#FlashbackFriday – Renewed for Murder (A Blue Ridge Library Mystery) by Victoria Gilbert #Review #KindleCopyGiveaway @victoriagilbertauthor @crookedlanebks

On Flashback Fridays, I will share with you
the books I was not able to review
when they were first released that have been screaming at me
from my To-Be-Read bookshelf.

Renewed for Murder (A Blue Ridge Library Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Setting – Virginia
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crooked Lane Books
Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 7, 2021
Print length ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
Hardcover
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 164385786X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1643857862
Kindle
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1643857879
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08Y8CDGPH
Audiobook
ASIN B09NP94CGJ

August in Taylorsford, Virginia finds library director Amy Webber and her new husband, dancer Richard Muir, settling into married life—and a new project. Richard and his dance partner, Karla, are choreographing a suite based on folk music and folk tales, while Amy scours the library’s resources to supply background information on the dance’s source material. But the mellifluous music comes to a jarring halt when an unknown woman’s body turns up in Zelda Shoemaker’s backyard gazebo.

Chief Deputy Brad Tucker puts Zelda at the top of his suspect list, thanks to a blackmail letter he finds in the dead woman’s pocket. Zelda’s best friend, Amy’s aunt Lydia Talbot, begs Amy to use her research skills to clear Zelda’s name. But the task is confounded by Zelda’s very out-of-character refusal to reveal why the victim might have blackmailed her.

Complicating matters further, Amy unearths records of a long-ago tragedy that casts doubt on Zelda’s innocence. She enlists hubby Richard, Aunt Lydia, art dealer Kurt Kendrick, Mayor Sunny Fields, and sundry other quirky townsfolk in a quest to exonerate Zelda. But will revealing the truth end up forcing Zelda to spend the rest of her life behind bars?

Meanwhile, the killer is still out there. Amy had better be fleet on her feet, because death is on her dance card, and her number may be up.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Amy and Richard are settling happily into married life, and Amy is lending her research skills to Richard’s latest dance project. He and his dance partner are choreographing a suite inspired by folk music and folk tales for an upcoming festival, while Amy gathers library resources to provide historical and cultural context for the dances. Adding another layer to the event, two chorale groups that tied in a state competition fifty years earlier are reuniting to perform. Amy’s Aunt Lydia, along with Lydia’s friends Zelda and Walt, knew many of the people returning for the choir reunion.

Amy had hoped the string of bodies turning up in Taylorsford had finally come to an end, but that optimism does not last. When Aunt Lydia gets a call from Zelda about a dead body in her gazebo, Amy and Richard hurry over with Lydia to help. After Chief Deputy Brad Tucker uncovers a key piece of evidence and the apparent murder weapon is linked to Zelda’s late husband, Zelda quickly becomes the prime suspect. Walt turns to Amy and Lydia for help because Zelda is doing very little to defend herself. Amy’s research leads her deep into the past, back to the year of the chorale competition. With a killer still free and the wrong person seemingly in the spotlight, Amy brings in reinforcements, including art dealer Kurt Kendrick and Mayor Sunny Fields, hoping they can clear Zelda’s name and send the real killer singing all the way to jail.

I had fallen behind on this series during my cancer treatments, so I was eager to return to these well-developed characters and see how Amy and Richard were settling into married life. As in A Deadly Edition, Ms. Gilbert delivers a layered mystery with several moving parts.

The story reaches back into the past, when Lydia, Zelda, and Walt were in high school. It was a very different time, and although the three had been friends since childhood, Zelda distanced herself from Lydia and Walt while trying to fit in with the chorale crowd. Something happened after the competition, however, that caused Zelda to leave the group. That decision allowed her to rebuild her friendships with Lydia and Walt, but the reunion brings old choices and long-buried tensions back to the surface.

The central question is what happened in the past that would drive someone to kill and then frame Zelda for the murder. Amy searches the archives for the event that started it all and questions people who were present at the time. The investigation takes several twists as old resentments resurface, and Amy and Zelda find themselves in direct danger as the clues begin to align. Solving this case requires careful research, sharp thinking, a little luck, and perhaps some fancy footwork.

Renewed for Murder was a solid, enjoyable installment in the series, though not one I would call a standout favorite. Blackmail, lies, secrets, and revenge combine into a puzzling mystery that required some note-taking to keep the clues straight. I appreciate the way Ms. Gilbert connects past events to present-day consequences, showing how much can change over time while some patterns remain familiar. She writes mysteries that encourage the reader to pay attention, and while this one did not completely wow me, it still offered a thoughtful and engaging escape.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

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About the Author 

Raised in a historic small town at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Victoria Gilbert turned her early obsession with books into a dual career as an author and librarian. Now retired after over 30 years in the library field, she’s worked as a reference librarian, research librarian, and university library director.

Victoria writes the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series, the Booklover’s B&B Mystery series, and the Hunter and Clewe traditional mystery series for Crooked Lane Books. A member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers, Victoria lives in North Carolina.

Linktree:
https://linktr.ee/victoriagilbertauthor 

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 Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” “As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.” I am also an affiliate of Bookshop.org, and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.” These funds are often used for gift cards and other giveaways.