Friday, December 11, 2020

Book Review and Giveaway - A Deadly Edition: A Blue Ridge Library Mystery by Victoria Gilbert


My Review

Librarian Amy Webber is balancing work and planning her wedding to fiance Richard Muir when she gets involved in solving another murder.  This time the victim is a rival of family friend Kurt Kendrick. It seems the victim and Kurt were both trying to purchase the same rare book.

I wanted to read A Deadly Edition because I love this cozy mystery series.  I was especially intrigued by the rare book storyline, since I sell vintage books.

There is so much to enjoy about this mystery and the rest of the Blue Ridge Library series.  I love the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains setting, Amy, Richard, and their friends and family, and there are even lovable cats!

The rare book details, like the following description (eBook location 847) are wonderful: 

"I opened the Kelmscott Chaucer facsimile one more time. Staring at the beautifully decorated title page reminded me of something I’d just typed into my notes— a quote from a letter Edward Burne-Jones had sent to Charles Eliot Norton in 1894: Indeed when the book is done, if we live to finish it, it will be like a pocket cathedral … And it had been exactly that— a magnificent edifice captured on paper, a work that captured the soul of two great artists. Something rare and wonderful."

Amy is one of my favorite amateur detectives. She is smart and has a great deductive instinct. I enjoyed watching her solve the mystery and following the turns before the killer was revealed.

I recommend A Deadly Edition and the rest of this series for fans of cozy mysteries, and especially for anyone who enjoys small-town locales and library settings.  

Book Synopsis

‘Til death do us part” could be closer than the bride realizes in Victoria Gilbert’s tantalizing fifth Blue Ridge Library mystery.”

The pursuit to acquire a rare illustrated book turns deadly, and on the eve of her upcoming wedding, library director Amy Webber is drawn into a web of treachery and betrayal that could derail her happy day–and maybe just claim her life.

Planning a wedding can be murder–sometimes literally. At a party celebrating their upcoming nuptials, Taylorsford, Virginia library director Amy Webber and her fiancĂ© Richard Muir discover the body of art dealer Oscar Selvaggio–a bitter rival of their host, Kurt Kendrick. 

Both had been in a heated battle to purchase a rare illustrated volume created by William Morris’s Kelmscott Press, so suspicion immediately falls upon Kurt. Amy knows that Kurt has a closet-full of skeletons from his past–but she can’t believe he’s guilty of murder.  

Amidst an avalanche of wedding preparations, Amy begins an investigation with the help of her aunt Lydia Talbot and the new mayor of Taylorsford, Sunshine “Sunny” Fields. Much to Lydia’s dismay, her boyfriend, art expert Hugh Chen, becomes convinced of Kurt’s guilt and launches an investigation of his own. As the case hits painfully close to home, the stakes become impossibly high–and the danger all too real.


Author Bio

Raised in a historic small town near the Blue Ridge Mountains, Victoria Gilbert turned her early obsession with books into a dual career as an author and librarian. Victoria writes the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series, the Booklover’s B&B series, and the upcoming Hunter and Clewe traditional mystery series for Crooked Lane Books. She has also published fantasy with Snowy Wings Publishing. A member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, Victoria is represented by Frances Black at Literary Counsel. She lives near Winston-Salem, NC with her husband, son, and some very spoiled cats.

Author Links

Website (includes blog): http://victoriagilbertmysteries.com/

FB author page: https://www.facebook.com/VictoriaGilbertMysteryAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGilbertauthor

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Victoria-Gilbert/e/B071ZQZN1P

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriagilbertauthor/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16912697.Victoria_Gilbert

Purchase Links – AmazonB&NKoboIndieBound

Blue Ridge Library Mystery series:

A MURDER FOR THE BOOKS: http://www.crookedlanebooks.com/titles/a-murder-for-the-books/

SHELVED UNDER MURDER: http://www.crookedlanebooks.com/titles/shelved-under-murder/

PAST DUE FOR MURDER: http://www.crookedlanebooks.com/titles/past-due-for-murder/

BOUND FOR MURDER: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612101/bound-for-murder-by-victoria-gilbert/

A DEADLY EDITION: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/647523/a-deadly-edition-by-victoria-gilbert/9781643854762/

Booklover’s B&B series:

BOOKED FOR DEATH: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/622813/booked-for-death-by-victoria-gilbert/

RESERVED FOR MURDER (preorder): https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/659504/reserved-for-murder-by-victoria-gilbert/

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 



1 comment:

Victoria Gilbert said...

Thanks so much for being part of my book's blog tour and for the lovely review!