Victoria Gilbert
Pub Date: 10 July 2018
Book Blurb:
Autumn leaves aren’t the only things falling in the historic Virginia village of Taylorsford―so are some cherished memories, and a few bodies.
October in Taylorsford, Virginia means it’s leaf peeping season, with bright colorful foliage and a delightful fresh crew of tourists attending the annual Heritage Festival which celebrates local history and arts and crafts. Library director Amy Webber, though, is slightly dreading having to spend two days running a yard sale fundraiser for her library. But during these preparations, when she and her assistant Sunny stumble across a dead body, Amy finds a real reason to be worried.
The body belonged to a renowned artist who was murdered with her own pallet knife. A search of the artist’s studio uncovers a cache of forged paintings, and when the sheriff’s chief deputy Brad Tucker realizes Amy is skilled in art history research, she’s recruited to aid the investigation. It doesn’t seem to be an easy task, but when the state’s art expert uncovers a possible connection between Amy’s deceased uncle and the murder case, Amy must champion her Aunt Lydia to clear her late husband’s name.
That’s when another killing shakes the quiet town, and danger sweeps in like an autumn wind. Now, with her swoon-inducing neighbor Richard Muir, Amy must scour their resources to once again close the books on murder in Shelved Under Murder, the charming second installment in Victoria Gilbert’s Blue Ridge Library mysteries, perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Miranda James.
The body belonged to a renowned artist who was murdered with her own pallet knife. A search of the artist’s studio uncovers a cache of forged paintings, and when the sheriff’s chief deputy Brad Tucker realizes Amy is skilled in art history research, she’s recruited to aid the investigation. It doesn’t seem to be an easy task, but when the state’s art expert uncovers a possible connection between Amy’s deceased uncle and the murder case, Amy must champion her Aunt Lydia to clear her late husband’s name.
That’s when another killing shakes the quiet town, and danger sweeps in like an autumn wind. Now, with her swoon-inducing neighbor Richard Muir, Amy must scour their resources to once again close the books on murder in Shelved Under Murder, the charming second installment in Victoria Gilbert’s Blue Ridge Library mysteries, perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Miranda James.
Surpisingly, I really enjoyed this book - much, much more so than I expected. I guess after reading a number of cozies* where the protagonist does really dumb things in order to progress the plot, I expected something similar. This book, however, was different. Yes, she ends up finding a body - but her reaction is more realistic in that she doesn't start snapping photos, but tries to avoid it and keeping her friends from experiencing the horror as well. She gets involved in the investigation, but only because she has an art degree, the the police request that she helps until the expert arrives. She gets caught in a life-threatening scenario at the end, but it's innocently, not because she foolishly confronts the killer.My only compliant about this book is that it's the second in the series, and there was a lot of comments that gave away significant details about the first book (I would say spoilers, but can it be a spoiler for book 1 in book 2?) From a character's point of view, these were valid comments - for example, her aunt, being the kind hearted person she is, would of course visit the person and thus mention it - just not from a reader's point of view.
In any case, I plan to go back to book 1, and look forward to reading book 3!
Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley and voluntarily chose to review.
*As a side note, I recently read a blog post stating there is a difference between 'cozies' and 'cuties' where traditional Christie or Sayers books are cozies and some of the more recent books where the protagonist has an unusual hobby, puts themselves in the middle of the investigation, and frequently does silly things which get them in trouble, are cuties. Based on that distinction, I'd say some of the previous books I read were cuties, while this was a true cozy.
*As a side note, I recently read a blog post stating there is a difference between 'cozies' and 'cuties' where traditional Christie or Sayers books are cozies and some of the more recent books where the protagonist has an unusual hobby, puts themselves in the middle of the investigation, and frequently does silly things which get them in trouble, are cuties. Based on that distinction, I'd say some of the previous books I read were cuties, while this was a true cozy.
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