Victoria Gilbert
Pub Date 22 Feb 2019
Book Blurb:
For fans of Miranda James and Jenn McKinlay, the third conspiratorially delightful third entry in Victoria Gilbert’s critically acclaimed Blue Ridge Library mysteries.
Has a curse fallen on the small town of Taylorsford, Virginia? After a young woman goes missing during a spring bonfire, library director Amy Webber must wade through the web of lies only to find a truth that she may not want to untangle.
Spring has sprung in quaint Taylorsford, Virginia, and the mayor has revived the town’s long-defunct May Day celebration to boost tourism. As part of the festivities, library director Amy Webber is helping to organize a research project and presentation by a local folklore expert. All seems well at first—but spring takes on a sudden chill when a university student inexplicably vanishes during a bonfire.
The local police cast a wide net to find the missing woman, but in a shocking turn of events, Amy’s swoon-worthy neighbor Richard Muir becomes a person of interest in the case. Not only is Richard the woman’s dance instructor, he also doesn’t have an alibi for the night the student vanished—or at least not one he’ll divulge, even to Amy.
When the missing student is finally discovered lost in the mountains, with no memory of recent events—and a dead body lying nearby—an already disturbing mystery takes on a sinister new hue. Blessed with her innate curiosity and a librarian’s gift for research, Amy may be the only one who can learn the truth in Past Due for Murder, Victoria Gilbert’s third charming Blue Ridge Library mystery.
A mixed bag for me: some parts were lovely while others were. . . Uninspired.
Amy Webber, the protagonist, is the head librarian in Taylorsford, Virginia. She’s been helping a local professor research some of the local folklore, include the disappearance of two young girls and a bag full of gold coins back in the 1800s. Within the first few pages, we’re told about one of the professor’s students who’s disappeared and Amy’s ex-boyfriend who’s new girlfriend had been killed a few months before. Before too much longer, Amy’s involved in finding a missing student and a killer.
As I said above, parts of this book were lovely - the descriptions of a character’s singing voice, skill at making instruments, and how he became a hermit all give the character a lot of depth and interest. Meanwhile, other characters - ones that seem more likely to appear in future books - are not. Amy’s serious boyfriend’s parents show up; both Mom and Dad seem very flat in contrast. Mom refuses bread at dinner with no explanation. She could have become a much more rounded character with a few lines - she has celiac disease, so has to avoid gluten; she was once close to 300 pounds and is paranoid about gaining weight; or, if she’s just being vain, include a line that she thinks a woman could never been too thin or too pretty - something small, but makes the character much deeper. Likewise, a few scenes are uninspired; during the denouement after the killer grabs Amy’s cell phone, they smash it. Which, given most smart phones (all?) have locating on them, means that it would have been shown to last be at a place highly associated with the killer? Just seems like there was a dozen other options that could have increased the tension instead.
All in all, I enjoyed the book except for a few places that were frustratingly lacking!
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.com and voluntarily chose to review.
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