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A Murder for the Books

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1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
The Blue Ridge Mountains, fun historical tidbits, a hint of the supernatural, and a taste of romance—this cozy mystery series debut about a crime-solving librarian is “one of the best” (New York Journal of Books).
Librarian Amy Webber must archive overdue crimes and deadly rumors before a killer strikes again in small-town Virginia . . .
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 cozy mysteries.
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    • Library Journal

      December 1, 2017

      Fleeing a disastrous relationship, Amy Webber quits her academic library job and moves to historic Taylorsford, VA, where she becomes the director of the local library. Its archives attract a number of visitors, including Amy's handsome new neighbor Richard Muir, who is researching the dark past of the farmhouse he inherited from his great-uncle. It also draws in a killer, who leaves the body of a local resident for Amy and Richard to discover. As they probe the murder, the pair decide to investigate further the mountain community's local history of old crimes. But someone wants to keep the past buried. VERDICT This debut mystery and series launch by a former librarian is an intriguing cozy that combines historical tidbits, a taste of the supernatural, a budding romance, and humor. Fans of Miranda James and Jenn McKinlay will welcome a new librarian sleuth to the fold.--LH

      Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 23, 2017
      Amy Webber, the narrator of Gilbert’s captivating first novel and series launch, escaped an embarrassing end to her last job and romance by returning to her ancestral family home in insular Taylorsford, Va., where she is now the town librarian. Amy’s next door neighbor is the handsome, forthright, and single Richard Muir, a classically trained dancer and college instructor, who inherited an old house that once belonged to his late great-uncle, novelist Paul Dassin. According to town gossip, the house’s original owner was poisoned by his wife, Eleanora Cooper, with whom Paul was in love. Eleanora was acquitted of the crime, then disappeared. Richard asks Amy to assist in his research to clear Eleanora’s name. Amy and Richard’s discovery of a body in the public library archive building puts them on a path leading toward terrifying family secrets—and solutions to both past and present murders. Cozy fans will look forward to seeing more of the appealing Amy. Agent: Frances Black, Literary Counsel.

    • Kirkus

      October 15, 2017
      A research-loving Virginia librarian digs up entirely too much information for her own good. After a nasty breakup with her boyfriend, a narcissistic musician, left her too crushed to continue her job at Clarion University, Amy Webber moved in with her aunt Lydia Talbot in the insular little town of Taylorsford and took a poorly paid but interesting job at the local library, a historic Carnegie building. When well-known dancer/choreographer/instructor Richard Muir appears at the library, Amy and her assistant, Sunshine Fields, are struck by his good looks. But it's his request for information that could prove Eleanora Cooper innocent of poisoning her husband that really hooks Amy. Richard lives next door to Amy's aunt in the Cooper house, which he inherited from his mother's relative, journalist Paul Dassin. Dassin, who was certain that Eleanora was innocent, wrote a fictional account based on the case. Although the jury exonerated Eleanora, everyone in town still thought her guilty, especially after she vanished following the trial. When Amy and Richard enter the archive, they find dementia patient Doris Virts shot to death, presumably because she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Deeply upset, Amy does what she does best and begins researching the history of the town. It turns out that her own grandmother Rose Baker Litton's claim that she saw Eleanora with an herbal containing recipes for poison made her the star witness for the prosecution. Although Amy's abortive romance has made her gun-shy of anyone in the arts, she warms to Richard, who strives to overcome her distrust as they work together to solve murders old and new. A deeply buried secret will provide the clue that closes the case. Gilbert's series kickoff offers an intricate mystery, an interesting look at the past, and a clever and determined heroine.

      COPYRIGHT(2017) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      November 15, 2017
      After causing a huge scene at a Clarion University reception when she discovered her boyfriend was having an affair, Amy Webber left the university and is now the director of the Taylorsford Public Library, living in the small Virginia town with her Aunt Lydia Talbot. Excitement comes to town when Richard Muir arrives at the library looking for proof that Eleanora Cooper was innocent of her husband's long-ago murder. While Cooper was acquitted of the murder and quickly disappeared from the area, the townspeople believed she was guilty. Muir's great-uncle, however, who wrote a fictionalized book about the case, believed in her innocence, and Richard would like to finally vindicate her. Matters are complicated when Richard and Amy find Doris Virts, who suffered from dementia, murdered in the archives. While investigating Virts' murder and the Cooper case, the two begin to believe the cases may be tied to a secret hidden by the town's leaders. The mystery is nicely framed by details of library work and research.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

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