Shelved Under Murder is the second book in the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series! We meet up again with Library Director Amy Webber as she’s preparing for a yard sale fundraiser for her library. But in the process, she stumbles upon the dead body of a renowned artist who was murdered with her own pallet knife.

Let’s just say that this book definitely took me on a ride. I LOVED it! I don’t even know where to begin with this review because everything was just—just awesome!

The characters—I love Amy, the main character. She’s down-to-earth, clever and intelligent, but she has real flaws and insecurities that anyone can relate too. All the supporting characters are just delightfully charming—I love them all.

Richard, Amy’s love interest, is definitely one of my favorite characters. I just love his personality and his sensitive nature. Lots of cozies series give you manly love interests (cops, detective...etc) and I don’t mind that, but it was nice to read about something different. Richard is a graceful dancer who loves his job, and he’s not afraid to show his emotions. He’s very romantic and sweet, and he’s never afraid to show his love or affection for Amy. It’s truly beautiful.

The mystery itself was so deliciously fun! It delves into the murky waters of art forgery. I can honestly say that I learned a lot about the art world. It was very exciting to learn about the process of forging art pieces and how experts can tell if a painting is authentic or not.

The only negative thing I can say about this book was that I did sort of guess “the bad guy” about halfway through, but I didn’t have his/her motive right, and the author threw a few twists in as well, so I was still immensely satisfied once I finished reading.

Overall, a great addition to an amazing cozy series! I love it. I can’t wait for the next installment.

I loved the mix of library, art and dance. That's something quite unusual in a cozy mystery.
I found the plot fascinating and I got hooked since the first pages.
The artistic background is well researched and it's interesting to see how this was mixed in a cozy mystery.
Some aspects of this books are more women fiction than cozy mystery with some strong theme like acceptance, forgiveness and going with life after a big loss.
The mystery was good, maybe the culprit was a bit too easy to identify, but there're no plot hole and it was a page turner.
I loved the cast of characters, so human and real.
Strongly recommended!
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for this ARC.

I liked this second installment of this series. There was a lot more romance in this book, but it was coupled with a lot of mystery and intrigue.

As a student of art history, I loved the mystery surrounding the art originals and forgeries in this book. They were the basis for the murders in the story and the killer was after art for lots of money. Richard and Amy's relationship is going strong and even Aunt Lydia may have found a love match...only time, or a third book, will tell.

I will post this review on Amazon once it is released.

Great Book! I am do thrilled with Netgalley, I am reading books without putting them down! I have two giveaways on my blog from these great books! I feel like my readers block has gone, and I love reading again. These stories are like Agatha Christie, you think you know who it is, you think she is being careful, then Oh no, why didn't she see that coming? You will love this book, I have pre ordered it, and cannot wait until the next book! Thank you Netgalley for allowing me to find such good Mysteries, and to have my joy restored!
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Victoria Gilbert has done it again! This second book in the series start gently and them WHAM murder hits Taylorsford again.

It all seems like just another quiet day when Sunny, Amy and Richard go to pick up a couple of pictures from a local, well renowned painter to add to the fund raiser for the library.  When they arrive the painter isn't around, so assuming she lost track of time and was busy in her studio they head in there, only to find her stabbed with her own pallet knife! As if that wasn't bad enough they discover a stash of paintings that look like forgeries.  With her background in Art History Amy is asked to do some research before an Art Expert arrives.

With Hugh (the art expert) staying with Amy and Lydia, Richard away dancing with his ex fiancee and another death ... oh and the theft of one of the replacement paintings (done by her late Uncle, Lydia's deceased husband) Amy has her plate well and truly full, can she figure out the forgery problem, solve a tricky situation left by her late Uncle, reconcile Kurt and Lydia AND keep the festival running? (oh and work out who the killer is?), not a problem for THIS young lady :D

I liked this second installment in the series also, even not as much as the first one, but in this story we find out a lot more about the main characters and it was worthy. Still thinking that Richard is too good to be true, but maybe that is my old cynical me speaking....

Anche questo secondo volume mi é piaciuto, anche se non tanto quanto il primo, ma in questa storia veniamo a conoscenza di tutta una serie di vicende passate che aiutano a gettare una luce su quanto c'é ancora di misterioso nelle vite dei personaggi principali della serie. Continuo a pensare che Richard sia troppo perfetto per essere vero, ma magari sono solo io che sono vecchia e cinica....

THANKS NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

Overall I liked this book, it was a cute cozy murder mystery involving a librarian & art forgeries. However for my personal taste there was too much romance, & the book had a older writing style feel. I didn't read the first book & there are spoilers in this one, so if you want to avoid this I recommend reading the first installment.

This is a fun that has a nice blend of enjoyable characters, lovely setting, and satisfying mystery.

In this book, librarian Amy and her merry band of friends and loved ones find themselves investigating a murder tied to an art forgery ring. The mystery takes several unexpected turns, and Amy finds herself specifically affected by the events.

I like that in this book, Amy has a personal interest in the outcome of the case. It makes it much more personal, and raises the stakes. She responds in believable ways, and makes emotional decisions and mistakes. It helps me as a reader connect with her and her situation, and wonder what I would do, were I in Amy's shoes.

Though I like Amy, I feel a bit tepid about her romance with Richard. I think it's because I don't really have any strong feelings about Richard - he doesn't make much of an impression on me. He's a little <i>too</i> for me - too helpful, too friendly, too perfect. He literally has no flaws, and that makes him too convenient. While Amy has her quirks and imperfections, Richard does not. And if I have one complaint about these books, it's that Amy is always insecure in her position as Richard's significant other, because she doesn't feel like she's good enough for him.

That said, I love how Gilbert depicts Amy and Sunny's roles at the library, and the workings of the library itself. She does a great job of integrating technology into the library, and showing that libraries aren't just arcane archives full of dusty tomes, and of spotlighting the serious struggles libraries face due to lack of funding.

This series is a winning one for me, and I'd recommend it to fans of Kate Carlisle and Eva Gates.

In this second episode of the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries, Librarian Amy Webber is getting ready for the library booth at the Heritage Festival. Amy and her assistant Sunny need to stop at artist Rachel LeBlanc's home to pick up some paintings that she is donating to the sale. The find Rachel murdered, her husband missing, and her daughter coming down from a drug high.

During the investigation of Rachel's studio, a hidden room filled with paintings by some famous artists. Amy uses her art history degree to take a look at them. She's pretty sure that they are forgeries but that doesn't tell them who forged them. It could have been Rachel or her husband Reese. Amy is pretty sure that art dealer Kurt Kendrick has to have had something to do with it. Kurt was a childhood friend of Aunt Lydia's long-deceased artist husband Andrew but Lydia blames him for some of Andrew's problems.

Because of the Heritage Festival Aunt Lydia agrees to host an art expert who comes to town to examine the paintings found in Rachel's studio. He also takes a look at Andrew's paintings which Lydia has carefully protected since his death. He also is attracted to Lydia who has had her heart buried with her husband since his death.

Meanwhile, Amy's relationship with her next door neighbor dancer/choreographer/teacher Richard Muir is heating up. Amy still has some doubts because she can't believe that an ordinary woman would ever attract the handsome dancer. Richard doesn't seem to have any doubts though.

This story begins with a murder but quickly gets more complicated bringing in art thefts dating back to World War II and bringing in an international group of art thieves. The pace of this one was leisurely and the plot was nicely twisty. I had my suspicions about who really murdered Rachel but didn't anticipate the many twists and turns of the plot.

Fans of cozy mysteries will enjoy this one.

Engrossing mix of art, murder and romance.

Victoria Gilbert's second book Shelved for Murder, firmly establishes success for her A Blue Ridge Library series but can easily be read as a stand alone story.

Amy's librarian skills and her love of art comes in handy in this art, rather than book or library driven mystery. The many secondary characters continue to add extra dimensions to the story. As does her growing relationship with Richard. I thought the plot was well thought out with enough twist and turns to keep my interest to the very end.
I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley.

The second book of a series can be the turning point for future entries. In the case of Victoria Gilbert's Blue Ridge Library Mysteries I found it interesting that the research part of the book was done mostly online, and the library part of the book was mostly about fundraising and a great vehicle for advancing the main theme of art forgery. While the first book hooked me in with the library archives and traditional expectations of a library, the series progressed nicely with the internet support and insatiable research by the head librarian. The second book also furthered the romance between head librarian Amy Webber and neighbor Richard Muir.

There were new and old characters to meet, and of course, a new person had to be sacrificed to murder. Many times I wonder if readers of cozy mysteries (myself included) haven't developed a hardened perspective of the value of life with all these murders! Fortunately, author Victoria Gilbert focuses on a unusual find of apparent forgeries instead of the physical murder. The book becomes a puzzle to be solved that was fascinating and unpredictable. An old villain turns out not to be what we originally thought. New characters split into various categories, but my favorite was Hugh Chen the art expert who was housed in Amy's Aunt Lydia's home.

The author has quite the ability to describe the location so clearly that you can see the colors of the fall that she describes as well as smell the crisp fall air. At one point I could swear I smelled the artist staple of linseed oil. She also has the way of including dialog that is effective but not verbose or trite. While some may not appreciate the romantic communications between Amy and Richard, I thought they were handled very tactfully and in a private manner. I also felt the emotions, which ran the gamut from titillation to terror, were extremely well handled.

Thumbs up for this enjoyable and captivating book. I learned a lot about art forgery as well as the complex and far reaching effects it has on artists in general and Amy's uncle in particular. I would recommend that a reader start at the beginning of the series and read the books in order for the best experience. I appreciate Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read an ARC copy (ebook) ahead of publication.

I enjoyed the first book in the series much more than this one.
This latest offering seemed more focused on the art world than around the library.
However, I would read more in the series.

In Shelved Under Murder, the second instalment in the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries series, library director Amy Webber is trying to avoid the wrath of crotchety Mel Riley, recently appointed chairperson of the Taylorsford Friends of the Library, while organising a fundraiser. The donation to the library’s Heritage Festival sale of three paintings by internationally renowned local artist Rachel LeBlanc should have been a real coup, but when Amy and her assistant Sunny go to collect the paintings, they find Rachel stabbed to death with her own palette knife. The stash of forged paintings found hidden in Rachel’s studio is also something of a puzzler.

Amy’s expertise in art history, to say nothing of her friendship with Chief Deputy Brad Tucker, mean that she is called upon to assist with the investigation and help determine the link (if any) between the forgeries and the murder of Rachel LeBlanc. Matters are further complicated when the investigation reveals a shocking potential link between Amy’s deceased uncle, the (not particularly renowned) artist Andrew Talbot, and the murder. Spurred on by a desire to protect her Aunt Lydia’s memories of her late husband, Amy and new boyfriend Richard Muir redouble their efforts to catch the killer.

Shelved Under Murder is truly a cosy mystery. The setting of Taylorsford, Virginia, is a charming Cabot Cove-like small town (right down to the surprisingly high murder rate it seems) wherein the buildings are quaint and the landscape picturesque. The townsfolk are mainly friendly (and those who are not are just nicely villainous), everyone knows everyone else’s business, and there are a fair few entertaining local “characters”. The Heritage Festival sounds like it would be an absolute delight to visit and the Taylorsford library seems to have everything a booklover could possibly need. Victoria Gilbert provides plenty of information to introduce both the town and the recurring characters, which means that Shelved Under Murder can be read as a standalone story by those who haven’t read A Murder for the Books, the first book in the series.

Amy Webber is an appealing central character whose attempts at investigating the murder do seem to ring true of an amateur sleuth inspired by a deeply personal connection to the case. However, the fact of her being deputised so that she has access to a database detailing worldwide cases of forgery is something of a stretch. The police have their own art expert on hand, so it seems odd that they are so keen to make use of Amy’s knowledge of art history. It would perhaps have been better, especially considering her late uncle’s potential link to the case, if she had remained more of an outsider to the investigation, someone who used wholly unofficial means to beat the police to the identity of the suspect. Still, she certainly manages to sniff out the truth in the end.

The reasoning behind the murder of Rachel LeBlanc is not particularly convoluted and it is certainly possible to make a guess as to the killer’s identity based on the clues that Gilbert provides, but following along with Amy’s investigation is very entertaining. In addition to the crime, Shelved Under Murder features a very healthy dose of romance – Amy and Richard have to find out whether the couple who investigates together stays together, while Sunny and Chief Deputy Brad have to consider whether they’re at the same stage in life – which will appeal to some and detract from the mystery for others. It’s also arguable that the inclusion of a few more red herrings among the suspect pool would have helped to make the central mystery more complex and hence more difficult to crack.

Shelved Under Murder is an easy-going and gore-free mystery novel populated by agreeable characters (save for the killer of course!) who lead the reader through a very pleasant investigation that ultimately reaches a satisfactory and convincing conclusion. If you like your murders extremely cosy with a great deal of romance thrown in for good measure, then this is the book for you.

A nice cozy mystery, featuring libraries, art, and a good whodunit. Fairly traditionally plotted, this book fits squarely in the cozy mystery genre, with a nice cast of characters, good pacing, and a puzzle that's well-plotted. I like Amy Webber--a very relatable protagonist.

Recommended to those new to the cozy mystery genre; this series makes a good introduction. Start with A Murder for the Books, the first in this series.

**NetGalley provided copy for review**

I love reading books with settings in areas with which I am familiar. The Blue Ridge Library Mysteries are set in Virginia and having lived here for a good portion of my life in two different areas, I often feel "at home" when reading books set here. That said, there were only two things that were out of place. The author used the term "highway 81" at one point where locals would have said I-81 and although this is supposed to be set in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Metro does not run out far enough for Aunt Lydia to take it into DC easily.

However, I can overlook such minor things in light of the exciting story presented. I had read the first book in the series and enjoyed it greatly and the second was not a disappointment. I quickly remembered all the characters from the previous book because they were so well presented in the earlier book even though it has been 6 months and 35 books since I read it. Quite a feat for an author to hold my attention that long!

This story not only is about a murder, but also about art forgeries and stolen art being recovered as the Monument Men have done. Our well loved characters of Amy, Richard, Aunt Lydia, Sunny, Walt, and Zelda have returned along with a not-so lovable character Kurt. We learn more about deceased Uncle Andrew and Richard's relatives. Decades old wounds are healed. There is redemption in this story, one of the things that I enjoyed the most.

I will admit that by chapter 20 I suspected who the murderer was, but there was still plenty of suspense as I eagerly read to learn how the situation would be resolved.

I thoroughly enjoy Victoria Gilbert's work and look forward to more Blue Ridge Library Mysteries.

It’s autumn in Taylorsford, Virginia and everyone at the library is getting ready for the yard sale fundraiser. Amy, the library director, is at a local art studio to pick up a painting or two when she stumbles across the dead body of the artist with a palette knife in her chest. When a closet full of artwork is found in the studio, Amy is thrust into an investigation that will endanger her life and reveal secrets that some people would kill to stay hidden.
The characters in this cozy mystery were very likeable and diabolically created. I didn’t know who the murderer was and I was surprised at the end. The plot moved at a fast pace and had enough twists and turns to keep me up late reading. I loved learning about the various aspects of the art world and how artwork can complicate an investigation. I can’t wait for the next Blue Ridge Library mystery. I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily reviewing it.

Victoria Gilbert’s recipe for a cozy has resulted in a tasty reading experience.

Amy Webber is juggling relationship issues, professional commitments and family challenges in Shelved Under Murder, the second Blue Ridge Library Mystery. Preparing for the library’s table at the Heritage Festival, Sunny, her assistant, and Richard, her boyfriend, accompany her to local artist Rachael LeBlanc’s studio to pick up a couple of her paintings for the auction, only to find the artist murdered.
While searching the studio the police discover a hidden cache of paintings – by artists like Monet and Cezanne – and they appear real.

Then, Mel Riley, hard to please head of the Friends of the Library, asks Amy to persuade her Aunt Lydia to donate a couple of her late husband’s paintings to replace the LeBlanc donation. Mel and Lydia won’t talk to each other and Amy finally finds out that Aunt Lydia blames Mel for the accident that killed her husband Andrew.

Since Amy has been counting on Richard’s help organizing the library’s table – and sleuthing with her - she is disappointed when he is suddenly called out of town to substitute as the lead in a dance production he wrote.

The ingredients in Ms. Gilbert’s story are skillfully blended into a single, finely finished book. The complex mystery flows comfortably with engaging characters, realistic dialogue and clever distractions. Enjoy this delicious suspense filled treat.

Amy Webber, library director of Taylorsford library, her best friend Sunny, and boyfriend Richard, discover the body of artist Rachel LeBlanc in her studio where they were to pick up some paintings for the Friends of the Library fundraiser. Instead, they are pulled into another murder investigation and into the middle of an international art forgery ring.

This is the second installment from Victoria Gilbert in her Blue Ridge Library Mysteries and it is just as well written as the first one. Cosy mysteries need that nice blend of being driven by both characters and plot to ensure an entertaining story and this series definitely has that. The characters are well-rounded and believable. Their conversations flow well and don't have any clunky, odd statements in them.

I gave it a four because my only quibble is that if you don't really like romance (and I lean that way) then this may not be as enjoyable for you. My feeling about Richard is that he's a bit too good to be true (I have yet to find a flaw), and I find myself rolling my eyes sometimes. Outside of that, this is one series I thoroughly enjoy and am eagerly awaiting the next installment.

The brilliant combination of art and literature. Amy Webber, Library Director and art aficionado is at it again in this second installment. This time she has to have faith in her family and herself. She had a talented/gifted artist of an uncle who may have been dealing in something a little less authentic and a little more sketchy. So while balancing job, family, oh and did I mention her talented/artistic boyfriend, Richard dancer/choreographer supreme who only has eyes for Amy. It will take more than the Dewey Decimal system to put this mystery to rest and to find out who murdered the local esteemed artist and if it some how involves Amy's long deceased Uncle. The characters were expertly created and while I knew something was amiss I wasn't sure as to the whole why. I love it when it's a happy ending all the way around!

Thank you NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my copy of this book! This was a fun and easy to read cozy mystery that has every element one expects to find in books of the genre. The smart main character whose expertise in her field of work (books and art history in this case) helps the police uncover a murder acting as a consultant or amateur detective, the supporting best friend (Sunny) and the handsome and kind love interest. The plot is well written, a bit predictable, but interesting enough. I’d recommend this book to cozy mysteries fans.