A Cryptic Clue by Victoria Gilbert - Book Review

Series: A Hunter and Clewe Mystery #1 

Publication Date: 11th July 2023

Genre: Small Town Contemporary Cozy Mystery 

3 Stars 

One Liner: Good premise but needs better execution 

Jane Hunter, a sixty-year-old retired university librarian, finds a job as an archivist in a nearby small town. With forced retirement, little pension, and no social security, Jane is hopeful that the temporary job will last long enough for her to stabilize her finances. 

Cameron “Cam” Clewe is a thirty-three-year-old collector, scholar, and businessman (who hired Jane). He loves solving mysteries and puzzles but has severe anxiety issues and agoraphobia (and is possibly neurodivergent), which makes him sound rude and arrogant. 

Jane decides she can get on with her job, no matter Cam’s attitude. However, she discovers a dead body on the first day of her job. When Cam is the primary suspect, the best option for them is to team up and solve the case before Cam is arrested by the police. 

The story comes from Jane Hunter’s first-person POV. 

My Thoughts: 

As a fan of cozy mysteries, I’m always happy to try new books in the genre (especially series). The intriguing premise and the cover (which somehow doesn’t exactly fit the book) pulled me in. 

The book has a decent pace and moves fast for me (though it drags in the middle). Being the first in the series, it introduces the main characters and sets the stage for readers to know them better. 

Apart from the central mystery, there are a few other threads (past mysteries) that will possibly be solved in the coming books. There’s no major cliffhanger in this one. The case is solved, and there’s a lead for the next. 

Jane and Cam are the main characters, though I see Lauren soon joining the list. It’s interesting to have 60 yo and 33 yo employee-employer duo as amateur sleuths. It’s a refreshing change from common tropes. The characters also have intriguing backstories, and we get enough hints to understand their behavior. 

However, I’m not sure Jane’s first-person POV was the right choice for the story. Sure, it gives us her thoughts, ideas, opinions, feelings, etc. But it’s still hard to connect with her or the other characters. A third-person POV would have worked better, with a few chapters focusing on Cam. Writing a neurodivergent character is hard, and without enough material, it becomes difficult to not let Jane’s impression become the reader’s impression. 

The book also suffers from over-explanation in quite a few instances. People (suspects) simply share loads of information with little prompting. This, combined with very few details about the actual job of cataloging and archiving, creates an imbalance in the narrative. 

Also, the police are hardly there. They seem more like ghosts, hovering around passively while the duo solves the case. I’d have liked a more active role from the police. Heck, I don’t even know the name of the detective assigned to the case. 

The climax and reveal are underwhelming. There are a few twists, red herrings, and attacks that make the plot feel dangerous, but it is quite low-key. Though I guessed the killer, the reasons weren’t clear. I hoped the reveal would help, but it fell flat. All I could do was sigh and wish it was better. The ending is quite good by comparison.

To summarize, A Cryptic Clue is a decent start to a new cozy mystery series with an unlikely sleuthing duo. I might read the second book if it deals with the cold case. 

Thank you, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books, for the eARC.  

#NetGalley #ACrypticClue