I have read all the previous books in this series, but this one didn't engage me as the others did. The premise of a 60's commune just outside of town with many aging hippies still living in the area is solid and interesting. What I didn't like was a constant mental dialogue by Amy regarding either the person she was dealing with (like Kurt) or yet another possible murderer and the lame reasons for suspecting the person of the crime. I felt the whole book was unfocused rather than logical clues. I also was disappointed in the ending. The reappearance of a character that had been dropped early in the book, the way too speedy rescue without any clues, the glossing over of the criminal being caught, an the fast forward to an ending that didn't feel natural. This was not Ms Gilbert's best book, although I was glad to have the chance to read it.

I do appreciate Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books for giving me an arc copy to read. Opinions expressed are strictly my own.

I enjoyed this book. The characters are well developed and it is an interesting plot but I felt that I was missing something by not having read the previous books.
The author did a good job of covering back story but I would have found the characters more accessible if this wasn’t the first time I met them.
The story line was interesting and I have to say I was surprised at the ending....I read a lot of mysteries and I usually have suspicions.
I would recommend this book....it’s a good, homey read.

This was a hard book for me to "get into". I don't know if I was just to busy or what. Amy is at it again. An old skeleton is found on Sunny's grandparents property. Back in the 60's they operated a commune and rumor has it that the skeleton is that of a former commune member. There are several possible suspects and motives. I was surprised with the ending and motive.

The characters are fun and the story is easy to read. If you want to relax and getaway for an hour or two, this book will do that.

Library director Amy Webber is all too happy to do a little digging on a cold case for the cop ex-boyfriend of her mayoral candidate best friend - especially since the body was discovered on her best friend’s grandparent’s farm (and former hippie commune). However, it soon becomes clear that whoever the killer was, he or she is not done yet.

The German crime series Tatort is the longest-running show on German television. It started in 1970 and continues to be beloved and eagerly anticipated to this day. The key to its success is neither its writing (very solid), nor its acting (totally fine), but that it is redolent with local color. It follows around sixteen sets of investigators in the same number of locales throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, and everyone tunes in to the episodes filmed in their home states and hometowns with a certain relish and local pride. And they watch the other episodes to get a good look at what’s local to the locals in the other locations.

That sense of place is a big part of what makes a really good cozy mystery as well. When I pick up a cozy, I want to feel like that one small town is different from all the other small towns, like there’s a reason for me to be here in this place besides murder.

And that sense of place that defines Tatort, that is a crucial ingredient in a fabulous cozy mystery, is almost wholly lacking in this novel. As another Blue Ridge girl, I really wish I had loved this book. But there was nothing that made Taylorsford stand out - nothing that made it its own place. Nothing that even really made it seem like it was set in the Blue Ridge. Taylorsford could be any small semi-rural (it is not noticeably rural in nature, apart from the fact that we are told it is) town in any English-speaking country. Even the fair seemed completely generic, and while most fairs these days have a certain sameness, there’s always something (also, why was it so big? If Taylorsford is so small, I’d expect it to have a small fair - this one was practically State Fair size. So many tents!). There was clogging, at least.

(I try to repress my memories of clogging as much as possible - apparently cloggers these days get to dance in jeans, rather than enormous petticoats and plaid pinafores with ruffled satin dance pants. SO unfair.)

It’s not that it was a bad read. The pacing was solid, and if the plot was fairly predictable (tip: make sure that your baddie doesn’t vanish midway through the book if you want to surprise your reader with the revelation of his guilt), it was entertaining enough. I had some nits to pick stylistically (why do we know the color of everyone’s eyes? why so many details that a) do not add to the story and b) do not make sense for our narrator to know?), but Gilbert calmed down after the first fifty pages or so, so while we know when the library was built (1919 - why? this adds nothing. I’m mad.), we don’t get every pointless detail about the history of the farm where the body was discovered. I suspect the details were added in to get that local color I was complaining about being missing, but they all seem extraneous, rather than building towards a unified vision.

The characterization was also fine. It’s not a great sign when you get to the end of the book, sit down to write a review, and can’t quite remember the main character’s first name, even though it was used frequently throughout the book, but none of the characters was actively irritating except the ones who were meant to be (however, again, overdrawn), and I quite liked some of the old ladies. It wasn’t especially complex and it never felt like any of the characters had an especially interesting motivation or history, but honestly, that’s pretty true to life.

I did like the details about being a librarian! One of the reasons I really enjoy cozy mysteries is that they often dig into other professions or hobbies that I know nothing about, so I can learn from them, and I did learn about the art of being a librarian from this novel.

So, if you want to spend an afternoon curled up on your sofa drinking tea and reading a book, this is a fine way to do that. It won’t stick with you and it won’t change your life, but it’s a pleasant enough experience and that’s not a bad thing for a book to be.

tl;dr - ultimately forgettable cozy mystery containing nothing offensive - or very interesting. Decent way to spend an evening reading after work. Content warnings for drug use.

Fun murder mystery! The right mix of suspense and humor to keep you captivated. The characters are interesting and likable. Loved how the author kept pointing to different characters as the twists and turns lead to the final truth. .

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.


Thank you to net galley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book. This was a very great cozy mystery and enjoyed reading it

Note - I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A mystery! A traditional mystery! Most authors today write investigative thrillers, where the protagonist jumps from thug to another (not necessarily always a thug) who gives him/her some clue or lead that leads him/her to next thug (or just another person). While this makes a great read in it's genre, this book was a traditional mystery. A mystery where a crime was committed, there are few suspects and the protagonist detects 'why's and 'who's and 'how's - reminds me of books written by Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie. Though, sadly, this book came nowhere close to them.

While there are some parts of the book that I liked, there were also some parts that I didn't care for.

In the beginning, the sensible heroine was a big allure for me; though, by the end I didn't feel the same. One would think that in mystery and thriller genre, a sensible heroine was given, but they would be wrong. It is shockingly surprising the amount of books with reckless, stupid protagonists out there. Amy, protagonist of this book, was a smart heroine whose actions were not just to further the plot of the story, but were sensible and rational. At least in the beginning. But by the middle of the book, she had started keeping secrets from the police. And by the end, I was shaking my head at her. Take for example, her stupidity in confronting the people she thinks are murderers. Because telling them point blank that you know they are the villains wouldn't make them want to kill her.....

I liked that the police were not just side-lined or shown totally incompetent (at least when the heroine shared pertinent information with them). I also liked how Amy got involved in the case. She was not simply a nosy, bored, reckless heroine (in the beginning only) who got involved just because she was the protagonist, but actually got involved helping out a friend and by doing some research for the police as a consultant.

The mystery itself, was not very well thought out. And this was a major reason for not enjoying this book as much. I guessed some of the 'why's and 'who's of the mystery 1/3rd way in the book. There were plot holes, and in a mystery, they are highly irritating. Like, why were so many people warning away the heroine and threatening her. For one, all the information she was accumulating, it was all general facts - facts that were available to many people. I also didn't like the fact that she stumbled onto the the final clue accidentally. There was no brilliance, just blinding luck.

The setting was also a bust for me. This is a personal preference. I wish the mystery was set in a better setting than a small town where all the unfortunate aspects of a society are portrayed in a limelight. I didn't care at all for all the other characters.

The main problem I had was that all the things that I liked in the beginning of the book, including Amy, they all turned into the things that I didn't like. And as I was pretty much reading the book as a stand alone, the many pages about Amy's personal life were also very boring for me. I found no chemistry between her and her fiancee.

That being said, overall, this book was a light, fun read. It had a feeling of rustic charm, reminiscent of old times. I would rate it 2.5 stars.

Very enjoyable read! I very much enjoy this series and all the characters. Ending was a surprise. Good mystery!

This is the fourth book in the series and my first time reading this author. The setting is wonderful and the plot a hoot. Hippies, a library and skeletons. With a librarian on the case, it’s sure to be an interesting adventure! A gripping read.

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

Taylorsford Public Library director Amy Webber's friend "Sunny" Fields is running for mayor. 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 opposition for Mayor using this news in his campaign against Sunny, Sunny's mayoral hopes are fading. Amy sets her wedding plans to Richard aside, 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 Richard, Aunt Lydia, and Hugh Chen pursue every lead. But Amy puts her own life in danger as she gets closer to the truth of the true murderer.

I have read all in this series and each one gets better and better as the author evolves the characters. I got this newest one as an ARC from NetGalley.

Before I get started, I wanted to thank Netgalley for giving me an advanced copy of this book because I really am not sure this book would have been on my radar. As you may already know, I am a sucker for a great cozy mystery! This year I have read a lot of them and have realized that for me a good cozy needs to be grounded in reality....or just totally full of magic, there is no middle ground for me. This book is an example of a cozy that is ground in the real world.

In this cozy mystery a skeleton is found on a local farm that has a connection to a commune that once existed in 60s. Amy, the local librarian, decides to try and figure out who the skeleton belongs to in order to help clear the name of her best friends family. You see, back in the 60's her best friend's (named Sunny) grandparents ran a hippie commune where peace, love, sex, and drugs were a regular thing. Sunny's grandparents ask Amy to try and get in touch with their old friends to warn them that the cops were going to start asking questions. Many of the old commune members grew up to have very reputable lives and having the cops start revealing their past could cause all of that to go away. Amy figured that this was one of the best ways to try to figure out the truth but she never imagined that it would result in putting her own life in danger.
Gilbert did a great job making sure that if you have not read the earlier books in this series you wouldn't be lost. She makes it clear who everyone is to each other without slowing the speed of the story down. The general pace of the book itself was decent as well and there were only a couple of slow sections. There were actually a few intense moments in the book as well as an additional murder. What was most shocking was finding out who the original murderer was. It also is heartbreaking when you find out what caused him to be murdered.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and I think it was really well done. The motive for murder, how the murderer got in contact with the victims....and the additional murders that were done in the present were very well done. As mentioned before I was shocked when everything was revealed in the final chapters. I am glad that this book introduce me to Victoria Gilbert, I will definitely be reading her other books.

Bound for Murder by Victoria Gilbert is a well written cozy mystery. While it is fourth in the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries series, it is the first book I’ve read in the series and had no problem following along. Amy Webber is a librarian in a small town, she’s also planning her wedding to her neighbor, Richard, a dancer at a local college. Her assistant at the library, Sunny, is running for town mayor. Sunny’s grandparents own a local farm...formerly a commune in the 60’s, when construction for the town turns up a skeleton on the commune property, it starts a murder mystery with rumors swirling of who-dun-it.

Amy has assisted the local police in the past, thanks to her amazing researching skills. Sunny’s grandparents also enlist Amy’s help, but Amy soon finds out researching this case can have dire consequences for her well being. As she questions former commune members, a list of others who have mysteriously disappeared, never to be seen again, or died under mysterious circumstances starts to get longer.

The ending is really good, very suspenseful even if you think you’ve solved the great mystery.

The book is well-written with just the right amount of suspense and twists a cozy mystery should have. This is a nice easy read, nothing too heavy if you are looking for something quick and interesting. There are many different themes in this book, but they blend really nicely are easy to follow. I thought of it as Aurora Teagarden Mystery-ish by Charlaine Harris (one of my favorite series!)

I would like to thank Netgalley, Crooked Lane Books and Victoria Gilbert for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love cozy mysteries but I didn't manage to get interested on this one. I try many times and just didn't connect with the characters. Or with the plot. Or with anything really, so, kind of disapointed.

Bound for Murder was a easy, fun read. I could identify with Amy, the protagonist, and loved the fact that she was a librarian. Although I've never read any of the books in the series before this one, I didn't feel that it took any of my reading pleasure away. It made me curious about the others, though. I enjoyed the story and would recommend it to friends and family.

This is the first book in this series that I have read but I enjoyed it so much I plan to go back and start at the first. This book is a skillful blend of mystery, and delightfulness that is sure to entice readers. The characters and the twists captivated me throughout the book
Many thanks to Crooked Lane Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A quick light read with interesting characters and a story that keeps you interested.
Victoria Gilbert penned a nice read for a cozy night. Will read more of this series.

Bound for Murder is a well written cozy mystery. Loved the plot and the author’s writing. I look forward to reading more books in this series. Mystery fans will love this book. Thanks to the publisher for my advance ebook. This is my unbiased review.

A light mystery set in a small library town. The discovery of some old bones leads to a search for answers that affects people in the past and the present.

This book was given to me at no cost by the publisher and Net Galley in return for an unbiased review. Bound for Murder is the 4th book in the Blue Ridge Library series. The protagonist, Amy Webber, tries to help her best friend’s family after human bones are found on their property. The victim was murdered in the 1960’s so it is something of a cold case. It is interesting to piece together the clues from 50+ years before. This series is well done. The protagonist is not perfect or depicted as beautiful. The perfect woman trope gets old after a while, although the protagonist’s aunt comes close. The mystery is intriguing and not a quick solve. There are enough suspects to keep the reader guessing. The characters are fairly well developed and the reader is able to develop a relationship with some of the side characters. This is particularly true if you read more than one book in the series. I recommend this book, but you may want to start at the beginning of the series.

The small town of Taylorsford, VA, had its share of shady characters. Many arose from the small commune that had its origin and downfall during the ’60s on a farm located on the outskirts of town. This was of course escalated by the drug culture that was part of commune life. But now some of those shady characters were grown up and running for public office. Some were returning to visit friends. And there were those who were returning for murder.

Much of the story focuses on the town library and its librarian, Amy Webber, and a forty-year-old murder associated with the members of the commune. The more Amy discovered about the commune’s history, the more dangerous life became for her and her friends. Time was running out before there would be more murders.

The author has built an enjoyable cozy mystery that easily holds the reader’s attention from page 1 to the last sentence. Though there are two cats woven into the story, there is no library cat. But even without the cat, the book was an enjoyable read.
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This review is based on a free electronic copy provided by the publisher for the purpose of creating this review. The opinions expressed are my own.