Past Due for Murder is a good cozy mystery. I recommend this book. It is fun to read books that have librairians as a key character.

Past Due for Murder is the third book in the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries series. I have not read the first two in the series, and did have some trouble understanding the relationships between the characters and what actually happened in the first two books. Amy Webber, the Taylorsford Library director, and our main character, just keeps saying versions of "the events that happened last summer" or "the events of the past summer", and I found this disconcerting.

Basically, Amy's boyfriend, Richard, is a person of interest in a missing girl case, and Amy has to help clear his name and get to the bottom of the mystery. There is also a side story of a mystery from 1879 when 2 girls went missing, and there's gold involved in that one. And then there's another side story that involves Amy's ex and the hit and run of his girlfriend. This was all a bit much for me. The writing was fine, and the characters were likeable enough, I just spent too much time trying to follow all the different stories and just ended up confused more often than not. As this could in part be due to the fact that I hadn't read the first 2 books in the series, I will be giving this book 3/5 stars. I love cozy mysteries but I don't think I'll be continuing on with this series.

3/5 stars.

*** I would like to thank NetGalley, Crooked Lane Books, and Victoria Gilbert for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Amy is once again involved in a local mystery. A college student disappears and Richard is a person of interest since she was in one of his classes. Amy’s ex is in town mourning the loss of his girlfriend. Is he trying to rekindle their romance? Which teacher is having an affair with his student? Will the parents ever be friends?
Goodreads

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Past Due for Murder is the third book in the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries series. I have not read the first two in the series. Although most cozy mystery series say that you can read them in any order, I find that I miss a lot if I don’t start at the beginning and follow along with character growth and backstory development. Even though there was decent brief fill in of character backstory I still feel like I was missing something and plan to go back and read the first two of the series before moving on to the fourth book in this series.

I didn’t find the mystery in this book all that compelling. I was more interested in the case of the two missing girls from long ago. While I was satisfied by the catching of the killer, not because I needed to know who the murderer was, but because he was a jerk. I was also concerned because the mystery was wrapped up with a good chunk of the book left. However, the remainder of the book was filled with nice moments and the wrapping up of other storylines in the book and at the end I didn’t mind that the mystery had wrapped up early.
Overall, a nice read and a new cozy mystery series for my TBR list.

Amy Webber, Taylorsford Library director, is helping with an event that includes a bonfire and a presentation by a local folklore expert and four of her students. Everyone begins to worry when one of the students doesn't show up for the event. Soon the whole town is looking for the student.

The missing student is finally discovered lost in the mountains, with no memory of recent events—and a dead body lying nearby.

Amy's gift for research helps the police learn some truths that end up solving the mysteries.

Past Due for Murder is the third book in the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series. The book can be read as a stand alone but I suggest reading the series.

The library is located in Taylorsford, Virginia and Amy Webber is the library director. A young girl goes missing, a hit and run gets solved and someone gets murdered.

The book will keep you guessing. A fun, easy and fast read.

This is the third book in the "Blue Ridge Library Mystery series by Victoria Gilbert. Any book that involves a librarian, books and bookish things draws me in before I even read a page. Past Due for Murder did draw me in, but I do think you should read the previous books in the series. I wouldn't consider this a stand alone.

The storyline was mysterious with a dash of spooky - making for a perfect cozy mystery! The characters, setting and plot were all enjoyable and make this a quick read. Grab a copy for yourself and then cozy up on the couch with a cup of tea!

A good book. Well written with great characters and a good plot. The storyline flows and the mystery is enjoyable. I highly recommend.,

4.5 stars

This is the third book in the Blue Ridge Library mysteries by Victoria Gilbert.

A missing girl in dire straights stumbles over the dead body of a woman. And before the police can question her, she is put into a coma due to her injuries. The girl had gone missing during a bonfire put on by the Library and so Amy Webber finds herself looking into things much to the dismay of the local police and her new boyfriend.

This story is filled with a lot of the goings on in the every day lives of the main cast, especially in the lives of Amy and her dancer instructor boyfriend, Richard. I love seeing the daily lives of book people because that makes them feel more real for us. I am enjoying this series a bunch and definitely want to read other books in this series and will get on that ASAP!

The mystery is filled with red herrings which took me on many a wild goose chase while trying to figure out whodunit. I was totally surprised by the culprit. And it makes complete sense that Amy was the amateur sleuth since she was unknowingly connected to it all in a number of ways, one being that her boyfriend was the missing girl’s dance instructor, which was a fact unknown to Amy at the time. Plus, there were other shocking connections that totally blew me away. Great story! Great mix of a fab cast and a stellar story.

If you like cozy mysteries, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

I received a free copy of PAST DUE FOR MURDER (Book 3 of the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries) by Victoria Gilbert in exchange for an honest review. Library Director Amy Webber is busy. She has been organizing events such as folktales by campfire for the local girl scouts. Additionally, Amy has been assisting students and professors from the local college with their research projects. Amy also aids her aunt with their bed and breakfast along with her regular duties as a librarian, and a manager of the library’s employees, volunteers, and resources. Now, there’s been a mysterious death, a missing co-ed, a boyfriend who’s keeping secrets, and an old flame whose ardour for Amy seems to have been rekindled. What can a woman do except figure out all the answers and solve or resolve everything?

This was a good book with an interesting storyline. It was nice to get a bit more background on the primary characters.

Another great mystery from Victoria Gilbert. I greatly enjoy her series, with the carefully plotted mysteries, great setting and interesting characters.

Amy Webber loves her job as the director of the public library in a small town in Virginia. When the mayor decides to resurrect the old May Day celebrations other things are resurrected as well- namely tales of missing girls and abductions by fairies. When a local professor is found murdered and the last person seen arguing with her was Amy's old boyfriend, Amy is drawn into the search to find the killer.

Fun story, well plotted and surprising end!

I have been enjoying this series very much and Past Due for Murder was a great addition to the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries. As we meet up with our protagonist, Amy Webber, we find her at a Spring Bonfire where a local folklorist is sharing stories about missing girls and fairies luring them with lights. Amy is also working with a local professor and her students on a research project about the town's history and folklore to share at the revived May Day celebrations. When one of the students goes mission, Amy gets involved with the search, especially as Richard's name is being bandied about as a possible suspect. She is busy with all this, as well as trying to deal with her feelings about her relationship with her neighbour, Richard Muir. Richard has gone home for a family party and Amy has not heard from him regularly and he is not responding to her texts. Throw in meeting the parents of your boyfriend and Amy has more to deal with than she bargained for.

I am enjoying seeing Amy's and Richard's relationship grow. They have normal problems to deal with and they are very relatable and likeable. Amy is a great protagonist who continues to work hard for the town, follow her heart, take care of family and remain loyal to her friends. Sunny was also back in this book, but had a much smaller role in this book. I hope she returns to a larger role in the future books. As the mystery unfolded, I had a tough time figuring out who the culprit was. As the reveal was presented, I could see the clues along the way and I was satisfied with the culprit. I liked that the book didn't just end with solving the case, but continued to the May Day festival, tying up the loose ends that were presented at the beginning of the book. I also enjoyed hearing about Richard's dancing, especially after meeting his parents earlier in the book and seeing how much they were disappointed with his choice of career. I also enjoyed the conclusion of the case of the missing gold coins that we have heard about in this and previous books. Overall, a very satisfactory ending to a great mystery.

Past Due for Murder

by Victoria Gilbert

Amy, a library director, juggles many roles from hosting special events to encourage community involvement to maintaining an archive to preserve local history. In Victoria Gilbert’s Past Due for Murder, Amy finds herself in the middle of a myriad of questions. Some are personal and others extend to the community: Why is her boyfriend Richard acting differently and lying? What happened to the missing student Lacey? Why does graduate student Trish hate Lacey so deeply? Did Charles, Amy’s ex-boyfriend, steal another professor’s ideas and why is he back in town? Is there blackmail going on at Clarion University? Who would be motivated so strongly that they would commit murder? As Amy discovers the answers to some questions, more arise and they form a tangled mess which gets unraveled in the end. This cozy mystery is a page turner you won’t want to miss.

I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Crooked Lane Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 5/5

Category: Mystery

Notes: # 3 in the Blue Ridge Library Mystery Series, but works as a standalone.

Publication: February 22, 2019—Crooked Lane Books

Memorable Lines:

I thanked her and went back to compiling statistics from our integrated library system. It was a part of my job that I hated, which made it a perfect match for my mood.

I stared at him, struck by the knowledge that his polished appearance couldn’t hide his true nature. He was obviously someone who always had to be right, who’d always demand blind obedience from his family and friends. In short, he was a bully, and no amount of tailoring and expensive haircuts or handcrafted shoes could hide that truth.

“Time don’t change who you are, just what you look like.”

This is my first read by this author and won't be the last. I enjoyed reading this book and getting to know all the characters. It was an easy read for me. I couldn't stop once I started reading it. I enjoyed this book and the whole story line. I can't wait to read more from this author. I recommend it.

Past Due for Murder is the third book in the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series by Victoria Gilbert. I do suggest reading the series in order for personal character connections, but for the mystery portion new readers should have no problems catching up.

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.

Past Due for Murder let me down a little. The characters and mystery were good. There were some fun twists and turns, and some painful emotional moments along the way as well. I still like the small town feel of Taylorsford and how the group of family and friends that Amy has around her. I had two problems with the book. First, I had a good idea of who the bad guy way, and some of the related why's very early in the book. I might have missed a couple little twists, but I was almost right on point way too early for my peace of mind. I was also a little annoyed with Amy's insecurities and the way some of the romance part of the book happened. The final chapters of the book fixed it, but by that point I was not really all that interested in the Amy and Richard drama. Frankly, I am much more interested in Sunny, Kurt, Lydia, and the rest of the secondary characters and how they move forward than I am in Amy and her future.

Past Due for Murder is a good story, but not one that left me eager for more. I might just be done with this series for now.

This is a snuggle down and keep turning the pages book, we have local folklore and murder intertwined and only Amy's training will find the truth.

In the run up to a May Day festival the local girl scout group is having a bonfire with a local folklore expert (Ramona Raymond know as Mona) telling tales (and then s'mores etc), four students are supposed to be helping out but only three have turned up, when the fourth one turns up a few days later incoherent and near the dead body Mona the town is on high alert again. Amy does what she does best which is research (which also takes her mind off the fact that Richard is being very distant), now she needs to sift the facts from the fiction and help the local police find out the truth (even if the truth hurts).

Princess Fuzzypants here: When Amy and others start to explore folklore about mysterious goings on in the Blue Ridge Mountains, strange things begin to occur. First a young student disappears without a trace and then a murder. What is the connection between these two events and what does Amy’s neighbour Richard have to do with any of it.
Amy must use her superlative research and investigative skills to plough through and separate fact from fiction.
It makes for a quick but entertaining read.
Four purrs and two paws up.

Another solid installment in the Blue Ridge Library mystery series. Despite pegging the ending at only 5% into the book, and taking a little while (okay, a long while) to get into and read this, I did enjoy it. I like Amy and her friends, although I still find Richard a bit too good to be true (just me). The history and mystery of 'the folk', mysterious lights on the mountains, was just spooky and interesting enough to add some depth to the story.

We meet Richard's parents, and Amy's former boyfriend Charles, so some background to both main characters is coloured in a little bit more.

The writing is solid and the story good. Amy's friends and family are supportive and caring, and they always do their best to help her even though they are generally worried about her getting involved in these murder investigations. The series remains strong, and I look forward to the next installment!

PAST DUE FOR MURDER by Victoria Gilbert is the third book in the 'Blue Ridge Library Mystery' series. I wanted to read this because the cover was very inviting and I have a fancy for cozies about librarians, bookshops and other book-related things.

Centred around a library director in the Blue Ridge mountains, I thought this was a very good story. I haven't read the other two books in the series and I felt a little lost with some of the references to events mentioned from the past books. This unfortunately affected my enjoyment of this book a little.

The descriptions of small-town life with all its complicated relationships and traditions were very enjoyable and believable. I also enjoyed the flow and style of writing and character development. The characters were distinct and entertaining and I felt as though I was making some new friends. This was a quick read that kept me guessing and I would like to continue the series but I shall be reading books one and two first.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.