A Killer Clue by Victoria Gilbert
Victoria Gilbert gives us the 2nd installment in her Hunter and Clewe Mystery series. The more I read this series the more I love it! The characters are unique: wealthy and eccentric 30ish Cameron (Cam) Clewe hires former librarian, 60ish Jane Hunter to take care of his extensive private library of rare and valuable books.
In the first installment, we found Jane thoroughly enjoying her new job. It was a little “iffy” at first, considering all the eccentricities and phobias of her young employer. The two of them, unexpectedly, become amateur sleuths by solving a local murder – and they both found themselves grooving on it!
In this second installment, Cam has enlisted Jane not only to take care of his personal library, but to also help him solve some low-key cases – i.e., lost or stolen valuables, missing relatives– that sort of thing. But this time our amateur sleuths get more than they bargained for: it’s a triple whammy!
Cam is hot on his own case – and it’s personal. Cam inherited his wealth from his stepfather, who told him his real father had died a few months before Cam was born. But to this day, Cam still doesn’t know exactly what happened to his real father and how he died – or was he, in fact, really dead?
As if that isn’t enough of a mystery to solve, Eloise Anderson shows up at Cam’s estate. She runs the Last Chapter Bookstore. She and Cam have been friends for years, Cam also being one of her favorite customers. Years ago, Eloise’s mother, Abby, was convicted of killing Eloise’s father, but Eloise never believed it – too much sketchy evidence, loose ends and her mother’s silence. Her mother passed on in prison and now, after all this time, Eloise wants this unlikely duo help to clear her mother’s name.
Cam and Jane take on the case, but things get really dicey when Eloise herself becomes a murder suspect and winds up being Cam’s house guest! Jane is having doubts about Eloise’s innocence – and they’ve stalled out on clearing her mother’s name. Not only that, but Cam’s own investigation into his real father is beginning to get very murky with dead-end streets around every corner.
A Killer Clue finds two main characters who have a very different and very refreshing chemistry. It’s Senior teaming up with Junior – “old school” meshed with “new school,” and a middle class retired librarian working for an awkward, super brainy and super rich boss”!
And you may ask: What about the mystery? It’s not just “a” mystery. There’s THREE intertwining mysteries in A Killer Clue that are sure to keep armchair detectives on their toes. Victoria Gilbert aimed her arrow at creating a unique series and she has certainly hit the bullseye!
A copy of this book and cover photo were provided by Crooked Lane Publishing.