ARC Review: Death in the Margins by Victoria Gilbert

Death in the Margins
Author: Victoria Gilbert
Series: A Blue Ridge Library Mystery (Book 7)
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (December 6, 2022)

Description: The theater is no place for murder—but a case of backstage betrayal drags library director Amy Webber into a case that could mean curtains in critically acclaimed author Victoria Gilbert’s Blue Ridge Library mystery.

It’s early summer, and while Richard Muir and his dance partner, Karla, are preparing their new choreographic piece, Richard’s wife, Amy, is gathering the dance’s source materials. Based on folktales and the music of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the production is set to premiere at an old cinema that has been converted to a theater. But when dancer Meredith Fox—Richard’s former fiancé—is found dead backstage, Amy is once again propelled into a murder case that threatens the careers and lives of those she loves.

After Amy teams up with Chief Deputy Brad Tucker and the sheriff’s department to discover the killer, they find that there’s no shortage of suspects: Meredith’s wealthy ex-husband, several fellow dancers, a romantically spurned accompanist, and others whom the talented but haughty dancer dismissed or betrayed over the years.

With Richard and Karla's help, and information gleaned from locals who know a wealth of small-town secrets, Amy desperately tries to unveil the killer before the premiere. But she’s pursuing a ruthless murderer who’s willing to kill again—and who might just be waiting for Amy in the wings.

My Thoughts: The seventh Blue Ridge Library mystery is set around a stage production that Richard and his partner Kendra are preparing. It's a fundraiser and includes a lot of Richard's students and Kendra's students too. Richard has also hired his ex-fiancé - Meredith Fox - to be one of the principal dancers along with a couple of his other friends from the professional world. 

Meredith is not a very nice person. She has managed to upset a number of the student dancers and the accompanist too. So, when she is found dead in one of the rehearsal halls there are a lot of potential suspects. The one person Amy doesn't suspect is the young student who is found standing over her with a bloody knife in his hands. Unfortunately, the sheriff's department doesn't agree with her. 

As Amy helps her friend Deputy Brad Tucker, she uncovers a number of possible suspects including her ex-husband and his family. There is also a mother who is very angry at Meredith for upsetting her autistic daughter. And neither of the other two principal dancers or the accompanist are at all upset that she's dead and they might have reasons to want to help her along.

This was an entertaining episode in an engaging cozy series. 

Favorite Quote:

"I did walk in on a young man standing over the body, gripping a knife," I replied, straightening to my full, sadly not that impressive, height. "But that doesn't mean he was the murderer. He told me he was just trying to help the victim."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.