A Murder for the Books
Ratings5
Average rating3.6
15
Ratings5
Average rating3.6
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.
Reviews with the most likes.
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, 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.
3 stars this was alright. The romance in this was definitely super cheesy
