Bound for Murder (Blue Ridge Library Mystery Book 4)

Author:  Victoria Gilbert
Genre:    Mystery

Hardcover; Digital Book
ISBN #:  9781643852430
Crooked Lane Books
[Pages TBA]
$26.99; $12.99 Amazon
January 7, 2020

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Taylorsford Public Library director Amy Webber's friend "Sunny" Fields is running for mayor.  But nothing puts a damper on a campaign like an actual skeleton in a candidate's closet.  Sunny's grandparents ran a commune back in the 1960s on their organic farm.  But these former hippies face criminal charges when human remains are found in their fields -- and a forensic examination reveals that the death was neither natural nor accidental.

With Sunny's mayoral hopes fading, Amy sets her wedding plans aside, says "not yet" to the dress, and uses her research skills to clear her best friend's family.  Any of the now-elderly commune members could have been the culprit.  As former hippies perish one by one, Amy and her friends Richard, Aunt Lydia, and Hugh Chen pursue every lead.   But if Amy can't find whoever killed these "flower children," someone may soon be placing flowers on her grave.

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Amy Webber is the director of the Taylorsford Public Library, and her employee Sunny is also her best friend.  When the county has to do some digging on Sunny's grandparents' farm, they find human remains.  Amy is asked by the grandparents to contact former members of their long-ago commune and let them know that the authorities might be coming by to question them.  Her grandfather says as how he just wants to give them a heads-up, so Amy agrees.

But the remains turn out to be those of a young black man who disappeared after supposedly going to California.  But if that's the case, why was he here?  And why didn't he let anyone know he was returning?  She also has the interest of an investigative reporter dogging her every steps, the current mayor's wife trying to sabotage Sunny's campaign by spreading rumors, and no time to plan her wedding.  Amy knows she'll have to keep things on the down low if she doesn't want to be underground...

I really don't know what to think about this book.  The idea of someone being murdered many years ago, someone who lived in a commune, was interesting.  Now present day, they find his body and people who were in the commune at the same time are being killed off.

But I began to wonder why Amy was being targeted.  She never found out anything from any of them that could be used as evidence, all of it was about Jeremy Adams, the dead man, and peoples' reactions and relationships to him.   She wasn't learning anything earth-shattering; nothing that could help the murder investigation.

Below are spoilers which I've hidden so please read them at your own risk:

It still bothers me - after three previous books - that Amy doesn't mind Kurt protecting her and her family, but treats him like a criminal, when he's long left those days behind him and become a wealthy and respected art collector who's refined and treats people well. She's decided it's fine to keep secrets from the police but then tells Kurt that if he doesn't spill the beans, as it were, she's going to the police herself. It's not her story to tell. That's the best way I can put it. She's awfully judgmental about Kurt and his past, but doesn't want to hear it when someone from the commune tells her that Sunny's grandparents probably tried hard drugs. I fully expected her to put her hands over her ears and say, "lalalalala" any minute. Hypocrite, much? She preaches 'do as I say, not as I do.'

She also has no business judging Kurt for his past when she gives P.J. and Carol (the grandparents) a pass for theirs. He's done NOTHING to harm her, and has even helped and protected her. She makes it difficult to like her. Amy actually says of Carol and P.J.: "...knowing P.J. and Carol, I can imagine them covering up an accidental death if they thought they were protecting a friend or the commune." But then continues to look at Kurt askance and with suspicion every time he opens his mouth. All this shows is that Amy is a judgmental, holier-than-thou prig. How can anyone find her likable after this?

IT would also be nice if there were more local color than just Lydia's garden. We have plenty of details on the color of peoples' eyes, but what does that matter in the long run? We didn't even find out what month it was until 81% of the book was gone. I would have liked to have learned more of the surrounding area or the town itself.

In the end, it wasn't a bad book, but we pretty much knew who the murderer was from the beginning, just because of certain things that were said, and I won't say any more than that except to say it was a decent enough cozy; just not enough to draw me into the story.

FYI, Amy saying 'wine is the best medicine' tells me that she might have an addiction problem of her own. Drinking doesn't solve problems; it just temporarily masks them. The problems will still be there when you sober up. In fact, the only thing anyone did for enjoyment was drink. Surely there's more they can do in town than just go to dance recitals and drink; but on the other hand, the local liquor store owner must be a millionaire. Just sayin'

https://www.amazon.com/Bound-Murder-Ridge-Library-Mystery/dp/1643852434/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2982394254

More on Victoria Gilbert's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/victoria-gilbert/