Bound For Murder by Victoria Gilbert is the 4th book in the Blue Ridge Library Mystery Series. The series focuses on Amy Webber, the library director in Taylorsford, Virginia. Amy’s best friend is Sunny Fields, who works with her at the library. In this book, Sunny is running for mayor. Sunny’s grandparents own Vista View, an organic farm that had been a commune back in the 1960’s. Amy, who is known for her research abilities, is asked by Chief Deputy Brad Tucker to research people who had gone missing after a skeleton is found on Vista View during by a county excavation crew. What effect will this finding have on Sunny’s mayorial chances?

Amy has a strong suspicion that the bones belonged to Jeremy Adams, a former musician and drug addict, who had disappeared after leaving the commune. Once that is confirmed, Amy is asked by Sunny’s grandparents to contact former commune members and alert them about the investigation. In her research, she finds that a commune member has recently died under mysterious circumstances. Another commune member is murdered the day after speaking to Amy. Other members, including a famous poet who recently moved to Taylorsford, become very suspects due to their strange behavior during the investigation. All of them, along with Sunny’s grandparents, seem to be keeping a secret.

A wealthy neighbor who was a former drug dealer during the heyday of the commune, along with several other people, try to warn Amy to stay out of the investigation. She receives threatening letters and there is a break-in at the library. An investigative reporter shows up, but he is rather vague about his personal connection with someone who formerly lived at the commune. Amy tries to play matchmaker since she thinks the reporter would be a good match for Sunny, who has recently broken up with Brad Tucker.

Using her fiance’ Richard as her sounding board, Amy is able to stitch together pieces of what happened through her own research, observation skills, and conversations with the former commune members. Unfortunately, just as the final piece comes together at the county fair, she is abducted. Will Amy ever get to plan her wedding with Richard?

This is the first novel I have read by Victoria Gilbert. It is a stand-alone novel, but I found myself wishing I had read the first three in the series to have a better understanding of the relationships between Amy, her family, and friends.

RATING: 5 Stars. Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Very well written mystery. Keeps you interested as the mystery unravels. I really like the characters and how they interact with each other. Will be on the look out for the next in this series.

Description
Blue Ridge library director Amy Webber learns it wasn't all peace and love among the "flower children" when a corpse is unearthed on the grounds of a 1960s commune. Taylorsford Public Library director Amy Webber's friend "Sunny" Fields is running for mayor. But nothing puts a damper on a campaign like an actual skeleton in a candidate's closet. Sunny's grandparents ran a commune back in the 1960s on their organic farm. But these former hippies face criminal charges when human remains are found in their fields--and a forensic examination reveals that the death was neither natural nor accidental. With Sunny's mayoral hopes fading, Amy sets her wedding plans aside, says "not yet" to the dress, and uses her research skills to clear her best friend's family. Any of the now-elderly commune members could have been the culprit. As former hippies perish one by one, Amy and her friends Richard, Aunt Lydia, and Hugh Chen pursue every lead. But if Amy can't find whoever killed these "flower children," someone may soon be placing flowers on her grave.

MY REVIEW:
Gilbert has done it again! This funny novel centered in a library with a mix of murder is just the cozy mystery I thoroughly enjoy reading. The characters were well written and the story-line easy to follow.

If you have read any of the Blue Ridge Mysteries then this will not disappoint. It definitely keeps you guessing until the very end.

This book was provided in exchange for my honest opinion and one I definitely highly recommend.

This was a fun mystery novel which is pretty fast paced and I could breeze through it in just a few hours. I liked the main character Amy and the meticulous research she did in trying to solve the murder mystery but unfortunately it was the actual mystery that I found a bit unrealistic. The connections drawn between a commune, hippies, drugs and music and lyrics after many decades seemed a bit far fetched and I can’t say I really liked many of the side characters either. But Amy and Richard were a sweet couple and I definitely enjoyed their scenes together, especially their exploits with the cats.

It wasn’t a bad book at all and I think it’s just maybe not my type. I have a feeling that fans of the cozy mystery novel will appreciate it more.

Bound for Murder is the fourth installment in the Blue Ridge Library mysteries.

There's a body found buried on the farm of Sunny's grandparents. It instantly brings in the journalists and some political whispers from Sunny's opposition. If readers feeling burnt out on politics, they are very definitely in the background here, it's not focused on the mayoral race.

Amy begins her own investigation and finds out that Walt's cousin, among others, has disappeared since living on the commune. She uses the archives to find out more about the past, who lived there and why. Was it drug related? Or a love affair gone wrong? Sunny's grandparents ask Amy to talk to some of the former residents and warn them because it's been decades and they may not welcome questions. Her reputation for being involved in crimes is pretty well known in her small town. This is the second cozy I've read recently where locals seem to trust the heroine will handle it as opposed to the actual police.

The other thing everyone is asking her about? Her wedding! There's no date set when the book opens. Richard is busy working all the time, to the point he has a cot in his office. This seems like a typical cozy where once the heroine is engaged, the hero is wallpaper and you don't really see him.

Bound for Murder seems a bit darker than previous installments; there's lots of threats and multiple people tell her to butt out of the investigation. The fact that Amy keeps not listening puts her very close to TSTL territory in my book. It's an interesting mystery as well because enough time has passed that for some of those involved, they don't remember due to time, and, uh, some don't remember because of their regular drug use, so it's hard to know how reliable they are as narrators. It definitely keeps Amy on her toes throughout the book. Are they trying to hide something or can they legitimately not recall? Ultimately, it was an enjoyable mystery, and there are some threads that I'm curious to see how they work out in future books.

I have greatly enjoyed each of the books in the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series, and this is another wonderful cozy mystery! Amy is one of my favorite amateur sleuths, full of heart and smarts. The pacing of this was perfect, and it keeps you guessing.

I love this series which features a gem of a sleuth. A book lovers delight. The writing is fun and the plots keeps you interested.

Gilbert's latest installment of her series is a fast paced read. A Skeleton is discovered that has the town agog with questions, especially since it was found on one of the mayoral candidates' family property. Amy is up for the challenge to discover the real identity of the bones and clear her best friend's name. She and Richard finalize their wedding plans. I like the setting and the characters in this series. The dialogue is good and the mystery is not easy to discern.

An interesting investigation into a missing person case livens and endangers the lives of library director, Amy Webber and her best friend and assistant, Sunny Fields. Author Victoria Gilbert lines the shelves with clues and distractions relating to a local commune in the 1960’s and the flow of drugs and resulting addictions that disrupted the lives of several families.

I found the key suspects an eclectic bunch and hard to tell if they’d cleaned up their lives since the 60’s, or not. My guesses as to the murderer’s identity didn’t pan out; therefore, I was surprised by the killer reveal. This is book 4 in this series and the first I’ve read, and I was easily drawn to Amy and her fiancé, Richard and their families, plus Sunny and her grandparents. I look forward to catching up on the Blue Ridge Library series beginning with book 1.

I reviewed a digital arc provided by NetGalley and Crooked Lane. Thank you. My review is honest and unbiased.

This is the 4rth book in the Blue Ridge series. The main character is Librarian Amy. Trouble seems to follow her and always leads to a well thought out mystery for her to solve!

Bound for Murder is a well-written cozy mystery. I enjoyed the concept of a librarian protagonist and a body located at a former commune but I couldn’t connect to Amy, the amateur sleuth, so I ultimately stopped reading at page 74.

<spoiler> Amy was hiding investigation information from her best friend and the friends family (because the police asked her to), while also hiding investigation information from the police (because the friends family asked her to get involved) and agreeing to help a suspect (one she’d never met before) lie to police. I did not personally understand Amy’s motivation so although I enjoy the concept and plot here this book is not for me. </spoiler>

Whether or not you connect to a character is extremely personal so I imagine many will feel differently. Also, this is the first book I’ve read by this author so it’s likely that had I read the earlier books in the series I would have better understood and more easily connected to Amy. I am now interested in trying the first book in the series.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions in this review are honest and my own. #BoundForMurder #cozymystery

This is another great installment in the Blue Ridge library series. Amy is planning her wedding, and her best friend Sunny is running for mayor. Everything should be great, but of course, trouble from the past throws everything off track. This is a great series, very well written. Can’t wait to read more from this author.

This is book 4 in the Blue Ridge Library series and it can be read as a stand alone but you'll know the characters better by reading the previous books. Amy Webber runs the Blue Ridge Library and her assistant, Sunny and only other employee is running for mayor. The campaign is keeping them both busy. Not to mention Amy is trying to plan her wedding. When a skeleton is found on Sunny's grandparents farm they become suspects from a murder in the 60's. Now the wedding is on hold, the campaign is facing sabotage and the town is going crazy. An enjoyable read with lovable characters. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

3.5 / 5 stars

Looking for an enjoyable classic cozy mystery, then this book would suit you well. It stars Amy Webber, library director for the town of Taylorsford. She's definitely not your typical meek, four-eyed, mature librarian. She's bright, young, loves to do research and is curious to a fault. Perhaps a bit too curious. Her attempts to aid the local constabulary on yet another murder investigation draw the attention of a murderer who adamantly wants her to stop her sleuthing before someone gets hurt. That just makes Amy mad and rather more curious. But can she solve the mystery and escape unscathed? Only time will tell.

Although this is the fourth book in "A Blue Ridge Mountain Library Mystery" series, at no point does one feel at a loss for not having read the other three books. The story hangs well on it own and provides one with an enjoyable read. My one regret is that although the local constabulary make a number of appearances within this story, all of the sleuthing appears to be done by the protagonist, Amy Webber. I personally prefer stories that engage respectful dialogue/banter between the sleuth(s) and the detectives over the course of the book. Regardless, the book is well written and the characters are well fleshed out. There's a number of twists, turns and a barrel of red herrings. A bit of light humor is laced throughout. But the charm of the story is the plucky librarian and her cadre of clever friends. Though this was my first foray into Taylorsford, it assuredly, will not be my last.

I am grateful to author Victoria Gilbert and her publisher, Crooked Lane Books for having provided a free e-book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Librarian and amateur detective extraordinaire Amy Webber is back for another mystery!

When a human skeleton is found on the property of Amy's best friend's grandparents former commune, current farm, the question arises: whose body is it? And how did it get there? And does it have something to do with the Fields? And, more importantly, who killed this commune-dwelling hippie and why? These are the questions the whole town has, and Amy is ready to put her expert research skills to the test to solve this not-so-groovy mystery. But when she starts getting cryptic warnings--and some very scary close calls--Amy has to wonder: who is so determined to stop her from solving a decades' old murder?

Another fantastic addition to the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series, Gilbert continues to prove her brilliance in plot, characters, clues, cliffhangers, and plot twists. Readers of the previous titles will enjoy returning to Taylorsford and the familiar cast of family and friends that surround Amy, though new readers will also be instantly hooked by the fast pace, the cozy elements, and Gilbert's fantastic writing. Either way, readers will be clamoring for more!

I have been reading this series from the beginning and I love it. Amy is the library director in small town Taylorsburg. She gets involved with solving murders, partly because she's adept at researching and mainly because she can't help herself. The author is great with throwing red herrings in. Every time I think I've figured out whom the murderer is, she makes the case for someone else. I adore Richard, Amy's fiance. He is such a good guy. And the cats are great addition! I thought the scene with Richard's overbearing mother and the cats was funny. The author has done a great job with creating a cast of characters whom I really feel like I know. I highly recommend if you love library mysteries or are just looking for a new series. Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

Since I volunteer for a library, I enjoy reading books with a library setting. This is a good murder tale with just a touch of romance thrown in for good measure. The author drops subtle hints all along the way, but she keeps you guessing until the end. I like it when an author doesn't just tell you who did it than abruptly ends the book. This author lets you know who did it and why and then finishes the story. The descriptions in the book make you feel like you are in the story. It's a comfortable read that you will enjoy coming back to when you pick up the book again.

I have read the three books before this fourth and have enjoyed them but now I'm done. This fourth installment in the series are written totally ok, like the three first, and the mysteries are well thought out. The reason I'm done though is what's happening with the protagonist, Amy, and her now fiancée Richard. They're both around 35 years old and getting married but Amy is still living with her aunt next door to Richard until they get married. WTF?? This is so unbelievable that I get irritated. When Richard is visiting Amy has to get her aunts approval so Richard can be in her bedroom. That's were I draw my line.

Also, neither Amy or her co-worker Sunny, never worked a whole day at the library because they were always covering for each other doing a lot of other things than working. Believable? I think not!

I don't need cozy mysteries to always feel real but at some point my patience did run out. I'm feel a bit bad writing a bad review because I know authors work hard but I can't always write positive ones.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my free copy in exchange for a honest review.

This is not the first in the series however could easily be read as a stand alone as the author alludes to other murders and plots that have happened previously. I have only read one other book- the one before- and did not feel it was an issue that I hadn't read the others.

This was a quick, easy read murder mystery. I felt it was a little obvious however I enjoyed the characters and the cosy town feel.

Thank you to netgalley for giving me an arc.

An interesting time with hippies, drugs, communes, only all was not what it seemed. Go forward several decades and a body is unearthed at the commune and memories are awakened that have been long forgotten or hidden.
I did enjoy the plot and the surprise ending with reservations concerning the written style using filler to describe every detail in rooms or characters dress even to the colour of a tie. This became a constant interruption and marred what was a well thought out plot.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a free advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.