Book Description Review Praise for Bound for Murder:“Pleasant.”—Kirkus Reviews“The plot builds to a complex but satisfying conclusion. Cozy fans will hope Amy will return soon.”—Publishers Weekly”Series fans will enjoy the ongoing shenangians…Newbies with an appreciation for small town politics (and an interlibrary loan mulligan) will have no trouble starting here.”—Booklist“Another deftly crafted mystery buff’s delight by a true master of the genre.”—Midwest Book Review“The murder mystery is both well plotted and clever enough to keep the most seasoned of mystery readers guessing.”—MyShelfPraise for Past Due for Murder:“A fun tale of books and crooks!”—Woman’s World“Gilbert weaves a well-paced, engaging story with strong characters… Blue Ridge Mystery fans will love reconnecting with Amy and her Taylorsford compatriots.”—NY Journal of Books“Readers who enjoy a splash of the local history of the Blue Ridge Mountains as well as current events, will find this an interesting read, and I can envision it as a good selection for a local book club. I look forward to the next book and highly recommend you read not only this one, but the two before it.”—MyShelf“Skillfully written…This library-loving mystery series [is] completely irresistible.”—Kings River Life Magazine“Well-written, featuring an intriguing and complex central mystery that builds to an exciting finale, Past Due for Murder is great.”—Fab Book Reviews Read more About the Author 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. Victoria has worked as a reference librarian, research librarian, and library director. When not writing or reading, she likes to spend her time watching films, gardening, or traveling. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and International Thriller Writers and lives in North Carolina. This is her fourth Blue Ridge Library mystery. Read more Customers Review: I enjoyed this book. This series has a lot of characters we have grown to have affection for. I can appreciate Amy’s desire to get the answers to questions, especially questions and problems that effect people she loves. When Sunny’s grandparents farm and the commune they used to run comes under fire because of the discovery of the body of one of its long lost members, Amy cannot stand ideally especially when they ask for her help.When more bodies start adding up and threats and bullets are aimed at her, we know Amy and her crew are in for a wild ride.
A home run. I so enjoy this series. I was shocked to see who the killer was. I didn’t see that coming. Can’t wait for the next one.
Love the characters in this series, but especially enjoy the library setting. Having worked in a library, I can identify with the life of a librarian.
I enjoyed this book very much. An easy and enjoyable read.
Bound for Murder is the first book that I have read by Victoria Gilbert. This cozy mystery is set in Taylorsford, Virginia near the Blue Ridge Mountains and was very enjoyable.The female protagonist, Amy Webber, is a library director in a small town. She loves research and has helped the police in the past. While this is the fourth book in the series it worked well as a standalone novel, although it may add to the enjoyment and understanding of the characters to read them in order.Amy’s best friend, Sunny Fields, is running for mayor and was raised by her grandparents who run an organic farm, but in the 1960s it was a commune. When human remains are found on their property, both the police and Sunny’s grandparents enlist Amy’s help. Amy has research to do, people to talk with, and a mystery to solve while she plans her wedding to next door neighbor Richard and supports Sunny’s mayoral campaign.The book is well-written with the right mix of humor and suspense. There are several potential suspects and enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested. The pacing is just right, but has more intense moments than a lot of cozy mysteries, which added to my enjoyment. The characters are well developed with a charming mix of personalities ranging from likable, intelligent, and independent to quirky to annoying to deceptive. There were several themes addressed within the book including library management, organic farming, county fairs, murder, grief, revenge, deception, wedding planning, drugs, communes and much more.I recommend this book to readers that like a good mystery, and I look forward to reading other books in the series.Thanks to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and Victoria Gilbert for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Dollycas’s ThoughtsLibrary Director Amy Webber finds herself in the middle of another murder mystery, this time one that happened sometime in the 1960s.Amy’s friend Sunny Fields needs her help. A skeleton has been found on her grandparent’s farm. A farm with a colorful past. Her grandparents, Carol & P.J. Fields, ran a commune there back in the days of free love and enlightenment. The skeleton is soon identified as a member of the commune who was thought to have followed his dream and headed West. The investigation also shows the man had been murdered. With Sunny running for mayor she needs to get to the truth as soon as possible. Amy uses her stellar research skills to track down and meet with former members of the commune knowing any one of them could be the killer.Sheriff Investigator Brad Tucker asked her to help with the case by doing a little research. He isn’t happy when she actually starts pursuing leads on her own. He tries to rein her in when she receives several warnings to back off on her snooping, including vandalism at the library but she doesn’t back down.Amy is also getting pressure on the homefront to start planning her wedding especially from her future mother-in-law Fiona, who has some grand plans.___Again, Victoria Gilbert has her characters digging into the past and through that, we meet an eclectic group of former “hippies” all to catch a killer. In the guise of notifying them about the skeleton being found and “warning” them that the police may be contacting them as Sunny’s grandparents had asked, Amy gets up close and personal with the suspects. This approach was a nice twist. I really enjoyed the way Amy fulfilled her promise while still getting information.All of Ms. Gilbert’s characters are well defined and easily visualized. The core character’s stories continue to evolve realistically. Amy is very dedicated to her job as is Richard when it comes to anything related to dance and movement. Sunny like Amy is very determined and independent. It is to see why they are friends and how well they work together. Fiona is over the top, turning her nose up at almost everything, but Amy and Richard are learning how to deal with her. I like that Sheriff Investigator Brad Tucker knows what a great resource he has in Amy and that he is realizing she just can’t help but to get involved in his cases.The mystery this time was a tricky one because of the amount of time that has passed since the death, the age of the suspects, another murder, and twist upon twist upon twist. I truly thought I was on the right course to solving this mystery then suddenly there was a twist that turned all my theories inside out but got Amy on the right track. There was some edge of seat moments to raise our blood pressure as we got close to the end of the book. Nicely done Ms. Gilbert, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.Bound for Murder has engaging characters paired with some shady ones that keep both readers and our protagonist on our toes. A very well-written mystery with a true romance and just a bit of humor to lighten things up. A strong addition to this series. I do recommend reading them in order but this one can stand on its own. |
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