Shelved Under Murder is a great cozy mystery. I recommend this book to all people who like a good mystery.

A great book by a fantastic author. The writing is excellent and the mystery keeps you turning the pages. Characters are well developed. Highly recommend.

Still haven't really warmed up to this series and the characters. There was plenty of depth to the mystery and I liked how the main character didn't pop up to various townsfolk, ask a questions, get an answer then go on to the next one as frequently happens in cozies I've read. here, the main characters and several secondary characters discuss what's going on together, there's a bit more off an ensemble feel which I like.

The pacing is a bit slow (granted there's a lot that's going on too, the story line is deeper than the average cozy) and the characters just haven't really engaged me.

I received my my from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

A great art related mystery in this blue ridge library series. There's plenty of mystery around some apparently forged paintings that leads to murder and the revelation of secrets from years past.

I received an ARC copy of this book last year and honestly, forgot it was on my kindle until recently so this review is bit delayed.

Also, because Goodreads still doesn't allow half stars my rating was closer to a 2.5 instead of a 2 but I didn't enjoy it quite enough to bump it to 3 stars.

I approached this book hoping for a cozy little mystery. It started off like that but lost my attention approximately half way through. There was a point in my reading where I was positive it was all going to wrap up soon but noticed I still had over 30% of the book left to read. When I reach out for these types of books I'm looking for a 'cozy' element. Whether it's lovable characters, a quirky pet, a vacation-worthy location, or a great love story. And, while this book felt as though one of these elements may win me over I personally didn't feel any of them fully did.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher
I realized that at this point in my life cozy mysteries are not for me.
Thank you for the opportunity.

This is the second book in the Blue Ridge Library series and it is even better than the first. In the first book we met the characters and learned about them which was great, this book delved right into the mystery. Taylorsford, Virginia is getting ready for the annual Heritage Festival. Amy and Sunny are organizing the table for the Festival, which they are dreading. They will have to work with the ladies of the library guild. When they head over to pick up some donated paintings from a local, well-known artist, what they find sets this investigation and mystery into motion. Because the crimes in this book involve art, Amy is asked to help the police due to her background in Art History. As this story unfolds, there are several crimes that occur. From murder to theft to forgery to kidnapping, Amy finds herself in danger.

This is another well-written cozy mystery with wonderful, well-developed characters. It is not just the main characters, but even the secondary characters are interesting and developed. I enjoy the relationship that Amy and her Aunt Lydia have. It is more like mother/daughter with how they look out for one another. Aunt Lydia may be a senior citizen, but she is no shrinking violet. She meets a man that she seems to enjoy his company and she inserts herself into the investigation as well. Of course, I enjoy the setting, who wouldn't love a library in a small town with an excellent research room and very intelligent and helpful staff. This series is quickly becoming a favourite of mine and I can't wait to get to the next book in this series.

3.5 stars
I liked this cozy mystery. I love stories that take place in small town settings, especially when libraries/librarians are involved!! I enjoyed the quirky characters and the fun, fast paced plot.

I am enjoying this series, but am glad that I have read them in order. It has helped me to get to know the characters and see the development of them as well as the layout of the town. This book gave me a glimpse into the art world and forgeries. It was very interesting to learn about. Also the Heritage Festival was taking place in Taylorsford in this book. A local artist has agreed to donate two paintings to the Library for them to see at the festival and when Amy, Sunny and Richard go to collect them they find the artist has been murdered. This is where the mystery begins. There were many twists in the story and I like how the mystery in each book has some tie to something in the past. This is a unique plot point in each book so far. I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

I would like to thank Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for a copy of this book. This did not influence my review in any way.

Not a bad second entry in the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries series. For some reason, though I didn't seem to enjoy this as much as the first one. Still not bad, though.

I enjoyed this solid, easy, cozy mystery.

Amy Webber is the library director for this historic village of Taylorsford, Virginia. The town hosts an annual Heritage Festival in October during which the library runs a yard sale fundraiser. The library fundraiser always tries to include art work, especially from local artists. This year they have arranged for pieces to be donated by a famous local artist. However, when Amy and her friend/assistant, Sunny, arrive to pick up the works, they find a dead artist instead. The police search of the studio, scene of the crime, reveals a hidden cache of what appear to be forged paintings. Since Amy studied art history and is skilled at researching, she is asked by the sheriff’s office to help in the investigation.

An art expert is brought in on the case and he is invited to stay with Amy and her Aunt Lydia since the local inns are full of tourists. The gentleman confirms the forgeries but also discloses a connection to Lydia’s late husband who was an undiscovered artist. Amy and Lydia now have to try to unravel the mystery of the forged paintings while trying to stay away from the murderer.

There are several suspects available, including the deceased woman’s husband, a local youth who has a drug problem and a local wealthy man whose business history is a bit shady. Amy’s fiancé, Richard, a dance and choreographer artist, is along board for moral and physical support. Richard would like to know she is safe, but he has reason to worry. It seems that Amy has a knack for getting into trouble as she was involved in a murder investigation during the summer.

I enjoyed the easy style of this cozy with its real to life writing and lovely autumn descriptions. This is right in line with what I expect from a cozy mystery with the small-town atmosphere, a few quirky characters, jealousies and misdirections. The elements of art forgery added interest. There were also some hints of romance among other characters.

I enjoyed this enough to be interested in reading the first in the series, A Murder for the Books, to find out how Amy and Richard meet and fall in love – as well as learning about the first murder event. I recommend this easy read to fans of the cozy mystery genre.

This is the second in the Blue Ridge Library series. It is the fall season in Taylorsford, Virginia. Amy is the library director who also has an art history background. In this story, she has the opportunity to use her art history knowledge a bit more than her library knowledge. When a local artist is murdered, she uses her skills to assist in solving the murder and the possible art forgery crimes being committed. She also has to help find out if her late uncle was once involved in art forgery. She does this with the help of her friend Sunny, Aunt Lydia, her boyfriend, Richard, and the local sheriff, Brad. I am glad to get in on this cozy early and missing book 1 did not hinder my reading experience. Looking forward to book 3 and so on. I am giving this book a 3.5-star review rounded to 4.

Shelved Under Murder is the second book in the Blue Ridge Library series by Victoria Gilbert. I do recommend reading this series in order, to understand exactly who everyone is and how they are connected. I have read the previous book, and enjoyed it, however it did still take me a few pages to get back into this setting and remember the characters- mainly because I am also reading another librarian mystery series.

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.

Shelved Under Murder is an entertaining read, and the balance of emotion, sleuthing, and danger was well done. It started slow for me, but only because I wa trying to recapture the thread of the series, mostly because of the number of cozy mysteries I read, particularly those about librarians and other book related themes. However, once I was back in the groove I was fully invested in Amy's story, her relationships, and the mystery of the murdered artist. I like that the murder lead to more complicated revelations and mysteries that personally effect Amy's world, and that the stories of town residents and their relations to each other continued evolving and growing even as the mystery unfolded. I also liked that we got to know more about the past, and were able to see Amy and Richard become closer and understand each other. The danger and complications involved in the murder was very well done, there are multiple levels to the crime and I really enjoyed the depth and twists involved. I feel like the story as a little deeper and more dense than most cozy style mysteries, but I just worked out well and felt right as I was reading.

Shelved Under Murder is a fun and fast ride with plenty of twists and turns. While I had suspicions as to the final twists, and was right, I still enjoyed the ride and am still planning on continuing with the series.

I really enjoyed this cozy mystery located in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The characters are well developed and you will fall in love with many of them...and find yourself despising others! You don't have to get too far into the book before you're pulled in tight and you don't want to put it down until you follow all of the clues to the end.

This book has an added benefit of revealing information about the world of art...the storage of pieces of art and how they are valued.

I am not a fan of "romance" books. And while Shelved Under Murder does have some romance aspects, they don't overwhelm the book. There is a little bit of syrupy sweetness, but I think it just works to help both of the main characters feel better about themselves and their relationship.

The main character, Amy Webber, is a delightful person.. And I enjoyed reading about her work in the library and her dedication to her job.

As a whole, the book was an entertaining read and I look forward to more books in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Title: Shelved Under Murder

Author: Victoria Gilbert

Series: Blue Rigde Library Mysteries book 2

Chapters: 28

Pages: 336

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Rating: 3 stars

Shelved under Murder is the second book in the Blue Ridge Library mysteries by Victoria Gilbert Amy Webber has settled in as library director for the Taylorsford Virginia library for the most part. But when a murder investigation involves possible forged paintings and the sheriff's deputy finds out that Amy has a degree in Art history she finds herself drug into another murder investigation as well. And to think she just wanted to survive the yard sale fundraiser for the library.

I enjoyed Shelved Under Murder more than I did the first book in the series. From the second book on in cozy mysteries the story and mystery just seems to flow faster; I think that is do in part to the characters and setting being established in the first book of the series. I enjoy reading cozy mysteries with librarians as the mystery solver. I guess it's because my day job is that of library assistant. I loved the fall and early October setting of the book as well as the Blue Ridge Mountain setting. . And I look forward to the next book in the Blue Ridge Library mystery. Library employees as well as fans will enjoy this cozy mystery.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Amy is preparing the library and donations for the fall festival. Amy and Richard follow Sunny to a local artist’s home who has agreed to donate paintings for the library table at the festival. Richard finds the artist dead with her husband no where to be found, her daughter coming down from a drug high and a secret closet full of forgeries. Chief Deputy Tucker asks Amy to help research the paintings and an art expert is called in. He stays with Amy and Aunt Lydia due to the festival filling the nearby hotels. Richard goes to New York to be part of performances he choreographed. Amy investigates and there is more going on than meets the eye. It may even involve dead Uncle Andrew whose art is under appreciated.
There are close calls with injury and death. There is an international forgery ring that may have stakes in their small town. This is a highly enjoyable cozy mystery. The characters are interesting and fun to get to know. Amy is a multi-faceted heroine who is pretty intelligent but doesn’t always see what’s in front of her nose.

This is my first book by Victoria Gilbert and I have to say I enjoyed her writing style; she kept me guessing the whole time as she brought the mystery to life in my head as I read the story. I will be back for more of her stories.



Shelved Under Murder is the second book in Victoria Gilbert’s Blue Ridge Library Mysteries, I missed the first book, but the author kept up with past going on so I didn’t feel like I messed anything.



I enjoyed the characters and the story was great, the author did a great job tying the art forgery with Amy’s family, even though it’s in the blurb you just don’t expect what how it all ties together and how much loss is entwined with the whole case.





I recommend this series to any cozy mystery lover out there.

You know a books great when you read it in a date. Light mysteries are good for the soul. Amy is once again involved in solving a murder. With the help of her boyfriend, best friend and aunt she looks for the murderer and information on the art forgeries.
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Princess Fuzzypants here: There are library mysteries where the libraries play integral roles in the proceedings. In this book, other than providing our heroine and her best friend with a career and a fundraiser that sparks some of the action, much of the activity takes place elsewhere. In fact, I might say the mystery is more centred on the world of art and art forgeries than almost anything else. However, as a librarian, Amy is rank hand at research. What she discovers will set many records straight but will challenge some very tightly held views of the participants.
When Amy and Aunt Lydia discover the corpse of a local artist, murder is just the beginning. As she digs deeper, she finds an international forgery ring that also deals in stolen masterpieces and is quite prepared to kill anyone who stands in their way. Are they the killers or is the husband who has disappeared or is there someone else with a motive. It is quite a convoluted story of intrigue and deceit and love and loyalty. While I suspected the actual villain, there was a lot to the story that I did not see coming. I like that.
I like the way the characters turn out to be other than they appear to be- both in a positive and a negative way. I like the way Amy gets embroiled in the investigation but not in an over the top way. She can still get into lots of trouble but at least she doesn’t go looking for it blythly.
At the end there are still questions about some of the backstory but with the characters set up in this book, it is going to be a lot of fun finding out who is whom and what is what.
I give it four purrs and two paws up.

I love this series! I was so excited to fall back into a story with Amy, Richard, Sunny and Aunt Lydia...just to name a few. This is a great cozy mystery that I read in one sitting. This is the second book in the series you do not have to read the first one but I do recommend it.

Amy and Sonny find themselves involved in another murder investigation barely six months after the last one. Local popular painter, Rachel, is found murdered with her own knife. The investigation opens up a world of forgery, lies and deceit. Does Amy want to venture further into the investigation when her deceased Uncle could be a part of it?

Another great read!!