Review & Giveaway: A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert

Series: Blue Ridge Library Mysteries #1
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Source: the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Release Date: December 12th 2017
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Blurb from goodreads:

Fleeing a disastrous love affair, university librarian Amy Webber moves in with her aunt in a quiet, historic mountain town in Virginia. She quickly busies herself with managing a charming public library that requires all her attention with its severe lack of funds and overabundance of eccentric patrons. The last thing she needs is a new, available neighbor whose charm lures her into trouble.

Dancer-turned-teacher and choreographer Richard Muir inherited the farmhouse next door from his great-uncle, Paul Dassin. But town folklore claims the house’s original owner was poisoned by his wife, who was an outsider. It quickly became water under the bridge, until she vanished after her sensational 1925 murder trial. Determined to clear the name of the woman his great-uncle loved, Richard implores 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 in A Murder for the Books, the first installment of Victoria Gilbert’s Blue Ridge Library mysteries.

My Thoughts:

"A Murder for the Books" is a cross between a cozy mystery and Southern fiction, with hints of Sharyn McCrumb. It did have have certain aspects of a cozy - the amateur sleuth, small town setting, and the sleuth's personal connections to the murder - but blended with elements of Southern mountain fiction. 

The setting in the Blue Ridge Mountains was a mix of small Southern town and anywhere USA.  What it did have was a certain clannish behavior which some small Southern towns are prone to, the family connections and relationships, and references to mountain life, and it was those that gave it the Southern fiction feel and hints of Sharyn McCrumb (she's written cozy mysteries set in VA and TN as well as Appalachian contemporary fiction.

The story meanders a bit but the the meanderings are purposeful, gently leading us to the next piece or element; it starts off fast but then slows down and winds around. Full of family history and drama, star crossed lovers and would-be lovers, secrets and conspiracies, mysterious deaths and murders, surprises and predictability, greed and hope, ignorance and bigotry, humor and quirkiness, "A Murder for the Books" delivers an entertaining story that began several generations ago and continues to this day.

I do have one quibble. There's a medical condition that's a prominent feature of the story, and one I've seen used in other Southern cozy mysteries, that was mostly well done but did contain one factual error that jumped up and smacked me in the face. That error didn't affect the story line however, though it should, if written accurately, affect one character's future health. I only caught it because my siblings and late father have a related condition. Otherwise, this was an enjoyable story with more depth than the average cozy. 

About Victoria ~

Victoria Gilbert, raised in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, turned her early obsession with reading into a dual career as an author and librarian. She has worked as a reference librarian, research librarian, and library director.

When not writing or reading, Victoria likes to spend her time watching films, gardening, or traveling. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers, and is represented by Frances Black at Literary Council, NY, NY.

Victoria lives in North Carolina with her husband and some very spoiled cats. This is her first Blue Ridge Library mystery.

Find Victoria Online ~ 

Website/blog: http://victoriagilbertmysteries.com/ 

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/VictoriaGilbertMysteryAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGilbertauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/VictoriaGilbert

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