‘The Glass Factory' by Ken Wishnia

Published by PM Press,
13 September 2013.
ISBN: 978-1-60486-762-6

Filomena Buscarella is an ex-cop latina who left Ecuador for the bright lights of the US.  Now she’s a woman on a mission: to get the big boss who’s poisoning all the land in his area... 

From the first sentence, this book was a delight.  Filomena is smart and sassy, and totally believable, from her tussles with her three-year-old daughter Antonia (an extra in this book is a fun story told by Antonia aged 12) through sorting out unpleasant thugs and hitting the worst news ever, to the joys of a surprising new romance.  She’s the superwoman we women would all like to be, taking everything in her stride – she’s the fastest improviser around, and there’s no situation she can’t get out of somehow, but in a way that you feel ordinarywoman could too, if she just had Filomena’s pazzazz.  The ‘voice’ was wonderful, the action fast, the ethical dimension of the story satisfying.  This is a re-issue of Wishnia’s third novel (of five Filomena books), first written in the 80s, but there was no outdated feel, and none of those heart-sinking ‘Now this is what you missed in the last three books’ paragraphs.  It read like a stand-alone, and once I’d started I couldn’t put it down.

If you like Santa Teresa’s Kinsey Millhone, or Val McDermid’s Kate Brannigan, you’ll love Filomena.  The first in the series is 23 Shades of Black.

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Reviewer: Marsali Taylor

Kenneth Wishnia was born in Hanover, NH  to a roving band of traveling academics. He earned a B.A. from Brown University (1982) and a Ph.D. in comparative literature from SUNY Stony Brook (1996). He teaches writing, literature and other deviant forms of thought at Suffolk Community College in Brentwood, Long Island, where he is a professor of English.
Ken’s novels have been nominated for the Edgar, Anthony, and Macavity Awards, and have made Best Mystery of the Year lists at Booklist, Library Journal, and The Washington Post. His short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Murder in Vegas, Long Island Noir, Queens Noir, Politics Noir, Send My Love and a Molotov Cocktail, and elsewhere.

kennethwishnia.com/

Marsali Taylor grew up near Edinburgh, and came to Shetland as a newly-qualified teacher. She is currently a part-time teacher on Shetland's scenic west side, living with her husband and two Shetland ponies. Marsali is a qualified STGA tourist-guide who is fascinated by history, and has published plays in Shetland's distinctive dialect, as well as a history of women's suffrage in Shetland. She's also a keen sailor who enjoys exploring in her own 8m yacht, and an active member of her local drama group.  Marsali also does a regular monthly column for the Mystery People e-zine.