Amy Webber is the library director of the small town of Taylorsford's Public Library. She's moved to the town to care for her aunt after an injury. Amy meets her new neighbor, Richard Muir, when he comes to the library to look at their archives. Amy and Richard find more than library records in the archives. They come across the dead body of a library patron that has been murdered. Together they work to solve the murder and to also find out the real story behind the murder that was committed in Richard's house in 1925. A well-written cozy mystery that will please any lovers of mystery.

A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert will be available December 12, 2017 from Crooked Lane Books. An egalley of this book was made available by the publisher in exchange for a honest review.

3.5 STARS - This is the first book in a new Cozy Mystery series and as a Library Assistant myself I enjoyed that the main character is a librarian. I appreciated that Gilbert realistically showed what life can be like for library staff -- quirky patrons, the library as a community space where library staff aren't pinched-faced shushers but instead love books and want to share their knowledge of researching and the library's numerous services with the public etc. Libraries are cool, y'all!!

There is a good mystery here and it was more complex than I was expecting. Actually, there's not one but three mysteries, in two time frames, that are being solved! This raised this book up to a Cozy Mystery 2.0 designation - it has all the makings of a typical Cozy but with the additional mysteries and the tension at the end it gives readers a little something more.

The writing was good (if overly descriptive at times) and I think this was a solid start to a new series. There are a lot of characters to keep track of which became a little messy and convoluted figuring out how people were related to each other. But within this group, Gilbert gives her readers a gaggle of shady characters, each of whom could plausibly be the culprit, to keep her readers guessing. There is a romance (but of course!) but I wasn't quite as smitten with it as the characters were with each other. It had an Insta-Love vibe and smelled strongly of fromage. I think the story could have easily done without it.

While the book felt a little sluggish in the beginning the energy ramps up considerably in the end for a solid conclusion. Overall, this was a good start to a new series with a solid community of characters, a nice small town feel and a main character who can get into enough scrapes to keep things interesting. Readers are also left with some questions regarding certain secondary characters which could prove to be good fodder for future story lines.

A Murder for the Books is the first in a new series set in rural Virginia. The main character, Amy, has taken a position as a librarian in the small town of Taylorsford after a bad breakup with a professor at the nearby college. While several murders take place during the course of the book, Amy, her Aunt Lydia and her new neighbor, Richard also investigate a historical mystery involving the townspeople. The friendship/romance between Amy and Richard was well done, and all of the characters were believable. I was so engaged with Amy that near the end of the book, I found myself warning her not to get into a car with one of the other characters. I had only figured out which character was dangerous just before that point in the plot which is to the author's credit for laying out the clues, but not making them too obvious. I will definitely look for more in this series.

A messy break-up prompted Amy Webber to leave her job at a university library, accepting the position as director of a small town library where her aunt resides. The missing Doris Virts turns up dead in the library's archives. Amy meets dance instructor Richard Muir who purchased the home next to hers. The two begin researching his home's history. A lot of old family skeletons begin to rattle. This first installment felt more like a romance novel than a mystery. Some characters, such as Brad,the lead official investigator, needed more development--and needed to be utilized more in the novel. There were some issues with the plot. For example, a cell phone was confiscated by a "bad person" but in a scene shortly afterwards, the owner was using it once again without an opportunity to get it back. Still the book showed some promise. Those likely to be recurring characters are mostly likeable. One character still has a mystery about him which could become fodder for a future plot. As is the case with most cozy mysteries, readers need to suspend believability for some parts of the narrative. Fun read with a likeable setting. The review is based on an advance electronic copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Murder for the Books by VIctoria Gilbert is the first in a new series about a librarian who has had bad luck in love, moved in with her ailing aunt and stumbled upon a new neighbor and together they find the murdered body of a former Library volunteer. With a crooked town leader, decades old mysteries to solve and some really good hunches Amy and her new neighbor discover town secrets, and cover ups all while getting to know each other a little better. This is a charming start to the series for sure.

Amy Webber moves in with her aunt and takes the job of head librarian at the small local library. She finds a body in the Archive room and so the adventure begins. This murder mystery is rooted in Taylorsford's history two generations in the past.

A skillfully plotted mystery that offers interesting characters, realistic dialogue and enough twists to keep the reader engaged and turning pages. The first in a new series this entry establishes a very real sense of community through its family of characters and the relationships developed by the author.

Amy Webber has come home to a small mountain town to live with her aunt after a love affair went wrong. She is now the library director of the Carnegie public library which is underfunded and in need of repair. One day she takes a trip to the Archives and finds the body of a local resident with dementia. Doris Virts has been shot.

Amy, being sensible with a strong sense of what she is good at, leaves the investigation to the local police. She's busy doing her kind of research helping her new neighbor Richard Muir investigate the history of his house. Local legends claim that the original owner was poisoned by his wife who was acquitted of the charges largely because of the efforts of Richard's great-uncle Paul who was a reporter and in love with Eleanora. However, Eleanora disappeared right after her acquittal in 1925 leaving a mystery behind her. Amy is attracted to Richard but is hesitant to start anything with another artistic type. Richard is a dancer and choreographer who is now teaching at Clarion.

Besides the historical research she and Richard are doing, they also get involved in a more contemporary mystery regarding Richard's land which once held an orphanage that suffered a tragedy when the cook and some students died in 1956. Suspicions were that the cook mistakenly included some poisonous mushrooms in her cooking.

There is still another contemporary issue. Town leaders are trying to sell some land for development despite various protests including one organized by Amy's best friend and library assistant Sunny. All of these plot threads come together as old family secrets and rivalries are discovered and another murder is committed. Amy even learns some secrets about her own family in the course of the investigation.

I liked Amy and Richard's romance. I liked the way they worked together on their research. I thought that the town politics and relationships were well-done. There were a number of possible suspects but I will admit that I didn't pick the right one when I was trying to figure out the killer. But then neither did Amy which led to traumatic things happening to her.

This was an engaging mystery with great characters and a nicely complex plot. There is even a possibility that ghosts are involved.

Victoria Gilbert's cozy mystery features a librarian as the amateur sleuth. This was one of the "library" books that actually had some realistic descriptions of library work. Amy went from academic to public librarian and found out just how different the two are. The lack of staff and funding was sadly true; the odd regular customers and Amy's predecessor's notes on them was funny. Amy left a university job and moved in with her aunt in a small Virginia town. She is trying to get her life back together and regain her confidence after a failed relationship. After a murder in the archives and the focused attentions of a new neighbor, her small town life revved up enough to finally get over her past and look forward. Using research skills to help figure out the motive for murder, Amy and her new friend, Richard, mix sleuthing and romance to a satisfying end. This is the first book in a series that promises to provide an enjoyable reading escape.

A Murder For the Books, is the first book in the new Blue Ridge Library series by Victoria Gilbert.
I found it very difficult to get into this book. I loved the the idea of the book and the library setting.
But I just never became invested in the story, or the characters.
The reason I am giving it a 3 is I had so much going on this week, I feel it may have interfered with my ability to enjoy the book. It’s likely I will come back and re read it at a later date

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley .. the opinions are my own

This is the first book in the Blue Ridge Library series and based on this book, it promises to be a good one. A Murder for the Books is a great cozy mystery. The characters are interesting and well-drawn, the setting sounds beautiful and is wonderfully described, and the plot was designed to keep your attention until the very end.

Amy Webber is the library director in her small town of Taylorsford VA. She's just moved there to take care of her aunt Lydia who is recovering from a recent illness. She lives next door to a well known dancer, Richard Muir. He lives in the Cooper house, where a long-ago but still infamous murder took place. He comes into the library on a mission to prove that Elanora Cooper didn't poison her husband. Much of the suspicion surrounding Elanora was placed there by one on of Amy's relatives, so she is interested in finding the truth.

One of the oldest patrons of the library, Doris, likes to come in and browse but she's senile and wanders off. Amy and Richard go to find some historical documents and find Doris dead from a gunshot. Amy and Richard wonder if Doris' murder could be connected to the Cooper case, and they start investigating.

I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. Looking forward to future books in the series.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 stars

A promising series debut. Academic librarian Amy Webber moves home to help out an elderly aunt after Amy has a public meltdown over a straying boyfriend and needs to put some distance between them.

Amy is a likable main character, and so is her aunt. The surrounding small town ensemble is nicely fleshed out as well, including Amy's hunky neighbor Richard who weakens her determination to avoid romantic entanglements.

The whole town is shocked when an elderly dementia victim is found murdered in Amy's library archive. Amy is convinced the solution to the murder lies in the secrets of the past, some of which involve her family.

This is a nicely written book with a mostly interesting plot, although there was a murky and mysterious foray into an incident involving Amy's mom which never made sense. But the reader gets a good sense of the individuals and families who populate the town.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for furnishing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. I will be happy to watch for the next series entry.

Good cozy mystery. I liked the inclusion of the mysteries from the past in addition to the one happening in the present. I feel like there were a couple of loose ends not tired up, but maybe that's because it's the first in a planned series.

There were moments when I wasn't sure where this was going, especially during the introduction of romance to the story. It ended up working out well - I'm not a fan of too much mushy lovey-dovey stuff in my cozies. The story ended up taking so many turns that I didn't realize it's a long one.

I readily anticipate the next installments.

After leaving a horrid relationship Amy Webber moved in with her aunt in a quiet small town in Virginia. Taking a job as a librarian in the small town Amy always has her share of run in’s with the quirky town residents but what she never expected was to find one of them dead in the archives.

Richard Muir is new to town after moving into the farmhouse he’d inherited from his great uncle. Richard’s family home comes with a bit of town folklore though being that it’s rumored that the original owner was poisoned by his wife. Wanting to look into the matter Richard headed to the local library but instead of family history he finds himself in the middle of a current crime. Richard and Amy end up working together to see if they can solve the murders in their town.

A Murder for the Books by Victoria Gilbert is the first book in the cozy Blue Ridge Library Mysteries series. This first book is one that has the characters trying to solve more than one mystery so I would have expected to be completely caught up in this story but unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

I never really could put my finger on any one thing within that didn’t grab me as much as I would like with this book but it didn’t pop out and grab me either. I think I just didn’t connect with these characters as much as I would like to and it was also a tad slow for my taste. The writing was good and normally with more going on I’d rate higher but in the end this one was just average to me.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Amy Webber was an academic librarian, before catching boyfriend Charles in a compromising position and making a scene. Beating a hasty retreat, she is now working at Taylorsford Public Library and living with her beloved Aunt Lydia. Although money is tight, she is happy working with her assistant, Sunny, and getting to know her regulars. One is Doris Virts, who is known to suffer from dementia. When she goes missing, both Amy and Sunny keep an eye out for her. However, when Amy’s handsome new neighbour, dance instructor and choreographer, Richard Muir, asks to see the library archive, they virtually trip over the body of elderly Doris Virts. Who would want to kill an old lady and why was she in the library archive anyway?

This is a fun mystery, which sees Amy team up with Richard; not only to investigate the murder of Doris Virts, but also to research an old case. Richard’s Great-Uncle, Paul Dassin, wrote a novel based on the case of Eleanor Cooper, who was accused of killing her husband. Secrets run deep in a small town and Amy and Richard will have to work hard to lay the past to rest to rest.

I suspect this will be the first in a series and so there is a lot about setting the scene and introducing us to all the characters; from property developing mayor, Robert Blackstone, to Bradley Tucker, the County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy. The small, meandering town, consisting mainly of one long main road, is also virtually a character in itself, while there is more than a hint of romance between the two main characters. An enjoyable and gentle crime novel, which will appeal to lovers of cosy crime. I received a copy of this book from the publishers, via NetGalley, for review.

Set in a small quaint town in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, new town librarian is shocked to find a body in the Archives. While helping her new handsome neighbor do research concerning a long dead relative the two cases seem to be colliding. Well written with some good twists this will be an interesting series to follow. This is book 1 in the Blue Ridge Library series. It hits all the interest buttons for me with a great hero librarian, a Virginia setting and lots of friends and neighbors in a small town setting.

A Murder for the Books is such a good mystery, it has a great plot and characters. I enjoyed this author's writing and I am looking forward to reading future books in this series. If you love a good mystery this is the book for you.

A Murder for the Books is the debut novel in the Blue Ridge Library Series. Amy Webber moves in with her aunt who lives in Taylorsford, a small, quaint town in the mountains of Virginia. Amy leaves her job as a university librarian after a very public and embarrassing breakup with her boyfriend. She now manages the town’s public library. Which is underfunded, needs updating but has no lack of personality thanks to its patrons.
Long buried town secrets are unearthed my Richard Muir moves into to the farmhouse he inherited from his great-uncle. According to town folklore, Eleanora Cooper poisoned her husband who was the original owner of the farmhouse. Eleanora was a known herbalist and considered a witch by some of the townspeople. There was a highly public murder trial and Eleanora disappeared after she was acquitted. Richard believes that Eleanora was innocent and is determined to clear her name. Amy has been investigating her own family history and offers to help Richard with his research. As they pour through the archival information it becomes clear that there are many unanswered questions that still surround Eleanora’s trial. Amy and Richard learn that many of the town’s leading families were entangled in the mystery. Many of those buried secrets are entangled in Amy’s family tree.
Taylorsford is not about to give up these long buried secrets easily. As Amy and Richard learn more about Eleanora and the trial, someone is silencing those who may have answers. All of a sudden Taylorsford becomes a very dangerous place to live as the body count goes up. Can Richard and Amy find out the truth about what happened in the past in time enough to find out who wants to put an end to their investigation?
Victoria Gilbert has crafted a intricate cozy mystery. She has woven together whodunits from the past and the present. She sprinkles in a bit of romance with the relationship between Richard and Amy. The author uses a large number of characters to tell the story, and this adds to the complexity of the plotline. What makes this book an interesting read is that it is not your basic cozy mystery. A Murder for the Books is a great start to a new series that has great promise.

I really enjoyed this story, and the author paid a great deal of attention to character development and unraveling a terrific plot. It has a female heroine, a little romance, and two mysteries – recent murders that may be tied to an old crime from many years ago.

I’m hoping that this will become a major series, because I’d like to learn more about how Amy and neighbor Richard are getting along in their new romance.

The pace was a little on the slow side. The plot seemed to drag on, until Amy was in danger, then it picked up a bit. The "action" part had a little too much in it. It seemed like anything that could happen to Amy, happened to her. I'm not sure if I'd continue to read this series. I didn't connect to the characters enough.