BOUND FOR MURDER
Bound for Murder: A Blue Ridge Library Mystery by Victoria Gilbert
Bound for Murder
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (January 7, 2020)
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN-10: 1643852434
ISBN-13: 978-1643852430
Digital ASIN: B07QGNNNXP
Blue Ridge library director Amy Webber learns it wasn't all peace and love among the "flower children" when a corpse is unearthed on the grounds of a 1960s commune.
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.
Kurt coughed.
“No one who will
care, I mean.” I cast him a smile before grabbing Sunny’s purse and handing it
to her. “Go on—I know that ring.”
“Yeah, it’s the
grands. Again.” Sunny pulled a comical face as she fished her phone out of the
pouch. “They aren’t usually this needy, but ever since the county started that
dredging work on the creek, they’ve been calling nonstop. They’re so worried
about damage to the trees and shrubs along the stream bed.”
“Of course.” I’d
heard plenty about this from Carol and P.J., who were irate over the heavy
equipment that had recently descended upon their quiet organic farm. The fact
that the county had a right-of-way to the creek, which was part of a larger
watershed, did nothing to appease their anger.
“Government
barreling in and taking over, like usual,” P.J. had told me, his thin lips
quivering with repressed rage. “Didn’t even inform us ahead of time. Just
showed up one day and proceeded to rip up my fields with their equipment. Well,
they’d better not destroy our trees along the creek, that’s all I’ve got to
say.”
I shook my head.
“Can’t say I blame them.” I directed my words to Kurt as Sunny listened
intently to her phone. “The county’s been tearing up the stream banks all along
its route.”
Kurt’s expression
betrayed no emotion, but his jaw tightened. That was odd. The art dealer rarely
appeared tense, even in the direst of circumstances, yet the mention of
dredging a creek seemed to have distressed him. It piqued my curiosity.
Or maybe I was
imagining things. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “They say it benefits
the environment because it allows for better run-off from nearby rivers and
ponds. But I don’t know. It seems rather destructive to me.”
When Kurt replied,
his voice was as calm and charming as ever. “I knew that the dredging work was
ongoing but didn’t realize it involved that farm.”
“Yeah,
unfortunately.” I glanced at Sunny and noticed that all the color had fled her
face. “Anything wrong?”
Sunny’s fingers
clutched her cell phone so tightly I worried she might crack the plastic case.
“Yes. Not with the grands, thank goodness, but dredging crews found something
on the farm.”
“Buried treasure?”
I asked, with a quick glance at Kurt.
“No, not anything
like that.” Sunny’s voice shook. “According to the grands, an operator swung
his Bobcat bucket the wrong way and dug deep into the bank, up and away from
the stream. And that’s when they found it.”
“Found what?” I
asked, my gaze flitting from Sunny’s trembling lips to the carved-in-stone
stillness of Kurt’s face and back again.
“Bones,” Sunny
said. “Human bones.” She stared at me, her eyes as glazed as glass. “An entire
skeleton.”
Amy Webber’s Research Playlist – BOUND FOR MURDER
Hi readers! I’m Amy Webber, protagonist of the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series.
Recently I helped the sheriff’s department by doing some research into the commune that was once housed at Vista View, the organic farm owned by my friend Sunny’s grandparents.
Recently I helped the sheriff’s department by doing some research into the commune that was once housed at Vista View, the organic farm owned by my friend Sunny’s grandparents.
In order to get in the mood for the research, I created a playlist of songs from the era that the commune existed – the early 1960s.
Since I was born in the 1980s, I really didn’t have a good handle on the music that was popular at that time. Of course, I’d heard a few songs that became classics, but many of these pieces were new to me.
Since I was born in the 1980s, I really didn’t have a good handle on the music that was popular at that time. Of course, I’d heard a few songs that became classics, but many of these pieces were new to me.
I focused on the early half of the 1960s, but I had to throw in a couple of songs from later in the decade, as one of the things I was researching was a musician who actually wrote songs that were more in keeping with the last two works on this list. I guess you could say he was ahead of his time!
So, in no particular order, with links going to the songs on YouTube, here’s my research playlist:
Do you have a favorite song from the 1960s? I’d love for you to list it below.
About Virginia Gilbert
Victoria Gilbert, raised in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains, turned her early obsession with reading into a dual career as an author and librarian. Victoria has worked as a reference librarian, research librarian, and library director.
When not writing or reading, she likes to spend her time watching films, gardening, or traveling.
She is a member of Sisters in Crime and International Thriller Writers and lives in North Carolina. This is her fourth Blue Ridge Library mystery.
Website/blog: http://victoriagilbertmysteries.com/
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/VictoriaGilbertMysteryAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/VGilbertauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/VictoriaGilbert
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoriagilbertauthor/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4J0jvZ-D0NVF9Qv7H2ua8Q
Purchase Links: Amazon B&N Kobo Indie Bound
BUY LINKS: A MURDER FOR THE BOOKS: http://www.crookedlanebooks.com/titles/a-murder-for-the-books/
SHELVED UNDER MURDER: http://www.crookedlanebooks.com/titles/shelved-under-murder/
PAST DUE FOR MURDER: http://www.crookedlanebooks.com/titles/past-due-for-murder/
BOUND FOR MURDER (preorder): https://www.amazon.com/Bound-Murder-Ridge-Library-Mystery-ebook/dp/B07QGNNNXP/
BOOKED FOR DEATH (preorder): https://www.amazon.com/Booked-Death-Book-Lovers-Mystery/dp/1643853074/
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Thanks so much for participating in my blog tour and hosting Amy's post! I appreciate it.
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