A Deadly Addition A Blue Ridge Library Mystery by Victoria Gilbert (Book 5)A Deadly Edition opens with Amy Webber in hiding. Not from danger, though. Amy’s hiding until she knows she can face her future father-in-law without shouting him down. Amy, her fiancé Richard, and a whole host of people are at Highview, a home owned by a friend of the engaged couple. Kurt Kendrick, owner of Highview, is a wealthy man and has thrown this party to celebrate the engagement of Amy and Richard. Kurt is also an art gallery owner, art collector, and at the time of Amy’s hiding, cornered by Amy’s future father-in-law. The discussion revolves around the decline of the arts in society. Kurt is an expert in the topic; James Muir is not. Amy retreats to the pantry to get her emotions under control. Eventually she is found by her best friend Sunshine “Sunny” Fields and returns to the party.
Before Amy can rejoin Richard, she has a couple of unusual encounters. The first is with Adele Tourneau, Richard’s former dance coach. Amy catches Adele in a small pantry. Adele is pouring some type of liquor into a tumbler but stops when she hears Amy’s approach. After some small talk, Amy leaves Adele, and Adele’s odd behavior, in the pantry.
In the main hall, Amy meets up with Sunny, but before they can join the others, they are waylaid by a stranger. He introduces himself as Oscar Selvaggio, a friend of Kurt Kendrick’s. However, when Kurt hears Selvaggio is present, Kurt isn’t pleased. Selvaggio, it turns out, had turned up unexpectedly and Kurt invited Selvaggio to stay.
The evening doesn’t turn out well for anyone when Oscar Selvaggio’s body is discovered in a shed on Kurt Kendrick’s property, bringing a gruesome end to the party.
After Oscar’s death, suspects abound. The investigation into Oscar’s death casts a wide net, disrupting relationships and upsetting those Amy cares about the most. She’s determined to help with the investigation, but the killer or killers are determined to leave their crime unsolved, even if it means more murder.
It took me a bit to get into this story, but I’m glad I kept on. Eventually the story pulled me in. The story is a tangled one, but all the threads are neatly tied up by the end of the book. A Deadly Edition is the fifth book in the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series.
Recommended.
Published by Crooked Lane Books
Dec 08, 2020 | 368 Pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/4| ISBN 9781643854762
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