A intriguing mystery set in a University administrative setting. This is the first "Campus Sleuth Mystery". I enjoyed the setting, the characters and the well crafted sleuth. The writing is fast paced and pleasing to the reader. This is a debut for the author and I look forward to further books in the series. Thank you to the publisher, to Net Galley and to the author for the opportunity. My review opinions are my own.

Jen is a interesting well rounded protagonist. She is a educator who also writes fiction books. Because of her writing her colleagues look down on her and do not respect her. The University where she works is very pretentious.. When one of her students is humiliated by a awful professor before his murder the student is the prime suspect. Jen steps in to investigate and save her student. Her clues take her through many red herrings and soon she is one the right path of the suspect.

A enjoyable read with a fresh new setting for this cozy series. Well done to the author,

Jennifer (Jenn) Dalton is the Director of the Campus Writing Center for Clarion University in Virginia. She is a published author of mystery books. She finds a body in the library. She soon learns that Mia Jackson is being looked for as a potential person of interest. However, Mia has gone missing. Jenn, along with Christine Kubiak, Brianna Rowley and Zachary Flynn become amateur sleuths in solving the mystery of the body. We are thrown some red herrings along side twists and turns, which lead to a surprising ending that I never saw coming.

This is an entertaining series debut. The university setting with all the departmental politics to gain status and funding is a nice change from the more typical bakery or bookstore setting. The characters are likable and the romance aspect of the story was just enough to add interest but not overwhelm the mystery. The mystery is well constructed and offers plenty of potential suspects to keep you guessing. This is a nice introduction to this new series.

Schooled in Murder reminded me why I love cozy mysteries so much. Bookish settings and characters, page-turning plots, and fun writing!

The collegiate setting for this book was so interesting to read about and unique! I've never read another cozy mystery set at a school and I loved how the author used so many different elements in the story to capture the setting. Victoria Gilbert is so good at making her settings come alive and feel like they're an integral part of the story. Fans of bookish cozies cannot miss this one!

While the pacing and character dynamics may not have resonated with me personally, it's clear the author has put effort into crafting a vivid world and weaving a complex mystery. Readers who enjoy delving into intricate plots and uncovering secrets will likely appreciate the layers of storytelling here.

Loved this introduction to a new series. Jen is an author and works in the writing center at Clarion College. When she discovers an English professor dead and all signs point to a student named Mia, she knows Mia is being framed. Jen gets help from friends to figure out who really killed the professor. I loved the overlap with the author's last series, with a similar setting and some nods to those characters. The romantic tension between Jen and campus psychologist, Zach was well written. The red herrings helped lead the reader down some holes but this added to the story. I look forward to more in this series.
I was given an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Schooled in Murder was a great start to a new series!

The story follows mystery author Jen, on a mission with her colleagues as they decide to become amateur sleuths to find out who committed a murder within the school to clear the name of one of her students. Along the way Jen's own life is threatened as she gets closer to finding out who the culprit is!

This book was fairly quick paced with short chapter which made it easy to fly through. There were a few twists and turns which kept me from determining the murderer with full confidence which was fun! The end did seem a bit rushed for my liking, with the murderer practically turning themselves in by giving the final clues needed for our sleuth to solve the case and then quickly being arrested which felt a bit anticlimactic. Also a few plot holes at the end which was a shame! I was definitely shocked by the twist at the end which was impressive!

Overall this was a fun mystery read, also had a side of romance which I enjoyed so I'll definitely pick up future books in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crooked Lane books for providing me with an eARC in return for an honest review.

Jen Dalton is Head of the writing Centre at Clarion University in Virginia helping student in all Faculties with writing. She’s also an author of a series of mysteries in her spare time, so has experience with writing for publication, even though some of her colleagues look down on her for writing ‘genre’ fiction.

One afternoon Jen is in library when she finds the body of a Professor from the English Department who appears to have fallen from a mezzanine floor. He was known to have had an argument with Mia, one of Jen’s students, shortly before his death and now Mia has disappeared, leading everyone to thin she must have killed him. Determined to clear Mia’s name Jen must use the sleuthing abilities to solve the mystery of his murder.

This is a promising start to a new series from Victoria Gilbert. It’s fun and engaging with a lively plot, host of likeable characters and a touch of romance in the background.

Jenn, a murder mystery writer, stumbles upon a real murder scene. She decides to do some sleuthing. I really enjoyed this story. I like the writing style, it’s easy to read and entertaining. The characters are likeable and I enjoyed the banter between some of them. I didn't want 3 put it down.
I received an advance review copy via Netgalley/Crooked Lanes Books and I’m leaving a voluntary and honest review.

A nice start to a new series featuring a college professor who writes-wait for it- cozy mysteries on the side! Clarion is like so many academic environments but Jen surely did not expect to find herself solving a murder. She knows her student Mia didn't do it but who did? Luckily she has pals Christine and Briana to help. She's also got a frenemy thing going with Zach. The mystery isn't too twisty bur I didn't guess it. Know that these characters might seem a bit light now but that Gilbert, a veteran of the genre will flesh them out in the coming installments. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Schooled in Murder is book 1 in Victoria Gilbert's new Campus Sleuth Mystery series and it was a great start to the series.

Told in first person from the point of view of Jennifer (Jenn) Dalton, the story opens with her finding a dead body in the library, so we are immediately pulled into the action from page one.

Jenn is a mystery writer, and head of Clarion University's writing center so after finding out that the dead man is that of one of her co-workers who worked in the English department, she decides to test the skills she developed writing mysteries, to see if she can help solve the case. It's especially important to her because everyone is assuming the killer is a student Jenn was mentoring, and who showed promise as a romance author.

From co-workers with grievances against the dead man, to an unhappy marriage, and secret lover, there are no end of suspects for Jenn to investigate, and soon it seems clear that she is in danger as well.

Along with the mystery, we also see a bit of an enemies to lovers relationship starting to develop between Jenn and Zachary, a psychologist who has his own practice and who also treats students at the clinic on campus. It's pretty obvious that he's interested in Jenn from the start, but she is prickly and oblivious to his interest. It's actually quite amusing seeing their interactions.

I really enjoyed this mystery and will be looking for more books in the series and hoping to see more of the romance between Jenn and Zach.

This series debut stars Jen Dalton who is an author of mysteries and who is in charge of the writing center at Clarion University. When one of her mentees is accused of murdering her belittling English professor, Jen is on the case for a real-life mystery.

As she investigates along with her friends Cristine Kubiak who is a cafeteria manager and Brianna Rowley who is a librarian, she learns to appreciate the dangers of the situations she puts her fictional characters into since she is putting herself into danger for real.

I enjoyed her budding relationship with Zachary Flynn who is a psychologist first assigned to counsel her after the murder. I liked that he tried to be the voice of reason when Jen had her more dangerous ideas.

Jen had lots of intriguing suspects including the wife and the mistress of the murdered professor. Then there was her friend who is an English department rival of the deceased and even the head of the college who might have wanted the professor dead.

This was a nice introduction to Jen Dalton and her friends and an enjoyable mystery.

The plot's pretty nice and the mystery is well written too. The book is fast-paced and the chapters are quite short, so you'll get through this in no time. I liked that the romance did not take away from the mystery.

This book has amazing descriptions of the university - made me feel like I was in there. However, I wish I could say the same about its characters - I couldn't connect to a single one. Jack creeped me out when he was first introduced - which is not a good look, cause he's a psychologist - and it took a long time for me to warm up to him. The romance was cute though.

one thing I want to point out is the book's synopsis - 'A mystery writer must solve a real murder case'. this is not true? sure, there was a bit of investigation but the killer just confessed to their crimes in the end. where was the solving??

Great start to a new cozy mystery series! Loved the main sleuthing characters and can't wait to read more stories with the investigative crew of Jen, Zachary, Christine and Brianna! Love the college/university setting too. Schooled in Murder was really well written and held my interest throughout. Excited to read more.

In SCHOOLED IN MURDER by Victoria Gilbert Jenn (Jennifer) Dalton, the director of the writing center at Clariton University, finds a dead body in the library. The victim is one of Mia Jackson’s professors, who favors literary fiction over Mia’s preferred genre writing—romance. As it turns out, Mia Jackson is missing. How did the professor die? Is Mia’s disappearance connected to his death? Does Jenn find the answers? I read on to find out.

I like this first book in the Campus Sleuth Mysteries series, SCHOOLED IN MURDER. I enjoy Victoria Gilbert’s writing. Jenn Dalton is an interesting main character, and the way she reflects on her own writing experiences is a nice addition to the narrative. I am interested in Jenn's budding relationship with Zach and look forward to seeing where that goes. Another wonderful cozy mystery with a well-constructed plot from Victoria Gilbert. Thank you, Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review and advance reader copy of SCHOOLED IN MURDER.

Since I was a student aide for my college's education department, which was alongside the English department, this one drew me immediately. The first of a new series for author Victoria Gilbert, the main character is a professor as well as the author of a mystery series. She works with students who want to write but finds there is a bit of a stigma from some higher minded souls when the students want to write, let's say, non-serious material such as romance or, dare I say it, cozy mysteries. Jenn Dalton finds herself in the middle of what could be one of her mysteries when one of her students, Mia, has a confrontation with a professor who, although he finds her talented, has belittled her romance writings as being a waste of her talents. As if that isn't bad enough, the student goes missing just as the snobby professor's body is found in the library....by Jenn. Mystery author or not, Jenn was totally shaken by the experience but with the help of friends is determined to discover the truth. Who killed Professor Doug Barth?

I won't detail the plot but it was fun to see a mystery writer trying to summon everything she knows, or thinks she knows, about sleuthing. She has friends to help, including one who just seems to drive her nuts. If you're like me, having read enough cozies over the years to see it coming, I immediately thought, "Ah, ha, romantic interest". That said, I didn't quite warm up to Jenn immediately. She seemed a bit prickly at times although maybe stand-offish would be a better word choice. I did enjoy the setting, however, and the ease with which her fellow workers jumped in to help her sort it all out. Zach, the psychologist and romantic interest, seemed almost condescending at first but I credited that to Jenn's inability to accept that her reactions were anything but normal and she'd be perfectly fine. The dance around ultimate attraction between them was fun to watch, even if I wondered at times if I'd like either one in real life.

As for the murder, the initial focus is on talented writing student Mia, who goes missing at the wrong time. As it turns out, there are several potential suspects, all complicated by the dynamics of what appears to be professional rivalries and some less than professional actions. That's all I'm saying about that other that Jenn found out reality doesn't always fall into line with creative plot lines. Nor are people always what the appear to be. While I wasn't fully pulled in by Jenn, there's promise to this new series and I'll definitely read the next. Thanks #CrookedLaneBooks for the early peek into Jenn's literary and new-found sleuthing life.

A brand new series from a much beloved author. Professor Jenn Dalton of Clarion University in Virginia is on the top floor of the library when she spies the body of a man on the floor. The man was Professor of English Douglas Barth who was seen with one of Jenny's students shortly before. So when suspicion falls on the student Jenn sets out to find the real killer. Great story plot with realistic characters. A most awesome start to a new exciting series. Thanks #Netgalley and #CrookedLaneBooks for the eARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are mine.

Book Title: Schooled in Murder
Series: Campus Sleuth Mysteries #1
Author: Victoria Gilbert
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pub Date: January 7, 2025
My Rating: 4.5 Rounded up
Pages: 272

Jennifer ‘Jenn’ Dalton is a professor at the Writing Centre at Clarion University in Virginia, and is also an author. She is on the top floor of the library when she sees the body of a man sprawled on the floor. She immediately seeks help by going to another floor where there should be someone to help. Police are called. The man is English Professor Douglas Barth.
Mia Jackson was seen upset in the library. Professor Barth humiliated her in class stating she was much too talented to be writing romance novels and gives her a poor grade which is worth 50% of her grade. Rumor has it that her essay was found near the body making Mia a suspect.

Mia is one of Professor Dalton’s most promising students. With the help from Bri, the reference librarian, and Christine, the manager of Student Union Cafe, who also believe in Mia's innocence, they work to find out what really happened.
I read a lot of thrillers and also have a long suspect list~ totally love when I missed whodunit!!

Great story!!
PLIS I always I love the college setting. SO am already for Book #2

Want to thank NetGalley and Little Brown and Company for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for January 7, 2025.

A first book in a new series, from the blurb this seemed an amazing read. Plus, I've read other Victoria Gilbert books, which I thought were well done.

Being the first book in a series, I really needed detail on setting and characters. The book has both, but many of the characters, including the protagonist, seem lacking in enough detail to give me a full picture of who they are. I feel like the author was attempting to make the protagonist a bit of a prickly personality, maybe trying to season her with an Agatha Raisin vibe. While I appreciate the attempt to create a different personality type for a cosy protagonist, I'm not sure if the balance was right. The prickly personality seemed too strong.

Maybe the reason for this was to introduce an enemies to lovers story line with Zach, a psychologist who should not be a psychologist, given his personality in the book. Both Zach and protagonist, Jen, trade more barbs than politicians at a debate. And apparently, that's what they're both attracted to. So maybe like does attract like. I found the whole enemies to lovers story line, which almost felt insta-love as well, a bit off-putting in this book. I found Zach more than a little creepy.

Now for the mystery side of things. It's a decent enough setup, and our protagonist has a good reason to meddle. But while that was good, the resolution felt too easy. It wasn't about sleuthing really. It was more the culprit walking up and admitting they did the deed.

The journey to the end did have some interesting moments, and on balance I enjoyed the story. But Victoria Gilbert is a seasoned author, so I expected little more. Maybe we'll get more in the second book.

Jennifer Dalton is an educator and author at Clarion University. Her role in the English department is to guide students who seek higher literary aspirations. After one of the college's professors humiliates one of her students, the confrontation between the two results in the discovery of his dead body. Along with his body is a crumpled, marked-down story submission from Mia, one of his students, incriminating her in the murder.
Jen is confident Mia is innocent, but when she mysteriously disappears, Jen moves full speed ahead, using the investigating skills she acquired as a mystery writer and the help of those around her to find the truth and clear Mia’s name.