Fun cozy about a semi-retired librarian helping her eccentric boss clear himself of a potential murder charge while simultaneously wondering if he is guilty after all. I liked the librarian parts and thought the characters were reasonably well drawn. The plot was fine for a cozy but the writing -- particularly the dialog -- was a bit stilted making it more difficult to get drawn into the book.

I was given an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. Whoa! A true mystery! So rare. A mystery is described as a jigsaw puzzle. It just takes finding all the pieces and placing them in order and the last few pieces seem to just fall into place. That is exactly what happens in this exceptional book. Except I had the piece and didn’t know what to do with it. So no I did not figure it out until it was explained. Makes total sense . I slowly devoured this book. Because I expected I could find the cryptic clue. This was a fun mystery that was a challenge for me to figure. I absolutely loved this book with the fact it wasn’t easily solved.with the menagerie of eclectic characters. Main characters are brought together in a quite logical circumstance.Cameron Clewe was a very wealthy man who had a very rare book collection and associated artifacts. Which he needscatalogued and shelved appropriately.. His parents had both passed he lost his mother to brain cancer when he was young. Left to his father to raise him. He worked and traveled all the time so Cam was raised by nannies. He hires Jane Hunter, a librarian who was forced to leave her position at the university library after 36 years of experiences. She answers an ad in the newspaper., and after a series of e-mails, he hires her sight unseen. Yes I would recommend this book to any mystery enthusiast. You won’t find yourself disappointed. It has everything you expect in a great mystery. Special thanks to #NetGalley, #CrookedLaneBooks, #VictoriaGilbert, #ACrypticClue for the opportunity to review this book early. This book is first in a series. I am anxiously awaiting the next book. This is my first Victoria Gilbert book but it won’t be my last!

Mysteries are so much fun for me to read. I’m always so captivated by with the way the story unfolds piece by piece with a mystery. This was great fun - I had the best time unravelling the secrets.

Wow! This book was a great intro to "Hunter and Clewe." The story grabbed me quickly and did not let go easily. I managed to put it down a bit after my bedtime. The next morning, after breakfast, I picked it back up and read it voraciously to the end. While almost every character was a suspect, I did not guess the murderer until the revelation at the end. While I was close on the motive, I will say that some clues were withheld from the reader as we could not do the research on the suspects that the protagonists were able to do.
I look forward to more books by Victoria Gilbert. I would love to see the further character development of Mr. Clewe. And yes, I would love to see how the cold cases, mentioned in the final chapter, are solved.

Serendipity…
The first in the Hunter and Clewe series of mysteries finds Jane Hunter, newly retired librarian, seeking a new challenge. As it so happens Cam Clewe, eccentric collector of books, is seeking an archivist for his rare book collection. What could be more serendipitous. Murder is in the making however and Jane is soon to be caught up in a case of murder most foul - and what could be more enthralling than a body in the library? Packed with literary references and with a wonderfully crafted cast of characters, red herrings aplenty and a solid mystery at heart this is a more than promising start to a new series. Wholly enjoyable.

From the cover design and description, this looked and sounded like a book that I would enjoy, so I was pleased to be approved to read and review it.

I did like this book a lot. I found Jane endearing, and she had a kind of eccentricity and wisdom that appealed to me. I thought that she and Cameron sounded like an interesting dynamic and was interested to see how the characters worked together, and what kind of partnership they would have.

I found this book very entertaining and quirky, but also tasteful. It was a modern cosy mystery, but it did remind me a little of an Agatha Christie book, and of course, I'm a huge Agatha Christie fan. I also appreciated the references to detective stories.

I believe this is the first book featuring Hunter and Clewe, so if there are going to be more books featuring these characters, I would definitely be interested in reading them. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for my opportunity to read and review this book.

An interesting mystery set in a library! My kind of book! I thought this was a good story, and a mystery I didn’t solve ahead of time!

A Cryptic Clue by Victoria Gilbert is a warm, cozy mystery. A forced into retirement librarian goes to work for an eccentric young man, and the mystery begins. I love book that kind of revolve around books, so this was a fun read for me. Well written and a breeze to read and enjoy. Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

A wonderful start to an intriguing new series by well known mystery writer, Victoria Gilbert. 60 year old Jane goes to work for the wealthy book and mystery lover, 30 year old Cam, cataloging his mystery collection at his huge mansion. The house is filled with guests who have come to do research as well as a diverse staff, and an angry ex girlfriend, whom of course is murdered.
This first book sets the stage as it tackles ageism and mental health and is nuanced enough to be more than a cosy mystery. I’m looking forward to the next few books.

Quirky characters in a quick read, a cozy mystery. This author is talented at weaving an intriguing mystery. Red herrings…secrets…friends and family..books…mysteries…more books…The main character is a woman about sixty years old. She works for a young man, cataloguing his library. The story becomes intriguing and a mystery unfolds. This book was sent to me electronically by Netgalley for review. Thank you and thanks to the publisher.