Interesting story starting with folklore telling of tragedies that befall two girls who runaway from home. There is lots of speculation with twists and turns. Then a student turns up missing so more speculation is thrown into the mix. You'll keep turning the pages until the end

Library Director Amy Webber is back with another mystery to solve. 

It's Spring in Taylorsford and Amy is helping local students and their professor research  the local folklore.

First up a bonfire with a gifted storyteller. There have long been talk of bobbing lights and fairies, missing gold and missing girls. When one of the girls at the bonfire disappears, things get a bit tense.

Mountain people aren't know for their openness and the good professor has been poking in some very sensitive areas that some residents want to keep closed forever.

Even Amy's boyfriend, Richard becomes a suspect for a minute. Not to mention her ex Charles is living with his newest girlfriend in the same town. 

Amy stumbles on a clue cleaning up after the researchers and is determined to see this through and have it all cleared up before the Mayor's May Dance celebration. But everyone is acting squirrelly and when the missing girl turns up beside a dead body and a severe head injury that turns into a coma, the killer starts making mistakes.

Will Amy be able to live through this one?

I love how these books have grown. The characters are hitting their strides and I really enjoyed this one!

Well Done!

Netgalley/February 12th 2019 by Crooked Lane Books

Fabulous book. Wanted to slap Richard's family, but loved Amy's family and hope to meet her brother in future books. Totally surprised at the ending. Great mystery that keeps you guessing. Can't wait to read more!

'Past Due for Murder' is the latest installment in Victoria Gilbert's A Blue Ridge Library Mystery series in which old secrets are significant, new secrets are under scrutiny and relationships are in jeopardy. Throw in a former boyfriend, an erratically behaved professor with difficult students, a fey geriatric hill dweller and her angry neighbor and you have they suspense for the book. I have an issue with the character's likability which makes for difficult reading. The resolution was interesting, although slightly flat considering the lead-up. Not my favorite.

Unfortunately I did not managed to connect with the caracters in the story, or interest enougth to continue reading after a few chapters. It is well written and maybe I try again at another time, or start with the first book. Thank you for the ARC.

This is the third book in the series, so readers are aware that Richard Muir is Amy's boyfriend, not just her neighbour. So it's more complicated than it seems that he claims to be visiting his parents that night but not at that time; when Amy called him that evening she could hear bus station announcements at the background, but Richard won't acknowledge that.

The body of the dead professor, Mona, adds to the issues. Was she in the wrong place at the wrong time? Is it related to her research? She had been using the library archives and her research assistants don't have much to add in terms of information. One of her disputes is with Amy's ex, Charles, who is in mourning after his girlfriend was a victim of a hit and run months earlier.

Richard and Amy have their ups and downs in this book. She is able to go see one of his performances and a new side to his work. It contrasts with his refusal to explain what he's been secretive about.

Past Due for Murder has a well-developed plot and a nice amount of suspense. It could stand alone as a mystery, though readers won't want to miss out on the first two books in the series. Perfect for a cozy mystery read this winter.

I'd like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I liked it but to be perfectly honest it meandered a bit and felt like I was reading two completely different books, what with the old-timey coin mystery.

I liked Amy's character a lot and the research bits were fun.

This was a DNF for me. And let me tell you why...

I had to read the first and second one before reading the 3rd that I got from NetGalley. And wish that I had not requested that book after reading them. This is not a very good series and I am very unhappy that I read this.

This was NOT my favorite series. At all. These books go down a path that I am so not crazy about and it seems that more cozy writers are taking - if I wanted to read a book that has swearing and sex and of a longer length, I would read something OTHER than a cozy mystery. Cozies have long been a genre that fits a certain parameter and I totally enjoy that parameter as do most cozy readers. We read them because they are familiar and comforting and fun. Sometimes you know who the killer is, sometimes you don't. There isn't vivid descriptions of the murder, there is little to no violence, there is little to no swearing [I have many series that I love that do not have ONE swear word in them and amazingly enough, the books are FANTASTIC. They do not need the swearing and sex etc to sell the book], and there certainly isn't the intense sexual scenarios that are being presented in some of the newer cozies. The whole added romance aspect has really gotten out of control as of late and I am more and more drawn to books that do not have that aspect.
This series does not really fit into ANY of those parameters and yet is within the cozy genre and is marketed as such [hence me getting it]. There are very vivid descriptions of the dead body and crime scene, there is violence, [typically, this does not bother me - I have both watched AND read the CSI book and watched Bones and read a couple of her books as well] there is a LOT of swearing and there is a L O T of sexual scenarios and innuendos AND a situation where I felt the main character was being bullied [and goaded] into the relationship and moving much faster than she was wanting to just because the male character wanted it so she should too, which is very disconcerting in any circumstance, but even more so from an author that is a woman.

In this third book we again have close to excessive swearing [it is just borderline], LOTS of sexual suggestions and inappropriateness ["He gazed at her, lingering on her breasts and bare legs" REALLY? ICK. This is from the guy she is supposed to end up with too. ICK. I am sure that there was a way to put that without it sounding so...ICK. I expect that in a full-on romance novel or an erotic novel, but NOT a cozy mystery. And I don't expect it to sound {or be written as} so sleazy. So much of the MC and this guy's interactions are just that - borderline to full-on sleazy and apparently just having it once in a book isn't enough so it carries on throughout all three books as well. ], and a push for a more serious relationship even though the MC, after capitulating to even HAVING a relationship] has asked repeatedly for space and then she finally just gives in, which is also very disheartening.

I will say that the mystery in the first two books were very good and that is what kept me reading, but as more and more of the negative issues of these books came through again in book three, I found I could absolutely NOT finish this book. This is a Did Not Finish for me and ZERO stars. I will not be reading anything else by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy of PAST DUE FOR MURDER (Book 3 of the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries) by Victoria Gilbert in exchange for an honest review. Library Director Amy Webber is busy. She has been organizing events such as folktales by campfire for the local girl scouts. Additionally, Amy has been assisting students and professors from the local college with their research projects. Amy also aids her aunt with their bed and breakfast along with her regular duties as a librarian, and a manager of the library’s employees, volunteers, and resources. Now, there’s been a mysterious death, a missing co-ed, a boyfriend who’s keeping secrets, and an old flame whose ardour for Amy seems to have been rekindled. What can a woman do except figure out all the answers and solve or resolve everything?

This was a good book with an interesting storyline. It was nice to get a bit more background on the primary characters.

#PastDueForMurder #NetGalley

This is the third in the series however I read it as a stand alone. I think it would have been better to have read the other two first as there were a lot of references to the other murder mysteries and I would have benefited in order to fully understand all the relationships and motivations behind the characters.

The pace of the book put me off as there is a lot of description around Amy (the main character) and her relationships rather than focusing on the murders and mysteries surrounding the plot - the pace for me was quite slow in paces but then we seemed to race through the ending but then once the murder is wrapped up there was still roughly 20% of the book left to go (at least according to my kindle!).

I don't think I will be reading more of the series, or re-reading the first two, however the book was an easy read and I would recommend it to people who enjoy a light=hearted mystery.

The book was a little slow starting out. I would have liked a little more about the two characters who ran away. But all in all an entertaining read. I will read more of this series.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my digital arc this is my unbiased review.
Past Due for Murder is a well written mystery. I enjoyed the plot, setting and the author’s writing. I highly recommend this book to mystery deans.

This is an interesting mystery with Amy's past love interest being more involved rather than just mentioned. If you've read the others in the series, he still is the same. Richard also has some mystery going on. We get to meet Amy's parents as well as Richards. This is a nice addition to the series and I look forward to more.

I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest reivew.

This is the third book in the series.

A young woman goes missing during the towns bonfire and amateur sleuth Amy's boyfriend is seen as a person of interest. The woman is eventually found in the mountains but there's a dead body nearby.

There's romance and a mystery to solve.

I found this to be a well written, good story with an OK plot. But it's too long, and when there's finally some action it's rather naive.

Amy Webber lives in a small town in Virginia with her Aunt Lydia and works as director for their library. She's got a romance going with her next-door neighbor Richard Muir who teaches dance at a nearby university. But there's a problem - both her parents and Richard's are coming to visit the same weekend and now it seems the 'twain shall meet' and neither Amy nor Richard is looking to make it happen for their own various reasons. There is also the fact that after a visit back home to his family not long ago, he's keeping secrets, and Amy wants to know why.

One night Amy is out with a group of people and sees a shadow in the nearby woods that looks a lot like her ex-boyfriend Charles, with whom she had a massive blowup that caused her to leave her previous job at the university. When she gets closer she realizes it certainly is him, and asks him why he's there. It turns out that he'd recently moved to the area to live with his girlfriend Marlis, who was killed not too long ago by a hit-and-run driver, and while Amy feels sorrow for his loss, she feels nothing else for him.

When asked her feelings regarding Charles by Professor Mona Raymond, she lets her know that all between her and Charles is in the past. But later Mona confronts her about something she believes Charles may have stolen, and Amy has no idea what she's talking about and hopes to stay out of it. At the same time, a student goes missing and it seems that Richard may have been one of the last people to see her; he naturally becomes a suspect in the disappearance.

There is also the fact that the elusive Kurt, one-time resident of Taylorsford who has now returned quite wealthy though perhaps achieving that wealth through not always proper means, has invited Amy to visit an elderly resident of the mountains who has tales of long ago along with a legend of the mountain fairies. Jumping at the chance Amy goes along, but even this visit leads to more questions about the history of the area, including the disappearance of two young women in 1879.

Then the missing student appears along with Mona's body, but who committed the murder? Fearing Richard might be poised to take the fall for the murder Amy decides to find out the identity of the real killer, not realizing that in doing so she could inadvertently lose her own life in the process...

While this book can be read as a stand alone, there are many references to the last book (which I have not read) and are not really explained. I do think that if you're going to reference things from previous books that you should at least make a full explanation of why someone said or thought that. It's like walking in on people in the middle of a conversation and then having them expect you to know what they're talking about. This is not the way to get new readers, unless the author believes she's fine with the ones she already has. However, it appears to all extents that one would be better served were one to read all three books in order to understand what is going on.

I liked the fact that once again as in the first book, there was a mystery-within-a-mystery, which is always fun to decipher, and I think Loie the kitten is adorable. I enjoyed reading about the mountain fairies, and whether they'll real or not I think depends on whether people believe in magic within themselves; but that again is an individual thing.

However, as nuanced as it might have been, I did feel that the author was adding bits of her own personal opinions on how things should be in certain areas, and I don't think that this is the business of an author unless you're reading non-fiction. I won't go into this as it wasn't directly thrown at the reader, but the clues are there for anyone who reads the book.

There was a nice suspenseful couple of chapters toward the end when Amy was getting closer to finding out the truth, and that was definitely worth reading; although I felt the book was slow in the beginning for various reasons and didn't pick up until over half the book was done. At that point we finally get to the gist of the matter and everything started to come together nicely. All in all, not a bad book and one that would be nice to read on a quiet evening.

Past Due for Murder by Victoria Gilbert is the third book in the Blue Ridge Library series. I confess it did take me a couple of chapters to get into the book; but once I was there, I couldn't put it down.

Ms. Gilbert not only presented a delicious twisted mystery but took the time to delve more deeply into Amy, Richard and Sunny's characters in this book. She also added some secondary characters (both Amy and Richard's parents) that really allowed me to understand Amy and Richard a little better. I always enjoy visiting Taylorsford and thanks to Ms. Gilbert's descriptive writing I can easily become immersed in the story. The plot twisted and turned with clues and red herrings that confused me (in a good way) that I had to keep turning the pages. The reveal was stunning for me. And the ending of the book was just the right touch of sweet romance. I'm ready for the next book in this series.

Another great book in the series. I'm still enjoying the characters. Sometimes by book 3 I get a little bored with the characters, but that isn't the case in this series. Happy the main character's romance is still enjoyable to "watch" and I don't have to deal with all the will they/won't they silliness that some books drag you through. This is a cozy mystery, not a romance book. So, I'm glad they keep the romance at a good level, but still believable. Looking forward to the next in the series.

Amy and Richard had a few stumbling blocks and shadows to get around, but first finding the killer was uppermost of all. Having some doubtful shadows cast over the love of her life at the moment and a few others was enough to get Amy involved. Teasing her curiosity and her amateur sleuthing techniques, she sets out to find the truth behind the murder mystery. An interesting and mildly intriguing read.

Another excellent addition into the Blue Ridge Library series! This one really takes the characters further into their development and strengthens the personalities of each. I was already pleased with the character development that the author had built, but this book really enhanced the characters even further. That enhancement made an exciting plot even more interesting and intriguing. If you are looking for a great cozy mystery to get started with then this series is the one for you! While you can definitely read this book as a stand alone book, you are doing yourself a disservice to not read the entire series! The plot is full of layers with multiple characters getting a bit of the spotlight. You have ex's that have popped up, extended family members causing disruption, folklore leading to treasure hunting and of course a murder or two to solve! That just scratches the surface so grab the book, cuddle up and start reading! You really will enjoy the book if you like a good mystery!