The cover and title caught my attention immediately. It gives cozy mystery vibes.. This was an easy read with an exciting plot. I enjoyed the story and learning about each character. I did find myself confused at certain times, but it didn't alter my view of the plot. I thought the mystery was good. I would have liked a little more suspense. Overall, I would recommended to any thriller/suspense fan.

It took me a long time to get into this book, but once I did I could not put it down! I really liked the beginning of this cozy mystery series. A few parts got confusing, but for the most part the story was solid and I enjoyed the characters. I will keep an eye out for book 2!

Thank you #crookedlanebooks and #netgalley for the ears of this title.

In exchange for the ARC, netgalley requests an honest review. I have read enjoyed other novels by Victoria Gilbert. But this one felt a bit off. It took me half way through this book to really get into it. Of course the beginning introduced us to the characters and gave a base story and quickly found a murder victim as well. Which all worked out well till people started calling Jen, our main character in what felt like seconds, to tell her and also to find out about the murder. Plus the awkwardness of the cops letting her leave without fully questioning. Everything just seemed odd with timing. Jen does mention that it's a small college and gossip moves fast. But It either needed to be more of a joke or little slower in moving. That awkwardness was my big beef. I kept with the book and at 50% through she attends a party at the provost's house and that's when I feel things clicked. It started playing out more like a good tv mystery (Hallmark like with tiny touch of a romantic interest). Characters are interesting. Setting is interesting. If you're looking for a book taking place in Autumn you can add this to the list, but that doesn't play a big part in the story. Thanks to the 2nd half of the story, I am giving this a solid 3 stars, maybe a 3.25. I think it's a good start for a series.

Book Review: Schooled in Murder by Victoria Gilbert

Rating: 3 Stars

I recently dove into Schooled in Murder by Victoria Gilbert, and it was quite the cozy mystery experience! As the first book in a new series, it introduces us to Jennifer "Jen" Dalton, a mystery author and educator at Clarion University in Virginia. Jen's life takes a dramatic turn when a confrontation between one of her students and a rather pompous professor escalates, resulting in the professor's untimely demise. Amid the chaos, Jen's student, Mia, becomes the prime suspect after she goes missing, leaving Jen determined to prove her innocence.

What I really appreciated about this book is its engaging blend of wit and suspense. Jen’s background as a writer gives her a unique perspective that really drives the narrative forward. She’s not just a character; she’s relatable, juggling her passion for genre fiction with the snobbery of her academic peers. Her determination to solve the case adds an exciting layer to the plot, as she teams up with an interesting cast of characters, including a cafeteria manager, a campus psychologist, and a librarian—each bringing their own quirks to the sleuthing team.

Now, let’s talk about the cover for a second. It’s absolutely delightful! The visual really sets the tone for what you can expect from this cozy mystery. However, I did find myself wishing for a bit more context about certain characters and backstories. At times, it felt like I was jumping into the middle of a narrative rather than starting fresh. A little more background could have deepened the reader's connection to Jen and her friends right from the start.

Overall, Schooled in Murder is a solid debut that has me curious about where Jen’s adventures will take her next. Despite feeling like I missed out on some foundational details, Gilbert's witty writing and engaging plot kept me turning the pages. If you're a fan of cozy mysteries like those by Ellery Adams or Lorna Barrett, this one is well worth your time!

⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️

Schooled in Murder is the first book in the Campus Sleuth Mystery series. Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable read. I liked the setting of the book and how it tied into Jenn’s position as an author/director of the writing center at a university. It added another layer to her interactions with various characters throughout the story. The mystery was good as well, although things felt a bit confusing/convoluted at times. This was a good start to a new series, and I look forward to book two.

Schooled in Murder is the first book in Victoria Gilbert’s new Campus Sleuth Mysteries series. It was an enjoyable cozy mystery, but it didn’t quite stand out for me. The premise was intriguing, and I liked the small-town academic setting, but the story felt a bit slow at times. While the mystery itself had some interesting twists, I found the characters a little flat, and the resolution was somewhat predictable. That said, the writing was solid, and fans of cozy mysteries in general might still find it worth a read. Thank you to Crooked Lane books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Schooled in Murder is the first book in Victoria Gilbert’s new Campus Sleuth Mysteries series. Jenn Dalton, an author and director of the writing center at Clarion University in Virginia is unwillingly pulled a murder investigation. (*Victoria Gilbert fans will note the literary universe shared with the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries.)

When an unpopular professor is found dead and one of Jenn's promising students, Mia, becomes the prime suspect, Jenn feels compelled to investigate to clear Mia's name.

Teaming up with campus psychologist Zachary Flynn, librarian Brianna Rowley, and cafeteria manager Christine Kubiak, Jenn begins unraveling the mystery. The university setting provides a unique backdrop, and the friendship among the characters makes this mystery even cozier. The plot is well-paced, with plenty of twists to keep readers guessing.

The Campus Sleuth Mysteries series is off to a great start with Schooled in Murder. I’m looking forward to exploring more of what this academic setting has to offer.

I received this Advanced Reader Copy of Schooled in Murder from Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Schooled in Murder is the first in a new cozy mystery series centered around a mystery author who works at a local college. In the debut book, Jen is thoroughly enjoying her life writing fiction and leading the university's writing center. When a controversial professor is murdered and a one of Jen's students is considered the prime suspect, Jen takes on amateur sleuthing! She cannot let Mia be found guilty of a crime she did not commit. However, as Jen digs deeper into the investigation, she realizes that this professor had quite a list of enemies.

Schooled in Murder was simply not the cozy for me. I wasn't a huge fan of the classroom environment, and the characters were all rather flat. Additionally, I didn't find the actual murder mystery to be that intriguing, and the overall pacing was extremely slow. Then, towards the end, I felt the author wanted to spice the plot up more and tried adding in another murder; however, it all felt too messy.

This is a new series by this author. It takes place at Clarion College where Jenn (who is a mystery author) works in a writing lab. One of her students was see fighting with an English professor shortly before he was killed. Jenn witnessed the altercation but believes Mia is innocent. She, along with her friends set out to find the real culprit.

I enjoyed this book. I kept thinking that the location was familiar and then I realized I have read many books for the other series. The writing style is easy to read and just a nice escape. The characters are fun and there may be a little romance on it's way. Great way to spend a lazy afternoon.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy. This books starts a companion series to Gilbert’s Blue Ridge Mysteries and a few characters pop up for cameos in this one. Set on a college campus (the same Clarion University that is in her Blue Ridge series. While a good mystery to figure out who committed the two murders that occur, I couldn’t help but compare the people and situations here to the other series — as it’s the same town of Taylorsford. The characters here just weren’t as likable for me — Jenn and Zach have a beginning relationship with the friend or foe vibe, and I wanted to like them more, but didn’t connect as I did with Amy and friends. I also kept wanting them to show up to save the day! I’d recommend it for anyone who enjoys Gilbert’s series and the setting of the town/college environment in the Virginia foothills. While it’s a new series, I can hope for more blending of characters as it might be the Blue Ridge series is morphing into this as Amy now has twins? Who knows — but worth giving this one a try to see what comes next.

Good mystery suspense takes place in a small college town.
Good mystery,suspense,drama,twists and romance.
Enjoy the start of a new series.
Voluntarily reviewed.

schooled in murder my baby i wish this book was real!! super interesting plot and fascinating to read. i’ll be recommending this for sure!

What do you get when and author and English professor, a cafeteria manage, campus psychologist and librarian team up to to solve a murder? You get Schooled in Murder the first book in the Campus Sleuths mysteries series by Victoria Gilbert. I've read her previous series the Blue Ridge Library mystery series and the university mentioned in that one is the University in this series. So I feel like their might be the potential for overlap of the two series in the future. I loved that this one a case of team work to solve the mystery and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Schooled in Murder is the start of a new mystery series (Campus Sleuth Mysteries) set in the same town as Victoria Gilbert's wonderful Blue Ridge Library series. Jenn Dalton is a mystery author and director of the local college's writing lab. When an unpleasant colleague in the English department dies mysteriously, one of Jenn's students is a suspect. She works to clear the student's name, becoming involved in the mystery, especially after there is another murder.

I wanted to read this book because the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series is one of my favorites. It was fun starting a new series set in the same town, with occasional glimpses and mentions of characters from the other series.

I really like Jenn as a protagonist. She's smart and brave. I like her friends (and fellow amateur sleuths), her lovable cat Ash, and her romantic interest Zach. The romance between Jenn and Zach was central to this story and it was very enjoyable.

The mystery aspect of this book was well done, fast paced, with quite a few twists and surprises as the story went along. I guessed the murderer but enjoyed reading the mystery denouement.

I recommend Schooled in Murder for other cozy mystery fans, especially for readers who enjoy small town settings and campus mysteries. I look forward to upcoming books in this series!

I was excited to try this new series set on a college campus with an author/educator as the main character but it fell flat for me. Jenn Dalton is not well fleshed out as a character and what little you do get to know about her is not good. While the story moved fairly quickly, it couldn’t hold my interest and I found myself putting this down and not wanting to pick it up again. The secondary characters did nothing to balance it out and none of them were developed well, either. Fans of her other series may enjoy this one but I just couldn’t get into this one.

I've been a big fan of Victoria Gilbert's Blue Ridge Library Mysteries (although I think I might've fallen a couple behind...) and I enjoyed her Booklover's B&B Mysteries trilogy, so I was really excited to see that she has a brand new cozy mystery series coming out! The protagonist in SCHOOLED BY MURDER being a mystery author, looked down on by her more 'literary' colleagues was a intriguing tease, but what really sold me was the slightly rag-tag sounding sleuthing team made up of various university staff, from the cafeteria manager to the librarian.
For fans of the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries there’s a few cameos scattered throughout SCHOOLED BY MURDER, although they might feel a little out of place to readers unfamiliar with that series. Personally, I think there’s enough fresh potential within this Campus Sleuth series for it to stand entirely on its own feet, so I sort of hope they remain separate entities as each continues.
My favourite thing about SCHOOLED BY MURDER was the setting and the campus atmosphere Gilbert has really been able to capture. There’s a lot of side characters running around to keep track of, but I think that was necessary to give a real sense of a busy University. I loved the descriptions of the campus and its relative position in regard to winding country lanes and the nearest towns.
Another highlight was Jenn and Zach’s relationship. The synopsis promises “…fellow sleuthers, Christine Kubiak, a cafeteria manager…and Brianna Rowley, a librarian…” but I felt that Christine and Bri took a backseat. I did like what I saw of them, so I hope they feature more in Jenn’s future schemes, but I didn’t have a problem with centring Jenn and Zach more in this one, while we get to know them. The romance builds quickly for a cozy series, where we might expect a will-they won’t-they to run through multiple books, but I loved the good-natured bickering dynamic these two had, so enjoyed seeing them get together. In the Blue Ridge Library books I adore the fact that the love interest is a dancer rather than some more ‘traditional’ cozy occupation. Gilbert keeps things interesting here too. Zach is a phycologist, so might have some skills useful to an investigation in the future but doesn’t fall into that usual ‘law enforcement’ role.
SCHOOLED BY MURDER is a great start to a new mystery series and I look forward to seeing Clarion University again during Jenn’s future adventures.

Jennifer “Jenn” Dalton, an author and professor at Clarion University, loves her work, even if her genre fiction is dismissed by snobby colleagues. When a heated argument between her student Mia and an arrogant professor ends with his murder and evidence incriminating Mia, Jenn knows she must act—especially after Mia disappears.

Using her murder mystery know-how, Jenn teams up with her quirky allies: Christine, a cafeteria manager; Zachary, the charming campus psychologist; and Brianna, a clever librarian. Together, they race to uncover the killer before another victim falls—and clear Mia’s name.

Although it took me a really long time to push myself to finish this book, I was genuinely surprised by how quickly and easily it went once I actually started reading. It’s more of an autumn cozy mystery, but it was perfect for me after the holidays to shake up my routine. I love how the book stays suspenseful the entire time—there’s no excessive fear, and little by little, new and intriguing clues are revealed. Jenn and her team are truly dedicated to uncovering what really happened with the murder of their colleague.

I was also surprised by the hint of romance—Jenn and Zach are constantly in this love-hate dynamic, but it developed so sweetly. I loved how that part didn’t take over the entire plot. It didn’t become the main focus but revolved heavily around their mysteries. I can’t say I particularly connected with the characters; none of them really stood out to me or became a favorite.

The book is written in the first person POV, so we’re aware of everything happening around Jenn. I definitely recommend reading this book—it’s easy to read, easy to follow, keeps you hooked the whole time, and maybe you’ll even solve the mystery before the characters do!

A very quick cozy mystery read with a simple plot line, but an okay amount of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end. But on that note, at the end we see a resolution that was a little bit disappointing considering the ante was upped a bit due to a second murder and everything just seemed to fall into place and the resolution and reveals were bland. I didn't really care for the romance that was thrown in there. I feel like this story would have been perfectly fine without it, and if anything, it was a bit off putting and kept me from completely enjoying the story. The characters were also quite unlikeable, and I couldn't really relate to the main character, or even root for her, or anyone else in this book for that matter. They all seemed a bit one-dimensional.

Victoria Gilbert introduces the Campus Sleuth mysteries with Schooled in Murder. Jennifer Dalton, an author. also supports would be writers at Clarion University in Virginia. A professor falls to his death and one of her students is implicated. So Jennifer and some colleague start snooping into other campus characters alibis. She is introduced to a psychology professor who keeps turning up in her life and investigations with whom she starts t develop a relationship. What could go wrong? Another death. Her car spinning out of control. Be schooled in mlurder.

This academic mystery , the first in a new mystery series by one of my favorite mystery authors, is THE best series debut I've read in a long, long time.

This one has it all--great characters (including a terrific love interest), as well as a tremendous plot, and an in-depth look at the inner workings at a university.

I can't wait to see what's in store next for Jenn, the amateur sleuth the mystery fiction author who heads up the university's writing center.

Very highly recommended!!