A Murder for the Books

Anyone who claims there are no stupid questions has never worked in a public library.

And with that opening line, I was sold. The book held on to the promise. Our heroine isn't out there trying to solve the murders. She trusts the local police. Her sleuthing is following her curiosity which leads back to the murders, as well as a long unsolved one. She, her aunt, her friend, and the people around them are delightful. Her love interest is dreamy and smart. The mystery itself had me on a few turns as well.

Basically, this was a perfect mystery and I can't wait to delve into the rest of the series and the author's backlist.

*.5

A cozy murder mystery, a mysterious handsome stranger, a quaint small town, and a library, what's not to like? Well, just about everything else. This is just not a good book, y'all.

The dialogue is just bad, the exposition clunky, the romance dull and lifeless, the mystery mediocre, the murderer ridiculous, and the narrative more catty gossip than storytelling.

And then in the final insult, some the many plot holes are explained away with the suggestion that all the unexplained happenings were the work of ghosts. Which knocked off an additional star.

An interestingly plotted mystery, marred only by the disappointing cartoonish depiction of the villains. But there seems to be promise in this new author. She has been a librarian, and this background is vividly displayed in the descriptions of online searching and other details of libraries. This veracity gives a credibility to the atmosphere of the entire story.

After a catastrophic love affair, librarian Amy Webber moves in with her aunt in a quiet, historic mountain town in Virginia. She busies herself with managing the local public library that requires all her attention with its severe lack of funds and an overabundance of eccentric patrons. The last thing she needs is a new, available neighbor whose charm lures her into trouble and a murder she has to solve.

Dancer-turned-teacher and choreographer Richard Muir inherited the farmhouse next door to Amy from his great-uncle, Paul Dassin. But folklore claims the house’s original owner was poisoned by his wife, who was an outsider who vanished after her sensational 1925 murder trial. Richard determined to clear the name of the woman his show more great-uncle loved, beseeches Amy to help him investigate the case. Amy is skeptical until their research raises questions about the culpability of the town’s leading families... including her own.

When inexplicable murders plunge the quiet town into chaos, Amy and Richard must crack open the books to reveal a cruel conspiracy and lay a turbulent past to rest.
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Series: A Blue Ridge Library Mystery - Book 1
Author: Victoria Gilbert
Genre: Cozy Mystery/Career
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books


A Murder for the Books is a well written highly entertaining book with memorable and remarkable characters. This book is the first installment of Victoria Gilbert’s Blue Ridge Library mysteries. Ms. Gilbert is a talented and creative writer. Her writing is fluid and offers enough detail to keep the reader wanting more.

Characters, Amy and Aunt Lydia, are spunky, intriguing and well rounded, with just enough desecration to be unforgettable and captivating. Between the two they create an atmosphere of love and fun as well as general interest. Lydia is perhaps the most interesting character in this book. It will be interesting to see what part she will play in the next book in the series due out in July 2018.

Other characters such as Richard and Sunny and perfect and could easily have a series of their own. Richard is a loving, warm, vibrant romantic lead, and Sunny is a ray of well… sunshine. Both characters add to the enjoyment of this book and help move the plot along.

The town of Taylorsville, Virginia is small but has a great impact on the story and the reader. It is a place anyone would feel at home in and yet feel like an outsider. It’s one of those places where a new resident will always wonder if they will ever really be accepted by those who have lived there generation after generation. It is a great backdrop for this series.

The story is part mystery, part romance with a sprinkling of small-town life. Throughout the book, the reader is captivated by the secrets of the past and the link between the future and the past. It makes the reader wonder about their own hometown and what may be hidden or simply not talked about. There are always things in the past that influence our present and future, but how often do they lead to murder?

Overall A Murder for the Books is a fun easy-to-read book. The pace is not always fast, at times it forces the reader to slow down and take in every word. The reveal of the killer for many will be a bit too long. In many ways, it is startling and yet not implausible. I recommend this book to those who enjoy small-town secrets with big city corruption, and a budding romance that could easily end in disaster.
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4.5 rounded up.

I absolutely loved this book. It didn't quite have the pizzazz that puts it up to a 5-star read for me, but it is definitely a solid 4.5!

A book that makes me laugh from the very first sentence is definitely worth my time to read. I'm a librarian so I'm interested in all cozy mysteries with a library setting and this one did not disappoint!

I really enjoyed our two main characters, Amy and Richard. They're both well-rounded, developed characters. Their chemistry together is amazing. I'm looking forward to learning more about them and seeing their relationship blossom in further books in the series.

The setting descriptions were just right - not too little, but not too much either. I could easily imagine the town, the show more buildings we were in, the surrounding countryside, all of it. I like the setting. The town sits close enough to various larger towns/cities so there are all types of people who are included in the town. It's a nice variety.

This plot moved along at a pretty steady pace. There were lots of subplots that were entangled with the main plot, but I was able to keep everything straight in my head so the subplots were a nice addition. I wondered briefly about the villain, but I really didn't think it was them until it was revealed. It's amazing the motives that make people kill. This was one motive I just couldn't wrap my head around. I mean, I understood what the author meant, it just seemed like a not-so-good reason to commit murder!

I highly recommend this book if you like cozy mysteries! It's a great start to a new series! show less

4.5 rounded up.

I absolutely loved this book. It didn't quite have the pizzazz that puts it up to a 5-star read for me, but it is definitely a solid 4.5!

A book that makes me laugh from the very first sentence is definitely worth my time to read. I'm a librarian so I'm interested in all cozy mysteries with a library setting and this one did not disappoint!

I really enjoyed our two main characters, Amy and Richard. They're both well-rounded, developed characters. Their chemistry together is amazing. I'm looking forward to learning more about them and seeing their relationship blossom in further books in the series.

The setting descriptions were just right - not too little, but not too much either. I could easily imagine the town, the show more buildings we were in, the surrounding countryside, all of it. I like the setting. The town sits close enough to various larger towns/cities so there are all types of people who are included in the town. It's a nice variety.

This plot moved along at a pretty steady pace. There were lots of subplots that were entangled with the main plot, but I was able to keep everything straight in my head so the subplots were a nice addition. I wondered briefly about the villain, but I really didn't think it was them until it was revealed. It's amazing the motives that make people kill. This was one motive I just couldn't wrap my head around. I mean, I understood what the author meant, it just seemed like a not-so-good reason to commit murder!

I highly recommend this book if you like cozy mysteries! It's a great start to a new series! show less

Amy has moved to Taylorsford to live with her Aunt Lydia and work as the Library director at the local library. When her new neighbor Richard asks her help to research a murder that occurred in his house decades ago, both of them find a dead body in the archives. When they start digging deeper into both the historical and current murders, with the help of Lydia and her old friends, another body turns up. There are a bunch of shady characters who all seem plausible for the murders and Amy tries to use the evidence her research turns up to find the culprit. What follows is more suspense, more drama and the confluence of events that lead to all the murders.

This is a proper cozy mystery. It has all the entertaining elements – murders, show more mystery, haunted houses, romance, humor. I love the way the romance between the leads is developed and how they help each other overcome their insecurities. I loved the side characters, especially Aunt Lydia and Amy’s friend Sunny. They are both lively and cheerful and brought a lot of humor to the proceedings. The mystery is well conceived and I couldn’t guess the culprit until it was revealed. But there is one fact that needs a special mention – the male lead here is a dancer/choreographer which breaks the stereotype of the usual fictional macho hero and I really applaud the author for it.


PS: Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review. show less