Member Review

Death in the Margins by Victoria Gilbert has newlywed Amy Muir embroiled in a new mystery. Meredith, Richard’s malicious ex-fiancé, is murdered at the theater. Amy finds Connor Vogler standing over Meredith’s body holding the murder weapon. Connor is arrested for the crime. Amy does not feel that Connor is guilty. Amy has her work cut out for her since there is a surfeit of suspects. Meredith was a mean-spirited woman. Can Amy find the killer before he decides she is a liability? Death in the Margins is the seventh A Blue Ridge Library Mystery. It can be read as a standalone if you are new to the series. Amy Muir is a developed, realistic character. It is nice to see her happy with Richard. We get to catch up with Sunny, Aunt Lydia, Richard, and the other secondary characters. The mystery involves Richard’s new dance production. Meredith was a part of the production, but she was making everyone miserable. I am surprised it took this long for her to be murdered. A young dancer is accused of the crime since he had a public altercation with Meredith (mostly her berating him) the day she was killed, and he was found standing over the body with the murder weapon in his hand (that is a compelling reason to arrest him). Amy dons her sleuthing cap once again. Amy makes up her suspect list and begins asking questions. There are a couple of red herrings, incidents to deter Amy, and clues to help readers solve the crime. There is a suspenseful reveal. The wrap up answers all lingering questions. I like how Richard’s dance production was incorporated into the mystery. I liked that Chief Deputy Brad Tucker asked for Amy’s assistance. She made sure to keep him in the loop. The ending is one fans of the series will enjoy. There is some repetition of details, but I was pleased that it was minimal. This was a satisfying cozy mystery. Death in the Margins is a jazzy cozy with a spiteful performer, a dramatic death, bird feeder bandits, a surplus of suspects, a myriad of masks, a pleasing performance, a helpful horse, and a special surprise.