A Cryptic Clue - Hunter and Clewe #1

A Cryptic Clue is the first book in an amateur sleuth cozy series by Victoria Gilbert. Released 11th July 2023 by Crooked Lane Books, it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out from the same publisher in late 1st quarter 2024. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.

This is a light character driven cozy with several entwined plot threads, some of which remain unresolved at the end of this installment and which tease the next book(s) in the series. The main protagonists are a 60something semi-retired reference librarian and her 30something millionaire employer who has engaged her services to help catalogue his extensive library and ephemera collections. A murder after a charity gala at his mansion draws them into examining the clues as well as several other mysteries from the past. 

The mysteries are fairly well constructed and engaging, albeit -very- contrived (and not very realistic). The book's written in 1st person PoV, and does drag a bit from "telling" instead of "showing", but overall, the characters are well rendered and distinct. The dialogue is often a bit clunky and unpolished. The author's representation of Cam Clewe (the millionaire) will likely be problematic for some readers. He's never been diagnosed or been in therapy, but he's socially inept, overly direct, awkward, and has symptoms of OCD (tapping, counting, etc) and agoraphobia, and the author uses these behaviors to move the plot along and as a humorous counterpoint for commentary from the secondary characters. NONE of the characters have *any* concept of confidentiality or personal responsibility.

The unabridged audiobook version has a run time of 8 hours, 31 minutes and is well narrated by Carrington MacDuffie. She has a husky contralto voice, and does a good job of keeping the very large cast of characters distinct and distinguishable from one another. 

Three stars. Readable, but flawed. The high point was the audio narration. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.