A Cryptic Clue by Victoria Gilbert

This was a fun start to a new cozy mystery series. You won't find anything earth-shattering, but that's the nice thing about cozies. I pick one up when I need an entertaining break that doesn't require too much concentration. And this one was perfect for that. We follow Jane, a retired university librarian, who has been hired to help an eccentric, young collector work through some old archives as they end up working to solve a crime instead.

I do appreciate that some of the usual tropes I find in cozy series didn't show up here. As some reviewers mentioned, there are a lot of characters, but I expect that from the first in a series that is setting up for future stories. I didn't have a problem keeping track of anyone.

I would be happy to read further into the series.

Thank you to #NetGally and #CrookedLaneBooks for a free copy of #ACrypticClue by Victoria Gilbert. All opinions are my own.

Jane Hunter, a librarian in her sixties who had been forcibly made to retire from her workplace, was employed by Cameron Clewe, an anxiety-ridden and socially inept private collector, to sort and catalog his antique book collection. But on her first day of work, she finds a dead body in the library room which happens to be Cam's ex. In order to clear his name and prove to the police that he isn't the murderer, he takes on the role of an amateur detective, but due to his anxiety and aversion to the outside world, he has Jane and his assistant Lauren do the field investigation and interrogations for him in order to find information that can help him piece things together.

The sleuthing and the murder mystery were enjoyable to read. The real culprit was a surprise for me, but it wasn't completely out of nowhere since the book did provide some clues about it among the many bits of information Jane found. But what I really liked about this book is the interesting cast of characters, especially the detective duo. The dynamics between Jane and Cam felt unique compared to the usual male and female detective duo that I've read about in the sense that the male is usually dominant and self-assured since he's also usually the romantic interest of the female.

In this novel, we have an elderly mother and a significantly younger and intelligent man with mental and emotional issues as our duo, and I'm all for it. Logically, they play well off each other in info gathering and deductions, and there is also a considerable amount of potential character development, specifically on the part of Cam. In the midst of their investigation, Jane was able to give some advice to Cam, and by the end of the book, we see Cam making small positive changes to his life. It's heartwarming in a subtle way. The author has even already foreshadowed future developments in Cam's love life in the succeeding books in the series.

Very interested to read more mysteries featuring these two! (And also more character development from Cam)

Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for giving me an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Victoria Gilbert's "A Cryptic Clue' sounded really good as a cozy murder mystery but I felt let down as the early storyline featured two of the three 'Cluedo' pieces - I will not say anymore!

Jane was hired to catalogue an eccentric's large book collection but she seemed unhappy and I found her annoying - which didn't help whole the plot. If this is the start of a series I do not think I will bother.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the chance to read and review.

Jane Hunter, retired librarian, is a co-main character with Cameron Clewe, eccentric 30-something millionaire. Jane has taken a job cataloging Cameron’s book collections including a classic mystery collection.
The use of themes from classic mysteries is clever - starting with a body in the library.
I enjoyed the story and the twisted ending.
There were some things about the book that bothered me.
- Jane was quite intelligent but made some dumb decisions in threatening situations.
- The reader is introduced to a large number of characters. The way they would pop in and out of the story made it hard to keep track of them. They all make convenient suspects, so an understood reason for their presence.
- The police are really an afterthought in this book.
- Cameron is presented as socially inept through most of the story but in the climax he seems to intuitively understand the villain’s emotions and reasoning.
- Some things were precisely detailed that didn’t matter and then some details that would matter were glossed over.
I think the series has potential and I would give the second book a try.
The narrator was all right.
Thanks to Netgalley, Dreamscape Media and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read and listen to the book.

For starters this book has a refreshingly unique duo, one not destined for romance. That made it stand out immediately (in a good way). Jane is smart, logical & a perfect heroine to follow. Her age is what makes her fascinating. Cam is blunt, quirky & awkward. They make an unlikely pairing that somehow works when they have to clear Cam’s name.

I love the research & historical aspects of the story. And reading about the secrets of the rich & uncovering old mysteries alongside the present day murder is a winning combo. I feel fans of classic, golden age mysteries will appreciate this one, it mixes those vibes alongside the cozy ones perfectly. Plus the author sets up a few things that need to be solved in upcoming instalments, leaving me definitely wanting more.

I hope there’s more books to come!

* Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader digital copy of this book

A Cryptic Clue is the first in a new series about a librarian and her current employer who find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation when a dead body turns up in the library. It is a cozy mystery, certainly made for reading while curled up in bed at night. While certainly not a page turner, it is an enjoyable mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. I really enjoyed the dynamic of Cam's household with his personal assistant and other employees. The mystery was well done and I did not guess who the killer was until I was revealed. I certainly was growing a bit weary of sometimes and it is certainly a slow paced novel. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed it and I look forward to more in this series.

I wanted to love this book. I wanted to love Jane, the protagonist. It’s wonderful to see an older woman leading the narrative with strength and intelligence. I’m also glad there was no love interest. It was so nice for a woman to just have her story! But the narrative was a little stodgy - perhaps because this is book one of a planned series everything was just too over explained and drawn out. Hopefully book two will have a snappier pacing because I’d really love to find out some answers for Cameron’s family mysteries.


Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for The opportunity to read and review this book.

3.75 stars

An auspicious start for a new cozy series, featuring a young, rich introvert and the 60 year old research librarian he has hired to catalogue his Golden Age mystery collection. It is refreshing to see a woman of this age portrayed as a normal human being and not a madcap, stiletto wearing, gun-toting bingo addict.

Cam Clewe might be rich, but he has issues interacting with people. Jane Hunter, the retired librarian, has had bad luck in her past but she doesn't dwell on it and manages to have a calm and reassuring outlook on life. What these two disparate personalities share is a desire to be amateur detectives. They love the challenge of solving a puzzle and are good at figuring things out.

This first "case" features a dead ex-girlfriend who shows up at Cam's house during a fund-raising event. She was a pretty awful person so there are plenty of suspects, some of whom live at the house. The interaction between Cam and Jane is interesting as they are unlikely friends. This is a promising start to a new series and I will look forward to the next one. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the first in a new cozy mystery series, featuring a retired librarian and her new employer, a millionaire with anxiety, agoraphobia and few social skills.

Ex-librarian Jane Hunter was forced to take early retirement from the University library that she loved. Needing to occupy her time and supplement her small pension, she takes on the job of cataloguing the mystery collection of 33 year old wealthy collector Cam Clewe. Not only has he collected a lot of first editions from the Golden Age but has letters and clippings from newspapers and magazines about the books and writers so there is plenty to keep an archivist busy for quite some time.

Lacking social and emotional skills due in part to his lonely and loveless upbringing, Cam is not good at relationships with women. So, it is no surprise to anyone when he breaks up with the woman he has been dating, heiress Ashley Allen. However, it is a big surprise when she is found dead in the library the day after a fundraising event at his home.

This is an enjoyable murder mystery and a good start to a new series. Worried that he is the police’s main suspect, Cam recruits Jane and his personal assistant Lauren to do the sleuthing into Ashley’s past for him. They conveniently find a number of people willing to tell them all about Ashley who has managed to cause major trouble and distress for quite a few people, greatly expanding the number of suspects. I did not pick the killer but the dénouement revealing them and their motives was plausible and well done. At the end of the book, Cam invites Jane to solve further mysteries with him, including some pertaining to his own life, so we can look forward to more in this series.

After being aged out of her previous job as a university librarian, Jane goes to work for Cam, an eccentric collector who needs someone to inventory his collection of rare books and artifacts. When a body is discovered in his library and Cam is the prime suspect, Jane must clear his name.

This is the first book in a new series by an author I’ve read and enjoyed before. Fortunately, probably due to the author’s experience, it doesn’t suffer from most of the first-in-a-series problems usually encountered in series starters. Jane’s landlord is a former newspaper reporter, the story is set just outside of a college town, and since Jane is a former employee of one of the universities, she has plenty of resources to draw on during her investigation. There is a rather large cast of characters here, but it looks like only a handful of them will be back in the next book. Most of them were likeable, especially once you learn their backstories, but some rubbed me the wrong way.

The murder victim at first appeared to have a lot of friends, but as Jane discovered more details, she learned that that wasn’t necessarily the case, so there were more potential suspects than initially thought. A couple of characters jumped to the top of my mental list, and I was happy to discover that the killer was on my short list, although that person’s motive was different from that of most of the other suspects, and I didn’t have that pinned down.

Since this is listed on Goodreads as ‘Hunter and Clewe #1,’ it seems apparent that more books in this series will follow, and I look forward to reading them when they’re released.

A Cryptic Clue is the first in a new cozy mystery series by Victoria Gilbert, and one that I am looking forward to reading more of!

One of the things I really love in this series is the age difference and relationship between Jane and Cam. It’s also nice to have a cozy that doesn’t have a 28 year old as the main character. And it’s interesting to see the interaction between Cam, who is rich and really doesn’t have good social manners, combined with Jane, who is a single mother who has worked in a library for many years and has to deal with all sorts of people. I’m excited to see how their relationship progresses.

Besides excelling at writing very complex characters, I also really enjoyed when Jane brought forth her various library skills, having worked at a library myself for 14 years, seven of them in the cataloging department. I knew exactly how she felt when she was exhausted after cataloging for four hours. You may be just sitting in a chair, “reading” a book(s), but it really does take a lot of mental energy out of a person.

The mystery had lots of suspects and I’m really happy about the way that Jane ended up going through them and their alibis, since it wasn’t over and over again. There was actually a lot of the main story and some side stories/mysteries included so it read like a good mystery, not just the main character reviewing a list for two-thirds of the book.

Can’t wait to see what mystery Cam and Jane tackle next, and to see how Jane’s daughter reacts to Cam whenever she meets him.

This is a light cosy mystery set in the modern day! I found parts of the plot a bit of a stretch for me and the dialogue a little stilted but not overall a bad read, just not my cup of tea!

Jane, the main character in Victoria Gilbert's "A Cryptic Clue' was a little miserable and sad for me. I found no joy in her life. The premise of Jane working in the future to help an eccentric at best Cam in righting wrongs is intriguing. I will give the next book a go to see if it is more light and likeable for me.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I'm a fan of cozy mysteries so I was excited to receive the arc of A Cryptic Clue, a new series. I enjoyed the setting, the pace of the story as well as the writing itself; it was a pretty good premise also. What I didn't like at all was the main character, Jane Hunter. She was overly critical and judgemental, pushy, stubborn. I just didn't like her at all. I wanted to quit reading half way thru because she was just so unlikable, but I continued to read because I was invested in the plot and it's resolution. If not for Jane, I'd have given this 4 stars. Unfortunately I will most likely not continue on with the series.

Victoria Gilbert never disappoints! She is one of my favorite cozy mystery authors, so i was excited to see she has a new series, Hunter and Clewe.

Jane Hunter is a 60-year-old librarian who was forced into retirement. Can Clewe is a young millionaire with an extensive rare book collections of primarily mystery and detective stories. He hires Jane to catalog and inventory his collection.

Cam is an interesting. He has some character straits that can be off putting but by the end of the book. you (as well our co-sleuth Jane) come to know and understand him better.

At a charity event at his estate a former girlfriend is murdered in the library. Cam becomes the prime suspect. Cam doesn't believe the police will look much further than him and want to solve the case. He asks Jane and his assistant Lauren to assist him in this quest. Jane is not convinced he did it, in spite of his odd behavior, and agrees.

This is the first in a new series, so it took a few chapters to get to know the characters. I loved this book! I did not want it to end. I can't wait till I can visit my new friends again!

Thank you to #NetGalley and #Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read A Cryptic Clue.

I really held out good hopes for this book - I liked the premise - an older librarian as the sleuth but the execution lacked something for me and didn't hold my interest. I read and love this genre, which is overflowing with excellent, funny and gripping mysteries, and unfortunately this didn't reach the mark.

A Cryptic Clue is the first in a new series with an unlikely pair of detectives. Most of the story is told through the eyes of librarian Jane Hunter. After taking on a new role cataloguing Cameron Clewe's books she finds herself in the middle of a murder mystery, even more so when Cam asks for her help to solve it.
Although it's Jane who does most of the investigating, it's Cam who comes in at the end and puts it all together. I wasn't sure that I really enjoyed that side of it, but perhaps in later books they will work more closely together.
I wasn't completely convinced by the mystery itself. I followed some of it fine, but the reveal at the end didn't completely seem to fit. I still enjoyed it though. This was a strong start to a new series and I'll be interested to see where they go next.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for my approval to read and review this book.

I loved the setting of the book with the well written characters in particular Cam Clewe and Jane Hunter. They set out to prove who the murderer is of Ashley Allen. They uncover a few truths behind various crimes that occur in the house and in a different time as well.

I will be on look out for book 2 and I will recommend this book to my fellow book friends.

With a solid mystery and fascinating details introducing one to the world of a librarian, Gilbert creates a solid mystery reminiscent of Agatha Christie.
The characters were a little too much for me but I could look past that for the well constructed mystery Gilbert presented.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Victoria Gilbert and Crooked Lane Books for the opportunity to read this early release copy of the book.
I enjoyed this book - it gave me a vibe reminiscent of Agatha Christie or Patricia Wentworth, which I really liked. The characters were interesting and the dialog and pacing were good. Well done!

I look forward to the next in the series.