s scent. The one he wore every day for the last decade of his life before the car accident had ripped him away from Olivia.
It couldn’t be. Who had written this letter to her? Ben was gone. What did this person want? Before Olivia reached her room, the last door in the furthest corner, a loud noise from the opposite end of the hallway startled her. Matt exited one of the other rooms and enthusiastically waved. “Where did you disappear this morning, Mom?” He briskly walked toward her, bending in for a hug, but she unexpectedly stopped him.
Olivia shook her head, unable to find the words to respond, then shielded her lips to ensure nothing could tumble out. She needed time to think, to process what just happened. In the awkward near embrace, both were unaware of the mysterious handwritten threat plunging from Olivia’s purse and gently wafting through the air. It landed on the polished wooden floor, face down, waiting for someone to discover it. “I… your father is… not—”
Matt leaned in to steady his mother, but she jerked further away. “What’s wrong? Did you hurt yourself?” He wobbled his head at the blood and waited for her reply, oblivious to the letter lurking just inches from his feet. When Margaret called his name from behind, Matt paused and rotated his frame to address his wife.
During the tense moment, Olivia escaped and shuffled into the bedroom, where she closed the door and hid from yet another unwanted secret. No one could hear her speak her next words as they were muffled among her pain, memories, and fears. “Someone else discovered the truth, Ben. And they plan to hurt me with it tonight.”
https://www.audible.com/pd/Hiding-Cracked-Glass-Audiobook/B09FKRJGDH
About Me
For those new to me or my reviews… here’s the scoop: I’m Jay, an contemporary fiction, family drama, and mystery author who lives in NYC. My stand-alone novel, Father Figure, can be purchased on Amazon as electronic copies or physical copies. My co-written metaphysical drama about past lives, Weathering Old Souls, is a partnership with the amazing Didi Oviatt. My family drama series, Perceptions of Glass, has two books: (1) Watching Glass Shatter and (2) Hiding Cracked Glass. My clever book series, Braxton Campus Mysteries, will fit those who love cozy mysteries and crime investigations but with a twist. There are eight books: Academic Curveball, Broken Heart Attack, Flower Power Trip, Mistaken Identity Crisis, Haunted House Ghost, Frozen Stiff Drink, Legally Blind Luck, and Sleigh Bell Tower. I read, write, and blog A LOT on this site where you can also find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.