Bound for Murder
A Blue Ridge Library Mystery
by Victoria Gilbert
About Bound for Murder
*
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (January 7, 2020)
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN-10: 1643852434
ISBN-13: 978-1643852430
Digital ASIN: B07QGNNNXP
Blue Ridge library director Amy Webber learns it wasn't all peace and love among the "flower children" when a corpse is unearthed on the grounds of a 1960s commune.
Taylorsford Public Library director Amy Webber's friend "Sunny" Fields is running for mayor. But nothing puts a damper on a campaign like an actual skeleton in a candidate's closet. Sunny's grandparents ran a commune back in the 1960s on their organic farm. But these former hippies face criminal charges when human remains are found in their fields--and a forensic examination reveals that the death was neither natural nor accidental.
With Sunny's mayoral hopes fading, Amy sets her wedding plans aside, says "not yet" to the dress, and uses her research skills to clear her best friend's family. Any of the now-elderly commune members could have been the culprit. As former hippies perish one by one, Amy and her friends Richard, Aunt Lydia, and Hugh Chen pursue every lead. But if Amy can't find whoever killed these "flower children," someone may soon be placing flowers on her grave.
Taylorsford Public Library director Amy Webber's friend "Sunny" Fields is running for mayor. But nothing puts a damper on a campaign like an actual skeleton in a candidate's closet. Sunny's grandparents ran a commune back in the 1960s on their organic farm. But these former hippies face criminal charges when human remains are found in their fields--and a forensic examination reveals that the death was neither natural nor accidental.
With Sunny's mayoral hopes fading, Amy sets her wedding plans aside, says "not yet" to the dress, and uses her research skills to clear her best friend's family. Any of the now-elderly commune members could have been the culprit. As former hippies perish one by one, Amy and her friends Richard, Aunt Lydia, and Hugh Chen pursue every lead. But if Amy can't find whoever killed these "flower children," someone may soon be placing flowers on her grave.
About Virginia Gilbert
Victoria Gilbert, raised in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, turned her early obsession with reading into a dual career as an author and librarian. Victoria has worked as a reference librarian, research librarian, and library director. When not writing or reading, she likes to spend her time watching films, gardening, or traveling. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and International Thriller Writers and lives in North Carolina. This is her fourth Blue Ridge Library mystery.
Author Links
Website/blog: http://victoriagilbertmysteries.com/
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/VictoriaGilbertMysteryAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGilbertauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/VictoriaGilbert
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4J0jvZ-D0NVF9Qv7H2ua8Q
My Thoughts
Bound for Murder by Victoria Gilbert is the 4th A Blue Ridge Library Mystery. It can be read as a standalone for those new
to the series. Amy Webber’s friend and
fellow library employee, Sunny Fields is running for mayor which is a relief to
many of the citizens who dislike the incumbent.
Sunny receives a call from her grandparents, Carol & P.J. Fields
that the county dredging crew found a skeleton buried by the creek on their
organic farm. They ran a commune on the
grounds back in the 60s and it looks like one member never left. Amy is not going to let this derail Sunny’s campaign
for mayor. She starts digging in the
archives and visiting members of the commune who still live in the area. Can Amy find the answers that are needed, or
will she be the next individual to become plant fertilizer? Bound for Murder is well-written, and the
story moves along at a stable pace. Amy
Webber is a librarian with attention to detail and a whiz at research. Her skills at unearthing information in the
archies are the most valuable to her investigations. Amy and Richard have been a engaged a couple
of months which has people offering unsolicited advice and asking questions
about the wedding that Amy is unprepared to answer. Amy is especially tired of her soon-to-be
mother-in-law, Fiona’s high brow suggestions.
She is happy to escape into the investigation. I liked that the mystery took us back to the
1960s. We get to see how the suspects
have changed from their hippie days to now.
I found the suspects to be a diverse group who each have something they
would prefer to remain hidden. Unfortunately,
someone is unhappy with Amy’s digging.
She is warned off several times by various methods and one of her
suspects is removed from the list permanently.
It will depend on your sleuthing level on whether you find this whodunit
a puzzler or a cinch to solve. I liked
how all the details of the mystery were wrapped up and I enjoyed the
ending. Bound for Murder is a charming
cozy mystery with a dredging disaster, misplaced persons, a charismatic journalist,
a hippie homicide, campaign commotion, and revealing research.
Excerpt
My foot, resting next to the macramé purse, vibrated from the loud
music blaring from Sunny’s cell phone. “You want to get that? I realize the
rule is no phones at the desk but since there’s no one here right now…”
Kurt coughed.
“No one who will care, I mean.” I cast him a smile before grabbing
Sunny’s purse and handing it to her. “Go on—I know that ring.”
“Yeah, it’s the grands. Again.” Sunny pulled a comical face as she
fished her phone out of the pouch. “They aren’t usually this needy, but ever
since the county started that dredging work on the creek, they’ve been calling
nonstop. They’re so worried about damage to the trees and shrubs along the
stream bed.”
“Of course.” I’d heard plenty about this from Carol and P.J., who
were irate over the heavy equipment that had recently descended upon their
quiet organic farm. The fact that the county had a right-of-way to the creek,
which was part of a larger watershed, did nothing to appease their anger.
“Government barreling in and taking over, like usual,” P.J. had
told me, his thin lips quivering with repressed rage. “Didn’t even inform us
ahead of time. Just showed up one day and proceeded to rip up my fields with
their equipment. Well, they’d better not destroy our trees along the creek,
that’s all I’ve got to say.”
I shook my head. “Can’t say I blame them.” I directed my words to
Kurt as Sunny listened intently to her phone. “The county’s been tearing up the
stream banks all along its route.”
Kurt’s expression betrayed no emotion, but his jaw tightened. That
was odd. The art dealer rarely appeared tense, even in the direst of
circumstances, yet the mention of dredging a creek seemed to have distressed
him. It piqued my curiosity.
Or maybe I was imagining things. I shook my head to clear my
thoughts. “They say it benefits the environment because it allows for better
run-off from nearby rivers and ponds. But I don’t know. It seems rather
destructive to me.”
When Kurt replied, his voice was as calm and charming as ever. “I
knew that the dredging work was ongoing but didn’t realize it involved that
farm.”
“Yeah, unfortunately.” I glanced at Sunny and noticed that all the
color had fled her face. “Anything wrong?”
Sunny’s fingers clutched her cell phone so tightly I worried she
might crack the plastic case. “Yes. Not with the grands, thank goodness, but
dredging crews found something on the farm.”
“Buried treasure?” I asked, with a quick glance at Kurt.
“No, not anything like that.” Sunny’s voice shook. “According to
the grands, an operator swung his Bobcat bucket the wrong way and dug deep into
the bank, up and away from the stream. And that’s when they found it.”
“Found what?” I asked, my gaze flitting from Sunny’s trembling
lips to the carved-in-stone stillness of Kurt’s face and back again.
“Bones,” Sunny said. “Human bones.” She stared at me, her eyes as
glazed as glass. “An entire skeleton.”
![Booked for Death: A Book Lover's B&B Mystery by [Gilbert, Victoria]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51bWqMTpFWL.jpg)
Are you ready to read Bound for Murder? You can pick up a copy of Bound for Murder at Amazon, B&N, Kobo, and Indie Bound. The other novels in A Blue Ridge Library Mystery series are A Murder for the Books, Shelved Under Murder, and Past Due for Murder. Booked for Death is the next A Blue Ridge Library Mystery and it will be out on June 9, 2020. In honor of the tour, the author is giving away a signed hardcover of Bound for Murder (sorry, but U.S. Only). You can enter here or use the Rafflecopter form below. Thank you for stopping by today. I am sharing my review of Sealed Off by Barbara Ross tomorrow. It is the eighth A Maine Clambake Mystery. I hope that you have a glorious day. Take care and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
Tour Participants
January 6 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT
January 7 - The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – SPOTLIGHT
January 7 - Diary of a Book Fiend – REVIEW
January 8 – Diane Reviews Books – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
January 8 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
January 9 – Laura's Interests – CHARACTER GUEST POST
January 9 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 9 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
January 10 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
January 10 – Baroness' Book Trove - REVIEW
January 11 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
January 11 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
January 12 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
January 12 – Christy's Cozy Corners – GUEST POST
January 13 – eBook Addicts – REVIEW
January 13 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 14 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 14 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
January 15 – I Read What You Write – REVIEW, GUEST POST
January 15 – My Journey Back-The Journey Back – SPOTLIGHT
January 16 – That's What She's Reading – SPOTLIGHT
January 16 – Literary Gold – CHARACTER GUEST POST
January 17 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
January 17 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
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Thank you so much for participating in my blog tour and for the lovely review!
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