I have read a couple of books from the author's other series (A Blue Ridge Library and The Booklovers B&B Mystery series) and the first thing I noticed while reading/listening to A Cryptic Clue was a difference in tone between this book and the others. I guess it has something to do with the age gap between the protagonists Jane Hunter and Cameron Clewe but I distinctly felt it. 

I received both an ARC and ALC of the title and I mostly listened to the audiobook. The narration by Carrington MacDuffie was good and helped me keep apace with the book. There is a backstory to Cameron and since he offers Jane to become his crime solving partner to solve any future cold cases, we can expect more revelations as the series continue.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publishers Crooked Lane Books and Dreamscape Media and the author Victoria Gilbert for both the ARC and ALC of the book. I had finished reading the book before the publication date but got delayed in sharing my thoughts.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐💫

I always give more grace to a first in a series as it is challenging to set everything up interestingly and create the characters you would want to follow in successive books. But for me, the bad outweighed the good in terms of the writing. It was rigid, overly done, and lacking finesse entirely. The dialog was wooden, and I just didn't care about any of the characters.

This mysterious and handsome young collector hires a retired librarian as an archivist. I thought I would like the librarian character, Jane, but her inner monologue was so stiff and she was so boring as a character that I almost dnf'ed the book. Their connection felt forced, I didn't understand why she was hired in the first place, and I didn't care about the solution to the mystery.

This won't be a series I continue with, unfortunately.

I do want to thank the publisher for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Cryptic Clue is the first book in a new cozy mystery series starring Jane Hunter, a retired librarian and her new employer, Cameron Clewe who is a 33-year-old estate owner with a large collection of books for Jane to catalogue.
When Cameron’s ex-girlfriend is murdered, Jane & Cameron join forces to solve the murder. There are a number of suspects who were present at the time and who have various motives. Jane and Cameron work together to solve the mystery – there are a number of additional plot threads that intertwine through the book, some of which are resolved and others which remain unresolved – they may be meant to resolve later in the series, though I think I’d prefer it to be standalone/fully resolved in this instalment. I felt that the ending was a little anti-climactic.
The mystery itself is a bit contrived and not entirely realistic, but it has a good pace. Typically for the genre, this book is easy to read and has a few quirky characters that have distinct personalities. I liked Jane. She is clever & perceptive, but the story is sort of told from her perspective and some of the “inner thoughts” are a bit clunky. Cam is awkward and there is definitely a focus on his “tapping” – perhaps an indication that he has autistic traits?
I liked that the protagonist was an older woman, who brought her life experience to the case, and I also appreciated that Cam was younger and therefore there will not be a romantic element to the series! The two characters played off each other fairly well & as they get to know/trust each other more as the series progresses, I think they will become good friends and work well together.
I dual read this book, part ebook & part audiobook. The narrator Carrington MacDuffie brought the large cast of characters distinct and distinguishable from one another. I liked how she portrayed Jane, but her interpretation of Cam was not quite how I imagined him. It felt very much like a “Murder she Wrote” episode!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the Earc of A Cryptic Clue!

As a fan of Murder, She Wrote and Jessica Fletcher, I knew once I saw the synopsis for this I was going to need to read it - and I'm so glad I did!

It's a great mystery and getting to know the characters is so fun.

A Cryptic Clue is the first book in an amateur sleuth cozy series by Victoria Gilbert. Released 11th July 2023 by Crooked Lane Books, it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out from the same publisher in late 1st quarter 2024. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.

This is a light character driven cozy with several entwined plot threads, some of which remain unresolved at the end of this installment and which tease the next book(s) in the series. The main protagonists are a 60something semi-retired reference librarian and her 30something millionaire employer who has engaged her services to help catalogue his extensive library and ephemera collections. A murder after a charity gala at his mansion draws them into examining the clues as well as several other mysteries from the past.

The mysteries are fairly well constructed and engaging, albeit -very- contrived (and not very realistic). The book's written in 1st person PoV, and does drag a bit from "telling" instead of "showing", but overall, the characters are well rendered and distinct. The dialogue is often a bit clunky and unpolished. The author's representation of Cam Clewe (the millionaire) will likely be problematic for some readers. He's never been diagnosed or been in therapy, but he's socially inept, overly direct, awkward, and has symptoms of OCD (tapping, counting, etc) and agoraphobia, and the author uses these behaviors to move the plot along and as a humorous counterpoint for commentary from the secondary characters. NONE of the characters have *any* concept of confidentiality or personal responsibility.

The unabridged audiobook version has a run time of 8 hours, 31 minutes and is well narrated by Carrington MacDuffie. She has a husky contralto voice, and does a good job of keeping the very large cast of characters distinct and distinguishable from one another.

Three stars. Readable, but flawed. The high point was the audio narration.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Boring read. The characters were bland. The writing was confusing and sometimes disjointed. Too long of a read for a mystery considering how bland the characters and poor the writing was. This was not just for me.

#VICTORIAGILBERT. #ACRYPTICCLUE. #NETGALLEY

Thank you to the author, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My apologies for the delay in posting this review!

This is the first in a new series of "cozy mysteries" - I was attracted to the title due to one of the two main characters being a librarian, and felt that character - an older woman who was forced to retire earlier than planned, and found a new position cataloging a wealthy young man's book collection - was well-drawn. However, the second main character, i.e. the wealthy young man, remained an enigma for much of the book, and the mystery, while being a classic case of "death in the library" with lots of suspects, moved very slowly and for my taste with almost a total lack of tension. I am sure this will appeal to cozy mystery fans, although I prefer my mysteries with a bit more oomph.

This is a fantastic start to a brand-new series. I really enjoyed the premise of a retired librarian and a wealthy young man teaming up as protagonists. I thought the mystery was highly entertaining and I can't wait to see how the series plays out.

Victoria Gilbert debuts the Hunter and Clewe mysteries with a Cryptic Clue. Jane Hunter who at 60 is forced into early retirement from her university librarian job is hired by wealthy and reclusive millionaire Cameron Clewe to organize his book collection. At a fund raiser on his property a wealthy young woman and former girl friend is murdered. He and Jane seek to solve the murder to clear his name. Lots of suspects and interesting hidden histories for the protaginists. The murdered woman had a seriously flawed background which gave many reasons for her murder. Read and enjoy.

A 3.5 star rating for me rounded up to 4 stars for Goodreads. I liked this start to a new series. The mystery was good and held my attention and I liked the collection of characters. Interested to see more in this series.

I love a new cozy mystery series that hooks you with the first book and A Cryptic Clue is that! Jane Hunter is a newly retired librarian hired by Cam Clewe to oversee his private library. When Cam's girlfriend is murdered, Jane and Cam need to find the murderer so he's not charged with the murder.
I am looking forward to the next book in the series of Hunter and Clewe. I enjoyed that Jane is a librarian, always a favorite in cozies. Clewe has personality quirks of a social introvert, but Jane helps him through it. The two make a great combination.
I received a complimentary copy of A Cryptic Clue thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books, but all opinions are my own.

Retired librarian Jane Hunter, who is looking for work to stay active, lands a job archiving the book collection of Cam Clewe, a wealthy young man who has some personality issues!
The mystery was well done and I was surprised at the eventual exposure of the culprit.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.
#crypticclue, #VictoriaGilbert, #mysterynovel, #netgalley

What’s cute cozy mystery. Definitely kept me entertained and guessing. I like that the story involved cataloging books, information that I didn't know anything about.

An interesting new cozy series featuring a retired librarian. I liked the atmosphere and Jane Hunter.
This is the first book and I'm sure the next will be even better. I enjoyed this one and couldn't guess the culprit
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A Cryptic Clue by Victoria Gilbert is the first book in the new cozy mystery, Hunter and Clewe. Retired librarian, Jane Hunter, is forced into retirement and looking for a fresh start. At sixty years old, her options are limited, but when she sees an employment opportunity for a archivist to inventory rare books, she jumps on it. Cameron “Cam” Clewe is an eccentric thirty three year old who is looking for this archivist. As Jane begins this new venture, she discovers a dead body in Cam’s library the night after an event at his mansion. Cam, who suffers from severe anxiety and limited social skills, enlists Jane’s help in trying to solve the mystery of the death of his ex. He is the number one suspect, so he needs Jane to help him find the real killer.

I enjoyed the cozy mystery feeling behind this unraveling story. I honestly had no idea who the killer was until it came to light at the end. So I enjoyed the constant guessing. But, there were a lot of characters introduced, which confused me a little at times, and at other times, I was bored. Jane’s character was a little annoying, but I liked the relationship between Jane and Cam. It was more like mother and son, and with Cam’s mental issues, she was a great fit for him. The set up for the next few books in the series has already been introduced, and I think they will be interesting. I ok forward to the new books in the series and hope some of the character development becomes a little better to understand.

I would like to thank Netgalley, Crooked Lane Books and Victoria Gilbert for an advanced reader copy of this cozy mystery in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 ⭐️

Mystery | Adult
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Here’s an intriguing new pairing – a reclusive and wealthy young man, and a financially wobbly librarian skidding toward retirement age. When Cam Crewe needs an expert to catalogue his extensive scholarly literary collection, he turns to Jane Hunter. She has an interesting life story – she left an abusive spouse and raised her daughter as a single mum; she was summarily laid off from her decades-long employment with a university library, and she sold her home to reduce her financial obligations and to be able to take up contract work. And she’s about 60 years old – experienced, wily, astute, and a smart cookie. When Jane finds a body on her first day of work, she’s embroiled in a mystery with her new employer fingered as a key suspect. He asks her to help investigate to help him clear his name (oh, and find the real killer) and while she’s not ready to accept everything he says as truth, Jane agrees. The mystery is excellent – the story moves along quickly, with lots of characters, a few clues, plenty of red herrings, and a resolution that I didn’t quite see coming (I identified the right clue but the wrong suspect). I loved Jane’s character – Gilbert is a librarian as well as a cosy mystery author, and she nails the details of Jane’s dogged persistence, evidence-based approach, and logical reasoning. She does go a bit overboard with the description of Jane’s cataloguing work, in my opinion, though it’s probably fascinating information to those who aren’t in the field. Thanks for dropping in the master’s degree, Victoria! Few realize how educated we are … I digress. I do have one quibble: you know the writer’s advice, “Show, don’t tell”? Gilbert takes it almost too far, providing relentless detail about hair and eye colour, clothing, hand gestures and more, often in a single paragraph. I prefer seeing this delivered in a more casual way that adds to the story rather than distracting the reader. This is the first in a new series, and despite misgivings about its appeal partway through the book, by the end I was hooked. I’ll be looking for more. My thanks to Crooked Lane Books for the digital reading copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62989601

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this story.

Retired librarian, Jane, takes on a job cataloguing wealthy recluse, Cam’s large collection of books and artefacts. Only days into her new employment, things take a turn, and she finds herself helping Cam investigate a murder where he is the lead suspect.

This story was a real whodunnit. Each character had secret motives for murder, and with every question asked, more questions were gained. Like a true mystery, you were made to guess throughout.

I liked the whole amateur sleuth take on it too, rather than the usual detective story. It made for a nice change.

It’s a well written story with a satisfying ending, leaving it open for more to come.

Oh my, what a fun, cozy way to start a new cozy series!! Jane Hunter is 60 years old and is starting a new job, cataloging books and documents for Cameron Clewe, an eccentric young man. At a gala at Cam's home, there is a murder and he is suspect #1. He wants to solve it, but he rarely leaves home. He is relying on Jane to do the footwork.

I have to say, this is phenomenal. It took a minute to get going, but once it did, it was wonderful!! This is a traditional mystery (think Sherlock Holmes) set in contemporary times. It seems a bit odd, but it actually works!! I love how Cam appreciates Jane's help at times (some other detective dynamics in history do not have that.) I also enjoy that Jane is older than Cam by quite a lot and in more of a motherly role. It works so well. The mystery itself had twists and turns and I actually didn't guess it!!

This was just an excellent cozy mystery!! I highly recommend it for those who enjoy traditional or cozy mysteries ❤️.

This was a very average read. About half way through I lost the sense of urgency and just wanted to see if I was right about the killer. The story felt like a pilot to a new show that is just about establishing characters, relationships and consequences for the rest of the series. I felt like most of the book was irrelevant to the actual reveal and the murder that took place. Not suspenseful but I did not expect that out of this book as it is advertised as a cozy mystery. There are multiple characters and it was easy to keep track of them. The murder felt like a subplot and not really the focus of the story. Overall it was okay.

First in a fine new mystery series with Jane, a retired librarian, and Cam, a young book collector, who team up to solve the murder of his ex-girlfriend. He is the main suspect, gasp! Cosy and quirky and keeps you guessing