Fun cozy series featuring a library director. You can never go wrong when books are a part of the mystery. Amy once again gets her and her friends involved in a case, this time when a body is found on Sunny’s grandparents are under investigation because it’s found on their property.
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Bound for Murder

by Victoria Gilbert

I always look forward to cozy mysteries in the Blue Ridge Library Mystery Series. The female protagonist, Amy, is the library director in Taylorsford and Richard, the male protagonist, is a contemporary dancer, choreographer, and teacher at the university. He also is Amy’s next door neighbor. In this episode we find that they are engaged. Without trying, Amy finds herself involved in solving murders. Again!

There are a lot of interesting supporting characters. She lives with her Aunt Lydia who has many intriguing contacts. Amy’s best friend Sunny works in the library and has recently broken up with the Brad, the local Sheriff, making for a bit of discomfort for their friends. Amy also has a careful relationship with one of her aunt’s former friends. He deals in art and is not above some shady deals.

Sunny’s grandparents are former hippies who ran a commune on their farm in the sixties. When a skeleton is accidentally dug up during some work on the creek bed, it starts a series of investigations and new crimes. Amy has several almost encounters with someone who is intent on warning her off of interviewing former members of the commune. It seems that all of these young people were doing drugs of some sort from weed to LSD. Sunny is afraid for her “grands,” which draws Amy into the fray.

The relationship between Amy and Richard is sweet, and they are very respectful of each other. There is not as much about dance in this book as in some in the series, but there is a lot about research through library sources. Multiple threads are attached to the various former commune members, but there are others who could be the murderer also. I had a strong feeling that I knew who the murderer was about half way through the book, but I still enjoyed watching Amy’s pursuit of the truth. There are some tense scenes as Amy and several other characters are put in danger. On a more humorous note, there are two kittens who provide some fun antics. Richard’s very proper and authoritative mother always tries to take center stage in wedding planning and any social occasion, but Richard and others have effective ways of defusing her efforts. All in all, Bound for Murder is a good cozy mystery that I enjoyed.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: #4 in the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series, but I have read some of the earlier books in the series and some of the later ones without a problem, so I feel confident in saying it works as a standalone.

Publication: January 7, 2020—Crooked Lane Books

Memorable Lines:

There are two times in a woman’s life when complete strangers think it’s appropriate to offer unsolicited advice—when she’s obviously pregnant, and when they discover she’s planning a wedding.

People often assumed that anyone who worked in a library got to read on the job, but sadly, that wasn’t true. I always had a towering “to read” stack of books teetering on my nightstand and far too many unread titles filling my e-reader.

“Oh, most of them are polite enough. But they were all talking shop and I had nothing to contribute, so I just sat there silent as the grave, drinking like a mourner at a wake.”

An intricately plotted mystery by Victoria Gilbert. I'm always a fan for a bookstore cozy and this one delivered!

This is the fourth title in the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series. Both those who are already fans and new readers may well enjoy this title. It has some cozy elements that I find appealing; there are good characters, a nice setting and the word library in the series’ title.

Protagonist Amy treats her friend Sunny like family, even if this means that Amy will put off some of her own wedding planning. However, Sunny needs her as there is a skeleton, a real one, in her family’s history.

Readers can trust that all will turn out okay. The fun is in getting there.

Crooked Lane Books is one of my favorite publishers. They have taken on a mantle of publishing consistently enjoyable and reasonably cozy mysteries. These are the sorts of stories that I return to when I want to escape the jangles of the world.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for this title. All opinions are my own.

i always enjoy a cozy mystery set in libraries and book stores, i don't know what it is but it just tickles me pink when they discuss books in a book! i did not read the books in the series that come before this and there is a wedding being planned which always throws me off a bit when i haven't been able to enjoy how the relationship came about. Amy, our main character, is slightly annoying, i hate when they actively seek out danger or do the dumbest things without a second thought, yah it moves the plot and creates suspense but it makes me so made to think there are women out there who might act like that.

This was an amazing cozy mystery. I love the writing. The mystery was done so well. The heat between Amy and Richard and it was wonderful to see the relationship between Amy and her aunt. The history of the town and the family really pulls you in. Definitely continuing with this cozy series.

When an skeleton is unearthed at a local farm, it throws a wrench into the mayoral candidacy of Sunny Fields, best friend of library director Amy Webber. Why? Because the farm just happens to belong to Sunny's grandparents, who ran a commune there in the 1960s and the skeleton is identified as former member of the commune who disappeared years ago. While the current mayor encourages speculation that Sunny's grandparents had something to do with the disappearance and (it is discovered) murder, Amy and Sunny know better. When a reporter comes sniffing around the story, and two other former members of the commune die under suspicious circumstances, Amy decides to time to start researching and see if she can uncover a killer.

I found this to be a well-written cozy mystery, but for whatever reason, I just couldn't get into it. It checked all the right boxes: bookish setting (library), strong female protagonist (the library director), likeable supporting cast (aunt, friends, fiance), and of course, a solid mystery that kept me guessing with each new twist. I'm thinking that this may be for one of two reasons:
1) I came late into the series with this book (book 4 in the series) or
2) the story involved a cold case, which don't tend to be my favorite type of mystery.
Either way, I do plan on going back to the first book of the series to see if maybe that pulls in me more. We shall see...

This is another wonderful book featuring Amy Webber, the director of Taylorsford Public Library.

In this book Sunny, her best friend and co-worker, is running for mayor. All is going well until a human skeleton is found on Sunny's grandparents' organic farm. Back in the 1960s they shared their land with fellow hippies.
With Sunny's mayoral hopes fading, Amy is asked to interview many of the now-elderly commune members so the skeleton can be identified and the murderer identified.

I have been enjoying the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries and I was happy to finally get to this one. This story didn't have much action in the library, but the research skills that librarians have sure came in handy. Amy Webber's best friend and co-worker Sunny Fields is running for mayor. All is going well, until a skeleton is found on her grandparents' farm. Suspicion is that it is a missing man who disappeared years ago when the farm was a commune. With Sunny's grandparents under suspicion, Amy steps in to help with the investigation. She knows they wouldn't hurt anyone and she doesn't want to see them arrested, not Sunny losing the election.

Once again, I enjoyed this story. It is well developed with several suspects, some twists and a few red herrings to keep readers guessing. I loved seeing how Amy used her research skills to find suspects, people who might be witnesses and eventually the actual killer. As Amy gets closer, she becomes a target, or at least starts receiving threats, which meant she only stepped up her search. The showdown was exciting, and Sunny got to proved herself a worthy opponent. This story is about a community as well as a mystery, so after the killer is found and the mystery wraps up, the story ends with other events in town being wrapped up as well. I continue to enjoy this series and recommend it to cozy mystery lovers, especially if you like stories set in and around libraries.

Bound for Murder is part of the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries but, was easily read as a stand alone novel. Gilbert did a great job providing enough information where I did not feel I was missing out.

Library director Amy Webber's best friend and co-worker Sunny Fields is running for mayor. But when a skeleton is found in her grandparents' farm, it threatens to put a damper on her campaign. With Sunny's grandparents under suspicion, Amy uses her research skills to help them prove their innocence.

I enjoy a good cozy mystery and loved the added bookish charm of this story! As is normal for this genre, some of the details were a bit far fetched but isn't that just part of the fun? This was light, fun, occasionally hilarious and kept me guessing. I'll be back from more of Gilbert's books!

Bound for Murder by Victoria Gilbert is the fourth book in the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries. When a body is found on a best friend's grandparents' farm, Amy starts to help both the cops and her friends to help identify the victim. Before long Amy gets more entrenched and may have to solve the mystery on her own.
 
This was a cozy mystery and can easily be read as a standalone. Well written book with a variety of characters. I was not a super fan of this book. For me the pacing was a little slow, the romance was mediocre, and I just really struggled to immerse myself in the book. All the parts were there, but I just never had a hook to want to continue and consistently read this. When I picked it up it was not hard to read but I had no desire to pick it up.
 
Three stars for being a well written book but not having a hook to pull me in. I could see others enjoying this book. Thank you to NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books and Victoria Gilbert for a free copy. This was an honest review.

Library director Amy Webber gets to show off her stellar researching skills when human remains are found. They are on the site of an old commune, now a successful organic farm run by her best friend Sunny's grandparents. Naturally, the commune housed many over the years, the transient and secretive nature of those who stopped there in the sixties not an issue. Good sense of community and many secrets to uncover as the story moves along.

*Thank you to Victoria Gilbert, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for this ARC!

Great cozy mystery for a rainy day! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and Gilbert kept me guessing until the very end! Although I had my eyes peeled on a few suspicious characters, the who's and why's eluded me. I felt like I was right there with Amy Webber as she used her research skills and natural curiosity to help gather information about the skeleton on her best friend's family farm/commune. All around a really fun read!

I had received an ARC of this title back in 2019, but was never able to successfully download it, so I had it on my “will not give feedback” list. However I noticed it on sale in e-book the other day, so I grabbed it and reviewed it now, even though it’s pretty late in the process. Here’s my review based on my purchase…


I usually don’t start mystery series in the middle, but this title caught my eye on sale a while back, and I like to read cozy mysteries occasionally, so I gave it a try. And I enjoyed it!

First, I don’t think it mattered too much that I started in the middle of the series. Although you never actually know what you don’t know you don’t know (!), the author provided enough background for me to understand the characters and their relationships, and the small-town locale. And, like many avid readers, having spent many happy hours in various libraries, I felt quite at home with a familiar library setting,

The plot was also a nice stand-alone that didn’t require any previous series knowledge. After a skeleton turns up on the site of a former 1960s-era commune, now an organic farm, the protagonist, Amy, needs to dig into the past in a research-y sort of way. And this sort of finding-out-about-the-past mystery is one of the (many) types of mysteries that I enjoy. I found it quite fun to follow along with Amy as things developed. And the plot was twisty enough that I wasn’t able to figure out whodunnit until it became quite obvious near the end.

All-in-all, I enjoyed Bound for Murder. Please keep in mind that for me, four stars is a good rating. I try to avoid star-flation, and keep five stars for a very very few books, like maybe one in thirty or forty that I read. So four-stars is a solid “read” recommendation from me, and I’ll be keeping an eye out for other titles in this series.

This is another good entry in the series. Not as great as previous installments but I love this series and this author. Everything she writes is always worth the read. I adore these characters.

A great cosy ,mystery thats left me wanting to go back and start this series from the beginning (this is book 4) a good stand alone read too!

I had to DNF and was not able to finish before the archive date.
Thank you Netgalley for the free eArc in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this installment of The Blue Ridge Library series. The mystery was very good and who the culprit could be kept me guessing till the end. I am really looking forward to more adventures and mysteries to solve in this series,

I really wish NetGalley would let you know when book i part of a series. This is book 4 and although often, the books can be red as stand-alones, I find the books are usually better if you read them in series order and in this case, that would be true. I did start out really enjoying the book,but I feel if I started with the first book, I would have enjoyed following Richard and Amy's romance I feel the book should also be shorter; I think cozy mysteries should be under 300 pages. I figured out some,but not all of the mystery; overall enjoyable.

Bound for Murder is the fourth book in Blue Ridge Library Mystery series! We meet up again with Amy Webber who is planning her wedding while her friend Sunny is running for mayor. During all of this, skeletal remains are found on Sunny’s grandparents’ farm, which forces Amy to solve a decades-old murder.

I really love this series, and every book in the series so far has been AMAZING, and this one continues that streak. The mystery itself really shined in this one. Lots of twists and turns—some were predictable, but the ending was really good and surprising!

Again, I love Amy and Richard’s relationship. They’re so adorable and cute together.

Overall, well done! If you enjoyed the first three books in the series, you’ll definitely enjoy this one too!