Booked for Death is the first book in a new cozy mystery series by Victoria Gilbert. Set in a literary-themed Bed & Breakfast in North Carolina, the Booklovers B&B Mysteries is off to a strong start with its protagonist, widow and former schoolteacher Charlotte Reed.
Title: Booked for Death
Author: Victoria Gilbert
Series: Booklovers B&B Mysteries #1
First Published: August 11, 2020
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Genres: Mystery
Acquired: from the publisher via NetGalley
*** Thank you to the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, for providing me with an advanced e-copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. ***
Nestled in the historic waterfront town of Beaufort, North Carolina, Chapters Bed-and-Breakfast is a reader’s paradise. Built in 1770, the newly renovated inn hosts a roster of special events celebrating books, genres, and authors. It’s the perfect literary retreat – until a rare book dealer turns up dead in the carriage house during a celebration of Golden Age mystery author Josephine Tey.
The victim’s daughter points the finger at 42-year-old widow and former schoolteacher Charlotte Reed, who inherited the B&B from her great-aunt Isabella. Charlotte is shocked to discover that the book dealer suspected Isabella of being a thief who founded Chapters on her ill-gotten gains.
Armed with intelligence and courage and assisted by her vibrant older neighbor, a visiting author, and members of a local book club, Charlotte is determined to prove her innocence and to clear her great-aunt’s name.
A fun literary B&B setting
As a book lover, the idea of a literary-themed B&B sounds amazing! What a great place to stay for a vacation. On top of it all, Chapters also hosts special events themed around a certain author or book – how fun!
Of course, this is a cozy mystery, which means we don’t get far into the story before a body drops. This time it’s an obnoxious book dealer who has upset a lot of people (including Charlotte). The list of suspects is long and watching Charlotte work on unravelling the clues, as well as clear Isabella’s name, is a treat. It wasn’t an easy mystery to solve – there were a lot of leads, misdirections and suspects – and I was kept guessing until the end.
I found the pace hummed along quite well and I enjoyed Charlotte as a main character. Because she owns a book-themed B&B, I think it will be very easy for future books to stay interesting since there will always be a new inn full of guests (victims and suspects galore!) and different literary themes to celebrate.
What makes Booked for Death extra fun is the characters
The main character (and our resident amateur sleuth) is Charlotte Reed. She’s a widow (her husband died tragically a few years ago) and has quit her job as a high school teacher to run the B&B that great-aunt Isabella left her. She’s very adept at handling tense situations (probably all that teacher training) and has become a pretty good innkeeper in a short amount of time.
Alongside the colourful personalities of the guests, the staff at the B&B keep things interesting and they make up a good support system for Charlotte. This includes Alicia, the housekeeper and cook who has been running Chapters for over 35 years, Damian, the talented young part-time chef with a quick temper, and Ellen, executor of Isabella’s estate and manager of the trust that maintains the B&B. Also included in Charlotte’s “support circle” is Julie, Charlotte’s friend who is a voracious reader and owns a bookstore.
Plus, there’s a book club and lots of local townspeople who are more than happy to get involved in trying to solve the murder. I’m sure we’ll see more of them in future stories (I love getting to know characters as a series develops!)
One interesting aspect that I really appreciated was the police officer who was involved in the case. So many of the cozy mysteries I read have either strong, arrogant, jerky police, or gorgeous, helpful police (who usually end up being a love interest), that something (anything) different is a refreshing change. Detective Johnson is a described as a tall, regal woman who is competent and open-minded. She tolerates Charlotte’s investigating while maintaining a professional and competent attitude.
But my favourite characters in the story were definitely Charlotte and Ellen. They get along so well and trying to figure out Ellen’s secret and how it was connected to Isabella’s past was definitely a highlight of the story for me. I won’t say anything more about it because it’s a really satisfying subplot to the main mystery and I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. Let’s just say that I can’t wait for this dynamic duo to face their next case together!
Read Booked for Death for yourself
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ADD TO GOODREADS | PURCHASE ON: AMAZON | BOOK DEPOSITORY
So, chalk up another book towards my #AtoZCozy2020 Reading Challenge!
Victoria Gilbert crosses off the “G” in my year-long alphabet challenge. To learn more about the challenge or if you want to join in, check out my blog post about it here.
