A retired librarian gets back to the books—and into a devilish murder case
A Cryptic Clue
A Hunter & Clewe Mystery Book 1
by Victoria Gilbert
Genre: Mystery
A
retired librarian gets back to the books—and into a devilish murder
case—in acclaimed author Victoria Gilbert’s new series, the
perfect literary adventure for fans of Kate Carlisle and Jenn
McKinlay.
Sixty-year-old
Jane Hunter, forced into early retirement from her job as a
university librarian, is seeking a new challenge to keep her spirits
up and supplement her meager pension. But as she’s about to
discover, a retiree’s life can bring new thrills—and new
dangers.
Cameron “Cam” Clewe, an eccentric 33-year-old
collector, is also seeking something—an archivist to inventory his
ever-expanding compendium of rare books and artifacts. Jane’s
thrilled to be hired on by Cam and to uncover the secrets of his
latest acquisition, a trove of items related to the classic mystery
and detective authors. But Jane’s delight is upended when a body is
discovered in Cam’s library. The victim, heir to a pharmaceutical
fortune, was the last in line of Cam’s failed romances—and now
he’s suspect number one.
Cam vows to use his intelligence
and deductive skills to clear his name—but with a slight case of
agoraphobia, rampant anxiety, and limited social skills, he’ll need
some help. It comes down to Jane to exonerate her new boss—but is
he truly innocent?
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Raised in a historic small town at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Victoria Gilbert turned her early obsession with books into a dual career as an author and librarian. Now retired, she’s worked as a reference librarian, research librarian, and university library director.
Victoria writes the Blue Ridge Library Mystery series, the Booklover’s B&B Mystery series, and the Hunter and Clewe traditional mystery series for Crooked Lane Books. When not writing or reading, she likes to spend her time watching TV and films, gardening, or traveling. A member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and International Thriller Writers, Victoria lives in North Carolina with her husband, son, and two very spoiled cats.
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Librarians
Today – No Buns or Pearls
Although I’m now retired, I worked as a librarian for
over thirty years. For all of those years, and even now, I’ve seen the
librarian stereotype perpetuated in ads, TV shows, films, and even other books.
And for all of those years, that stereotype has bothered me.
Not that stereotypes can’t sometimes be used for
humorous effect, but this particular one is so wrong that I feel it’s my duty
to try to contradict it whenever I can.
In many instances, librarians are still portrayed as
elderly ladies with their hair in a bun and glasses on chain, wearing sweater
sets or frumpy dresses and a string of pearls. They are almost always portrayed
as middle-aged or elderly, white, and female. They like to shush patrons and
are generally bitter and cranky. They sit behind big wooden desks, still use a
card catalog, and seem to spend most of their time stamping due dates in books.
This is so very far from the truth. Firstly,
librarians are not all female. Nor are they all older, white, individuals who
possess shy, retiring, personalities. In my many years as a librarian and
library director, I have worked with all of the following: male librarians, young
librarians, LGBTQIA+ librarians, tattooed and pierced librarians, very
gregarious and social librarians, and librarians from every racial, ethnic, and
cultural background.
Given that librarians constantly interact with a wide
variety of patrons, they must possess great people skills. Being extremely
reserved or introverted is NOT a good qualification for this career. In fact,
if someone goes into librarianship with the aim of avoiding people, they’re
probably going to be out of luck. Honestly, being able to successfully interact
with a diverse population of patrons is an essential requirement for most
library positions.
Today, libraries are not secluded ivory towers where
decorum and silence reign. They are often noisy, exciting places where people
of all ages and backgrounds congregate to learn, discover, and share
information. Truthfully, in all my years of librarianship, I never once shushed
a patron. With many schools and universities requiring a significant amount of
group work, libraries must also provide areas where students can interact and
collaborate. In addition, libraries provide life-long learning opportunities
through literacy training, workshops, and other educational programs. Most of
this involves group discussion and conversation, so the days of silent
libraries are long gone. (Although most libraries do try to provide some
designated “quiet spaces” for those who need them).
Also gone, despite the media portrayals, are card
catalogs. They have been replaced by online systems in almost all libraries,
even the small libraries in K-12 schools. Librarians generally do not just sit
behind desks checking out books, either. Circulation activities happen at
self-serve kiosks as well as at desks staffed by library assistants or, at
schools and colleges, by student workers. Reference desks are being replaced
with “roving librarians,” who go where patrons need assistance instead of
making the patrons come to them. Rather than just providing tables and chairs,
most libraries now offer “maker spaces” that include the latest technology, as
well as computer labs, loans of laptops and other devices, group study spaces,
lecture halls, and community meeting rooms.
As libraries have changed dramatically over the last
decades, so have librarians. Now they must be tech savvy, embracing cutting
edge technology and continually updating their knowledge of new trends in
education, business, computing, and other fields.
So the next time you see an old-fashioned portrayal of
a librarian, please remember that this is just a stereotype. Librarians can be,
and are, as diverse as any other profession. Their only similarity lies in the
desire to help others discover, understand, and use information and knowledge,
and the joy they take in promoting the love of books and reading.
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