Reserved for Murder is the second book in Victoria Gilbert’s Booklover’s B&B Mystery series which features a lovely B&B inn owned by Charlotte Reed in North Carolina.
Title: Reserved for Murder
Author: Victoria Gilbert
Series: Booklovers B&B Mysteries #2
First Published: June 8, 2021
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 e-copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. ***
Beaufort, North Carolina, is home to Chapters Bed and Breakfast, owned and operated by former schoolteacher Charlotte Reed. This historic 18th-century inn draws in voracious readers from far and wide with its lovingly curated special events celebrating a host of genres and authors.
On this sunny July weekend, a visit by one of the biggest names in romantic fantasy attracts throngs of admirers to the quaint coastal village. That’s not ideal, as the author retreated to Chapters to get away from it all for a while. No matter–she’ll appease her fans with a “Tea and Talk” meet-and-greet at the B&B celebrating her bestselling series (starring a devilishly dashing, time-traveling pirate), follow that up with a quick book signing at Bookwaves, the hip indie bookstore across town, and spend the remainder of the weekend in delightful repose.
But when the president of the reclusive writer’s fan club is found dead in the harbor by the Beaufort docks–done in by a blunt-force blow to the head–it’s up to Charlotte Reed, her neighbor Ellen, and Ellen’s trusty Yorkshire terrier to sniff out the killer. Because if they can’t, a spectacularly successful book series–and its author–may come to a sudden, lethal conclusion.
A cast of new characters, including a best-selling author
In this book (the second in the series), best-selling time-traveling historical romance author, Amanda Nobel, is in town for a book tour stop. She stays at Chapters, and Charlotte also hosts three lucky fans who won a stay at Chapters plus the chance to meet and hang out with their favourite author (as part of the book tour events).
Along with the people introduced in the first book (you can read my review of Booked for Death here), there are lots of new characters, including Amanda, her publicist, Tony, and the three contest-winning fans, Lisette, Harper and Molly.
Speaking of new characters, we are also introduced to Gavin, who is staying with Ellen. He’s posing as Ellen’s ‘cousin’ but from Ellen’s demeanour, he is anything but a welcome family member. Because of Ellen’s behaviour, Charlotte is also highly suspicious of Gavin, but eventually she warms up to him (future love interest, perhaps?)
When Lisette is found murdered, there’s no lack of suspects. While Amanda is seems like a nice person, the same can’t be said for other two fans. Plus, Lisette’s ex-husband, showed up unexpectedly, and there’s also Roger Warren, a historian who offended the fans with his accusation that Amanda’s books lacked any historical research.
That ex-spy storyline has me intrigued
New characters aside, it’s the character development of the ‘regular’s that I really enjoyed in this book.
Charlotte’s staff, Alicia and Damien, are back, as is Charlotte’s neighbour, Ellen (the ex-spy). Alicia, the housekeeper at Chapters, is still a big cold and stand office to Charlotte, but I’m hoping she warms up soon (otherwise, it may get annoying).
Ellen continues to be my favourite character in the series. She’s kind, smart and skilled, plus her mysterious past as an ex-spy has only been teased out bit by bit, which makes her a very interesting character.
We also find out more about Charlotte’s aunt Isabella (who left Chapters to Charlotte) and her past as a spy as well.
I also like Charlotte and Ellen’s interactions with the local law enforcement. It turns me off so much when the local police are unnecessarily rude or obnoxious. But Detective Johnson is great and tolerates their involvement in trying to solve the crime, especially as she knows Ellen is more than capable.
The murder itself was well-crafted and there were enough clues and hints to give me an idea of who the murderer was, but there were also twists along the way that had me doubting my guesses.
Charlotte herself is growing as a character and while she’s still mourning the death of her husband, who passed away several years ago, it seems like she’s starting to take small steps towards moving on. While I’m impatient to learn more, I’m also loving the slow burn of finding out everyone’s pasts and how they’ll adapt to the future.
One of my favourite aspects of this series is the setting. Charlotte’s Chapters sounds like somewhere I’d love to stay. And all the bookish events are also a draw for me. I don’t know if I’ll get tired of reading mysteries with this B&B setting.
Read Reserved for Murder for yourself
(The following Amazon link is an Affiliate Link – if you click on the link and buy certain items, I will receive a small commission, even though the price remains the same for you. Click here to read my full Advertising & Affiliate Disclaimer)
ADD TO GOODREADS | PURCHASE ON: AMAZON
