This book just didn’t grab me. It felt like a tried and true cozy that has been done to death (no pun intended). I couldn’t connect with the characters.

Charlotte Reed inherited Chapters, a B&B in North Carolina from her late great-aunt Isabelle. It’s a readers paradise hosting events that celebrate books, authors & literary genres. During a special event a rare book dealer turns up dead. There’s plenty of suspects including Charlotte herself as the victim had alluded that he thought Isabelle was a thief & that all her achievements (including the B&B) were funded by that. It’s up to Charlotte, her older & wise neighbour, a visiting author & a local book club to prove her innocence & clear her aunts name.

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This is the first book in a new cozy series, A Book Lovers B&B Mystery & the first one I’ve read by Victoria Gilbert. And I have to say I really enjoyed it! Charlotte is a smart, capable heroine. There’s a good amount of quirky local characters to aid Charlotte & I imagine we’ll be getting to know them more as the series progresses. Gilbert is a really great writer & the book clips along at a fun pace with lots of motives & secrets learned along the way. I will definitely be looking out for the next book! And based on this experience I’m inclined to seek out her previous books as well.

I enjoyed the setting of this book. I love that it is set in North Carolina and at a bed and breakfast. I also enjoyed the fact that the main character Charlotte loves books and ties books into her business. This book left me guessing as to who the killer was and had some fun twists.

Chapters Bed-and-Breakfast is a reader's paradise. It's owned by Charlotte Reed, who inherited the B&B from her great-aunt Isabella. The B&B has an extensive library and Charlotte plans special events with books at the center of the theme. It's the perfect literary retreat—until a rare book dealer turns up dead in the carriage house during a celebration of Golden Age mystery author Josephine Tey.

Charlotte takes on the task of identifying which of her guests is a killer. It seems they all have motive.

I liked the characters and the setting. It was a fun read with a few surprises.

Really cute cozy mystery that any book lover will happily delve into. The surroundings are charming and the mystery is intriguing.

This was a great who done it type of mystery. Charlotte was busy trying to figure out who the killer was with the help of her neighbor Ellen. She was also looking for answers on who her aunt Isabella was. Mystery surrounded her aunt. Plus trying to run her bed and breakfast. I really like this book.. it had a lot of twists and turns

Lovely Beaufort, North Carolina makes a quaint setting for a new bed and breakfast cozy. The story contains many surprise twists which I didn’t expect and really added to my enjoyment of the plot. Cozy readers, like myself, will embrace the Booklovers B&B Mystery series.

I honestly reviewed a digital arc for NetGalley and Crooked Lane. Thank you.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy of this cozy mystery.

Charlotte Reed is a 41 year old widow who runs a B&B in North Carolina. She inherited the house from her great aunt, and carries on the business which is called Chapters. Her aunt had an extensive collection of books, many of them valuable, and since Charlotte also loves books, she centres her business on book clubs and book themed parties. This week her theme is the books of Josephine Tey, and the staff are preparing for a banquet in the style of Richard III from the Daughter of Time. There are six guests in the B&B, two couples and one teenager staying with her parents and a single man. Several citizens from the town are also coming to dinner. After the costume themed banquet, guests are enjoying drinks in the garden and on the large patio, when one of the male guests is found stabbed to death in the little guesthouse in the back of the yard.

Charlotte begins to investigate, and it appears that every guest had a reason to dislike the dead man, from his wife and daughter to the neighbours and even her cook. Charlotte spent a lot of time thinking about the case and talking to people. Finally she and her elderly neighbour come up with a plan to expose the guilty party.

I found it sad that Charlotte didn't enjoy her role as hostess as much as she should. Several times she admires her neighbours small cottages and wishes her house wasn't as big. And it appears that she's going to take on another role after the book ends, one that I think is rather unlikely. Anyway, I was glad for the chance to read this first in a new series, but probably won't continue.

If you enjoy a gentle, steady, murder mystery novel, this one may just be for you!

Its paced rather than rushed. You certainly got to see the world through the eyes of the main character, the owner of the B&B, Charlotte.

For me, there were perhaps too many suspects and the motivations put forward for the murders seemed a little thin. I can't claim I related well to the lead, considering she has chosen hospitality as a vocation, she comes across as being at odds with her situation rather than enjoying it.

I enjoyed her neighbour who was her sounding board for many of her notions and has a great deal to offer in terms of intrigue. The great- aunt also appeals and was one of the elements I really enjoyed.

Perhaps the fact that I wasn't surprised when there were "reveals " along the way detracted a little from my enjoyment. Even the final scene felt a little implausible for me.

My thanks to #Netgalley, the author and Crooked Lane Books for my advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book is a fast paced ride to thrillsville. It has many twists and turns to keep you guessing whodunit. The characters are alittle quirky and the story is a really fun read. Its very entertaining. I hope to read more by this author.

Booked for Death is a charming book for a brand new series! Cozy mystery books are my go to whenever I need something light and finding a new author like Victoria Gilbert who delivers not only a quick witted but intriguing read, is like winning the lottery! I loved this one. I can't wait for the next book!

📖 📖📖📖📖 @victoriagilbertauthor new book ‘Booked for Death’ was such an interesting read! I love a good cozy mystery and not only does Charlotte have a murder to solve but her great aunt Isabella is also some what of a mystery! The characters were delightful and I enjoyed the authors used of what I like to call dictionary words (words I don’t know and have to look up in the dictionary). I love learning a new word! I can’t wait to read more!


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

This is a new author for me so I was interested in the author's voice. I thought the main character, Charlotte, was hard to get really interested in. The whole B&B plot seems rather old, but I did enjoy some insights into the city's history. I'm hoping the series picks up the pace and we get a chance to like Charlotte more. I would read the second in the series to see if it improves.

The first book in the new Booklovers B&B series, Booked for Death by Victoria Gilbert. Set in Beaufort, North Carolina at a Bed and Breakfast called Chapters, specializing in literary themed stays. It's run by Charlotte Reed who took over the running of the inn from her great aunt Isabella after her husband passed away.

The book's mystery involves the death of a guest during her latest Tay retreat. All the guests and employees are suspects, in a very Agatha Christie like way. Charlotte tries to uncover the truth, while she also comes across a second mystery surrounding her great aunt. She discovers her journals and is trying to figure how she came afford the property and the extensive rare book collection in houses.

I found that the mystery surrounding Isabella was actually more interesting then the murder plot and I hope that it's explored even further later in the series. The murder plot was not exactly predictable, but it wasn't dynamic and engrossing enough. I found it difficult to connect to Charlotte and get invested in her story. It may have been a case of setting the first book in the series up, so the rest of the series can flow more easily. A bright point was the character of Ellen and I am looking forward to see how her relationship with Charlotte develops in future books!

A promising new series.

Booked for Death by Victoria Gilbert is a new cozy mystery series by Ms. Gilbert set in Beaufort, North Carolina at Chapters, a book themed Bed & Breakfast. I've enjoyed every one of Ms. Gilbert's Blue Ridge Library series and was eager to read this book.

The lead character, Charlotte, has inherited Chapters from her great aunt Isabella and has been learning the bed and breakfast business for a year. I confess that I had a hard time connecting with Charlotte at the beginning of the book; but as I continued to read I began to like her more. My favorite character in this one is Charlotte's neighbor, Ellen. For me Ellen stood out on the page from her first appearance.

The plot is smoothly paced, the characters are beginning to develop, there were only a few suspects regarding the murder and the secondary mystery regarding Charlotte's great aunt Isabella was intriguing.

The owner of the Chapter B&B, Charlotte plans a week long, author themed event. One of the guests is murdered after he threatens to expose the supposed sorted past of Charlotte’s Aunt. Each of the other guests has a motive to get this guest out of their lives. Charlotte and her friend Ellen track the whereabouts and alibis for everyone attending that nights event. Spies and intrigue are very entertaining. Great plot and kept me reading.

Booked for Death is the debut of the Booklovers B&B Mystery series set in the small waterfront village of Beaufort, North Carolina and featuring Charlotte Reed, widowed, retired from teaching and now running the Bed and Breakfast that she inherited from her great aunt Isabella. The B&B known as Chapters, specializes in literary retreats and this particular theme week revolves around Josephine Tey, a British mystery author.

The guests for the week include wealthy businessman Todd Rowley and his younger wife Kelly and book dealer Lincoln Delamont along with his wife Jennifer and daughter Tara. Charlotte also invites members of her local book club to the weekly gathering of events including elderly sisters Bernadette and Ophelia Sandberg and cafe owner Pete Nelson and his wife Sandra. Of all the guests Lincoln seems to be the least liked; belittling his wife and daughter, snooping around in Charlotte's library, hinting he knows a secret about great aunt Isabella and antagonizing Chapters employees, Alicia Simpson and Damian Carr. When Lincoln turns up dead in the adjacent carriage house being rented by author Scott Kepler, there's no shortage of suspects including Charlotte's best friend and bookstore owner Julie Rivera who was having an affair with the married man.

As the police name everyone in her potential circle as a suspect in the murder, Charlotte decides that in order to save her business and her friends she needs to track down the real killer. Teaming up with neighbor, Ellen Montgomery she begins an investigation that leads to shocking revelations regarding her great aunt.

The book got off to a slow start and it was difficult to connect with the main character, Charlotte. She just seemed "off" and for someone who is running a bed and breakfast appeared cold in her interactions with the other characters. The mystery was well plotted and several clues along the way made it easy for me to identify the killer before the final reveal. I feel that maybe now the background has been set and Charlotte seems to be settling in among her peers she'll begin to grow on me. Certainly plenty of possibilities for Charlotte and Ellen in future additions to the series.

I received an advanced copy of Booked for Death from NetGalley via Crooked Lane Books. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

This was the first in a new series featuring a B&B in North Carolina I found it entertaining and finished it quickly. I enjoyed the premise. It was an old-fashioned type of mystery as the nasty person got killed and there were lots of people with a motive. The conclusion was good twist that was a bit more imaginative. The characters were interesting, although most of them were probably temporary as they were guests at the B&B. It will be interesting to see how the next book will progress and add more people or sights from the town.

This mystery was slow moving. It was too easy early in the book to figure out who would be killed and who the main suspect would. It became easy to figure the guilty party was. I can not recommend this.

A promising new cozy mystery series, this book posits an age-old mystery: the most unlikeable person at a party is killed and everyone has a motive. There are, indeed, no shortages of suspicious characters but this mystery handles them with a deft hand. The book is cleverly concluded in a way that opens the door for future mysteries.


I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for this review.