In Booked for Death, the first book in Victoria Gilbert’s new Book Lover’s B&B Mystery Series, former high school teacher Charlotte Reed has inherited her great-aunt Isabella’s Bed-and-Breakfast, Chapters, which is known for its weeks dedicated to various literary topics and extensive collection of collectible books. To continue the tradition, Charlotte decides to host a week that focuses on classic mystery author Josephine Tey. She serves a full English breakfast and holds a costume party with the theme of Tey’s most famous book, Daughter of Time, about an investigation into the case of Richard III.
Though not having a full house, Charlotte has plenty of guests, but one guest, Lincoln Delamont, a rare book dealer, has made an enemy of almost everyone at Chapters, including Charlotte. He insinuates to her that her great-aunt got the funds to purchase Chapters by stealing from her previous employers and hints at blackmail. Other guests also have genuine reason for animosity, such as the woman whom he has been dating without revealing to her that he is married and has a 16-year-old daughter, both of whom also attend the Tey week.
The costume dinner gets tense, and as it is wrapping up, someone finds the body of the all-too-hated Lincoln, and he has been stabbed to death, though the knife is missing. As the Tey week continues, in particular because the police won’t let anyone go home, suspicions rise among the occupants of Chapters, making Charlotte determine to investigate both who committed the murder and what secret her great-aunt may have been hiding.
I love Gilbert’s Blue Ridge Library Mystery series so was excited to see that Gilbert was releasing a new series. Booked for Death didn’t grip me quite as much as that series did, but I still highly enjoyed it. I felt strong empathy for Charlotte and her grief after having had her husband die at the age of 39. That influenced my connection to the main character and narrator of the book. I did find that sometimes I confused some of the characters with each other, but that might be my fault for starting the book when I was a little tired.
The mystery plot of the book was interesting. It caught my interest and held on, just getting more fascinating as the book continued. The book then wraps up with a dramatic denouement that excites readers and ties things together well. The book contains interesting discussions of not just Tey’s works but also those of other mystery authors. The final conclusion successfully ties together the actions of the book and the content of the fictional mysteries.
Suzie Althens performs the audio edition of this book, using effective voices for each character. I especially connected with the voice of Ellen, a neighbor of Charlotte’s who is in her 70s. Althens makes this audiobook a delight to listen to.
I really enjoyed the experience of listening to Booked for Death. And for once, we audiobook lovers get to listen to a book before the visual readers get to read it! I give this book five stars!
Disclaimer: I received this audiobook for free for review purposes, but that in no way affected the content of my review.
The audiobook of Booked for Death, which will be released on June 9, is available for preorder on Amazon.
The Kindle and print editions won’t come out until August 11, but you can preorder the book from Amazonhere.
