After a love affair gone wrong, Amy Webber flees to the small Virginia town where her aunt lives and becomes the librarian. It’s not what she had in mind for her life, but she takes quiet satisfaction in helping the town’s residents. Until one of them turns up dead in the library, and Amy is thrust into a mystery that goes back almost one hundred years.

Amy’s neighbor, Richard, inherited the house that belonged to his great-uncle. The town believes the house’s original owner was poisoned by his wife—who vanished after her trial—and who Richard’s great-uncle was in love with. Determined to find out the truth, Richard convinces Amy to help him solve the case, revealing chilling details that the town’s founders would like to keep secret.

A Murder for the Books is more than a cozy mystery. It’s a comfy, enjoyable read in a small-town full of quirky, memorable characters. The town feels like home—complete with the family member no one wants to claim, the town grapevine, and people like Amy and Richard you’d really like to spend time with. A light read that you can sink into, without getting bogged down into weighty matters.

Victoria Gilbert has worked as a librarian and writes cozy mysteries. A Murder for the Books is the first book in the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series.

(Galley provided by Crooked Lane Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

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