This is a fantastic start to a brand-new series. I really enjoyed the premise of a retired librarian and a wealthy young man teaming up as protagonists. I thought the mystery was highly entertaining and I can't wait to see how the series plays out.

Victoria Gilbert debuts the Hunter and Clewe mysteries with a Cryptic Clue. Jane Hunter who at 60 is forced into early retirement from her university librarian job is hired by wealthy and reclusive millionaire Cameron Clewe to organize his book collection. At a fund raiser on his property a wealthy young woman and former girl friend is murdered. He and Jane seek to solve the murder to clear his name. Lots of suspects and interesting hidden histories for the protaginists. The murdered woman had a seriously flawed background which gave many reasons for her murder. Read and enjoy.

A 3.5 star rating for me rounded up to 4 stars for Goodreads. I liked this start to a new series. The mystery was good and held my attention and I liked the collection of characters. Interested to see more in this series.

I love a new cozy mystery series that hooks you with the first book and A Cryptic Clue is that! Jane Hunter is a newly retired librarian hired by Cam Clewe to oversee his private library. When Cam's girlfriend is murdered, Jane and Cam need to find the murderer so he's not charged with the murder.
I am looking forward to the next book in the series of Hunter and Clewe. I enjoyed that Jane is a librarian, always a favorite in cozies. Clewe has personality quirks of a social introvert, but Jane helps him through it. The two make a great combination.
I received a complimentary copy of A Cryptic Clue thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books, but all opinions are my own.

Retired librarian Jane Hunter, who is looking for work to stay active, lands a job archiving the book collection of Cam Clewe, a wealthy young man who has some personality issues!
The mystery was well done and I was surprised at the eventual exposure of the culprit.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.
#crypticclue, #VictoriaGilbert, #mysterynovel, #netgalley

What’s cute cozy mystery. Definitely kept me entertained and guessing. I like that the story involved cataloging books, information that I didn't know anything about.

An interesting new cozy series featuring a retired librarian. I liked the atmosphere and Jane Hunter.
This is the first book and I'm sure the next will be even better. I enjoyed this one and couldn't guess the culprit
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A Cryptic Clue by Victoria Gilbert is the first book in the new cozy mystery, Hunter and Clewe. Retired librarian, Jane Hunter, is forced into retirement and looking for a fresh start. At sixty years old, her options are limited, but when she sees an employment opportunity for a archivist to inventory rare books, she jumps on it. Cameron “Cam” Clewe is an eccentric thirty three year old who is looking for this archivist. As Jane begins this new venture, she discovers a dead body in Cam’s library the night after an event at his mansion. Cam, who suffers from severe anxiety and limited social skills, enlists Jane’s help in trying to solve the mystery of the death of his ex. He is the number one suspect, so he needs Jane to help him find the real killer.

I enjoyed the cozy mystery feeling behind this unraveling story. I honestly had no idea who the killer was until it came to light at the end. So I enjoyed the constant guessing. But, there were a lot of characters introduced, which confused me a little at times, and at other times, I was bored. Jane’s character was a little annoying, but I liked the relationship between Jane and Cam. It was more like mother and son, and with Cam’s mental issues, she was a great fit for him. The set up for the next few books in the series has already been introduced, and I think they will be interesting. I ok forward to the new books in the series and hope some of the character development becomes a little better to understand.

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

Mystery | Adult
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Here’s an intriguing new pairing – a reclusive and wealthy young man, and a financially wobbly librarian skidding toward retirement age. When Cam Crewe needs an expert to catalogue his extensive scholarly literary collection, he turns to Jane Hunter. She has an interesting life story – she left an abusive spouse and raised her daughter as a single mum; she was summarily laid off from her decades-long employment with a university library, and she sold her home to reduce her financial obligations and to be able to take up contract work. And she’s about 60 years old – experienced, wily, astute, and a smart cookie. When Jane finds a body on her first day of work, she’s embroiled in a mystery with her new employer fingered as a key suspect. He asks her to help investigate to help him clear his name (oh, and find the real killer) and while she’s not ready to accept everything he says as truth, Jane agrees. The mystery is excellent – the story moves along quickly, with lots of characters, a few clues, plenty of red herrings, and a resolution that I didn’t quite see coming (I identified the right clue but the wrong suspect). I loved Jane’s character – Gilbert is a librarian as well as a cosy mystery author, and she nails the details of Jane’s dogged persistence, evidence-based approach, and logical reasoning. She does go a bit overboard with the description of Jane’s cataloguing work, in my opinion, though it’s probably fascinating information to those who aren’t in the field. Thanks for dropping in the master’s degree, Victoria! Few realize how educated we are … I digress. I do have one quibble: you know the writer’s advice, “Show, don’t tell”? Gilbert takes it almost too far, providing relentless detail about hair and eye colour, clothing, hand gestures and more, often in a single paragraph. I prefer seeing this delivered in a more casual way that adds to the story rather than distracting the reader. This is the first in a new series, and despite misgivings about its appeal partway through the book, by the end I was hooked. I’ll be looking for more. My thanks to Crooked Lane Books for the digital reading copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62989601

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this story.

Retired librarian, Jane, takes on a job cataloguing wealthy recluse, Cam’s large collection of books and artefacts. Only days into her new employment, things take a turn, and she finds herself helping Cam investigate a murder where he is the lead suspect.

This story was a real whodunnit. Each character had secret motives for murder, and with every question asked, more questions were gained. Like a true mystery, you were made to guess throughout.

I liked the whole amateur sleuth take on it too, rather than the usual detective story. It made for a nice change.

It’s a well written story with a satisfying ending, leaving it open for more to come.

Oh my, what a fun, cozy way to start a new cozy series!! Jane Hunter is 60 years old and is starting a new job, cataloging books and documents for Cameron Clewe, an eccentric young man. At a gala at Cam's home, there is a murder and he is suspect #1. He wants to solve it, but he rarely leaves home. He is relying on Jane to do the footwork.

I have to say, this is phenomenal. It took a minute to get going, but once it did, it was wonderful!! This is a traditional mystery (think Sherlock Holmes) set in contemporary times. It seems a bit odd, but it actually works!! I love how Cam appreciates Jane's help at times (some other detective dynamics in history do not have that.) I also enjoy that Jane is older than Cam by quite a lot and in more of a motherly role. It works so well. The mystery itself had twists and turns and I actually didn't guess it!!

This was just an excellent cozy mystery!! I highly recommend it for those who enjoy traditional or cozy mysteries ❤️.

This was a very average read. About half way through I lost the sense of urgency and just wanted to see if I was right about the killer. The story felt like a pilot to a new show that is just about establishing characters, relationships and consequences for the rest of the series. I felt like most of the book was irrelevant to the actual reveal and the murder that took place. Not suspenseful but I did not expect that out of this book as it is advertised as a cozy mystery. There are multiple characters and it was easy to keep track of them. The murder felt like a subplot and not really the focus of the story. Overall it was okay.

First in a fine new mystery series with Jane, a retired librarian, and Cam, a young book collector, who team up to solve the murder of his ex-girlfriend. He is the main suspect, gasp! Cosy and quirky and keeps you guessing

This new cozy series features 60-year old retired librarian Jane Hunter who takes on a new job working as an archivist to eccentric collector Cam Clewe. Jane is looking forward to cataloging his vast collection of items related to the classic mystery and detective authors. But Jane’s first day is marred by her finding the body of Cam's ex-girlfriend Ashley in the library.

This is an interesting pairing of two very different people to solve a mystery. Cam has limited social skills and suffers from anxiety and agoraphobia. Jane is inherently curious and uncovers some long-held secrets as she tries to help her new boss clear his name.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books. All opinions are my own.

Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for an e-galley in exchange for an honest review. This was a fun one! As a librarian, I enjoyed this read, because the author has actually BEEN a librarian, and doesn't employ cliche tropes about the profession. I enjoyed the mystery, the pace, and the characters, and for me-a good sign is me incorrectly guessing the baddie, and I did! The ending leaves me hopeful for more installments.

A Cryptic Clue is the first in the new Hunter and Clewe cozy mystery series. The author also writes the excellent Blue Ridge Library series, so I was anxious to read her latest book.

The book stars 60-year-old Jane Hunter, a recently laid off librarian, who has found a conservation position within the mansion of young, fabulously rich, but agoraphobic, Cameron Clewe. However, on her second day, Jane discovers the body of Cam’s ex-girlfriend, Ashley, dead on the library floor. Cam is afraid that the police will see only him as a suspect. So, he asks Jane to do some snooping on his behalf to try and find some other suspects. Jane does so with the help of her retired journalist landlord.

I really enjoyed A Cryptic Clue. It was nice to see an older female amateur detective. I also loved the possibly haunted, and definitely creepy, house atmosphere and the backdrop of classic golden age mysteries. Overall, a nice way to spend an afternoon. I’m looking forward to more entries in this series. 4 stars!

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

I jumped at the opportunity to read a Victoria Gilbert mystery. I was perturbed at first that I failed to notice it wasn't the latest in her Blue Ridge Mountain librarian series, but not for long. I soon realized I had gotten in on the ground floor of a new series featuring Jane, a librarian forced into premature retirement and found herself at loose ends.

She finds a job, a new home, and soon -- a murder. Jane will be cataloging the Golden Age mysteries owned by collector Cameron Crewe, a wealthy young man who lives in a sprawling estate, alone other than his staff. Agrophobic Cam has reluctantly agreed to host a fundraising gala at his home. When his recently ex-girlfriend, Ashley, is found dead in the library, he fears he is the most convenient suspect and local police will look no further.

Cam recruits Jane and his assistant Lauren to investigate Ashley's past on his behalf and report back to him so he can analyze their findings without venturing into the world. The deeper they look, the more potential suspects they uncover. Ashley seems to have left behind more enemies than friends.

A Cryptic Clue is the first volume in the Hunter and Clewe series. As the first book, it lays a lot of groundwork for further exploration. An abusive past relationship, a landlord who was formerly a journalist, and a wealthy benefactor with mysteries of his own to untangle and wants Jane's assistance to do so. Overall, a fun read, and I look forward to continuing in the series.

I received this advanced reader copy of A Cryptic Clue from Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Cryptic Clue is the first in a brand new mystery series by Victoria Gilbert. In this new cozy mystery a retired librarian gets hired by a wealthy book collector to catalog his collection of rare items. Before she can even start on the collection she stumbles upon a dead body. When her new employer becomes the main suspect in the murder she decides to help him clear his name by helping to figure out who is the real culprit.
Unlike other books that I have read by Victoria Gilbert, I struggled to get into this one and I also didn’t care for the main characters very much. So unfortunately this will be the last one in this series that I will read.

This book is the first in a new series, and I think it's going to be a good one. It features Jane and Cam, an unlikely pair of sleuths.

University librarian Jane Hunter has been retired a little too soon for her liking. She is now beginning a job cataloging a private collection for Cameron “Cam” Clewe, an eccentric 33-year-old collector.

Before she even has a chance to start, there is a murder in Cam's home. Cam loves a good puzzle and Jane loves a good mystery. It seems that they are the perfect pair to solve this murder

This is the debut of the Hunter and Clewe series. It’s a good introduction to this new cozy series. The mystery is well done and holds your interest, offering several viable suspects who had reasons to have committed the murder. The amateur sleuths are not what is typical for many cozy mysteries. Jane Hunter is a retired 60 year old librarian and Cam Clewe is a 33 year old wealthy, socially challenged recluse. Cam hires Jane to catalogue his book collection but they soon find themselves embroiled in investigating the murder of Cam’s ex girlfriend. Their shared interest in mysteries and unraveling puzzles form the basis for their sleuthing partnership. This is a refreshingly unique relationship.