Past Due for Murder

A Blue Ridge Library Mystery, Book 3

By: Victoria Gilbert

Narrated by: Coleen Marlo

Length: 8 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Spring has sprung in quaint Taylorsford, Virginia, and the mayor has revived the town's long-defunct May Day celebration to boost tourism. As part of the festivities, library director Amy Webber is helping to organize a research project and presentation by a local folklore expert. All seems well at first - but spring takes on a sudden chill when a university student inexplicably vanishes during a bonfire.

The local police cast a wide net to find the missing woman, but in a shocking turn of events, Amy's swoon-worthy neighbor Richard Muir becomes a person of interest in the case. Not only is Richard the woman's dance instructor, he also doesn't have an alibi for the night the student vanished - or at least not one he'll divulge, even to Amy.

When the missing student is finally discovered lost in the mountains, with no memory of recent events - and a dead body lying nearby - an already disturbing mystery takes on a sinister new hue. Blessed with her innate curiosity and a librarian's gift for research, Amy may be the only one who can learn the truth.

©2019 Vicki Lemp Weavil (P)2019 Tantor

HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS ONE

BUT IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE EARLER BOOKS IN THE SERIES, READ THOSE FIRST. KNOWING THE RELATIONSHIP AND STORYLINE DEVELOPMENTS WILL ENHANCE YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THIS LATEST RELEASE. THIS ONE HAS JUST A TOUCH IF THE FEY WITH A WHOLE LOT OF WHODUNIT AND JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF ROMANCE.

Murder gets entangled with folklore

In Past Due for Murder by Victoria Gilbert, Amy Webber, director of the public library in Taylorsford, Virginia, has been helping college professor Mona Raymond dig up folklore. Mona is particularly interested in the 19th century disappearance of two young women along with a stash of gold and which is rumored to have been committed by fairies. Then, Mona’s student assistant, Lacey Jacobs, disappears and the two main suspects are Amy’s ex- boyfriend, Charles Bartos, and her current boyfriend, Richard Muir, plunging Amy into the case in a personal manner. When Mona herself turns up dead, things heat up dramatically, especially when it becomes clear that she was murdered.

I really enjoyed the previous two books in the Blue Ridge Library mystery series, and Past Due for Murder was a strong addition to the series. This book revolves around human interaction more than the other two, and the solution to the case relies on an understanding of the interactions among everyone. We also get to meet both Amy’s and Richard’s parents, who come to visit on the same weekend and thus get invited to dinner with each other. That activity gives us greater insight into the character of both Amy and Richard and ultimately strengthens their relationship.

Colleen Marlo performs the audio edition of this book and does an excellent job of voicing each character, especially Amy, who narrates the book. She gives out the impression of the well- educated and intelligent woman we see in Amy. With a gentle voice that nevertheless offers plenty of expression, Marlo makes this book seem realistic and enjoyable.

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to listen to Past Due for Murder. If you haven’t read the first two books in the series, you need to read them before this one because it talks about details of the previous cases. Many reviews compare these books to Jenn McKinlay’s library series, but I think this is better than those books. I especially liked the way that Amy uses her library research skills to help solve the case. I give this book five stars.

Content

Not sure why you have to put so many gay people in the stories now. Can't you just leave the stories like they used to be. No gays, Just a little romance and a good mystery.

Very poorly written

Every time the main character decides that something isn’t right she confronts the suspected killer and has obviously lame head conversation that makes her seem incompetent. Poorly written

Good Mystery Infused with Author's Opinions

I like this series, and I like the people in the little town. But with this being the third book in the series, I find that Amy, the library director has not gotten any wiser. She's naïve and impulsive. The writing seems to be getting more amateurish instead of developing into a more cohesive story. I also do not like the introduction of the author's political views and am frustrated that these notions are pushed upon the listener. The mystery itself is a good one.