Hunter and Clewe are back in the third Hunter and Clewe mystery from acclaimed author Victoria Gilbert where a closed case is reopened after another member of a prominent family is murdered.

Cameron Clewe and Jane Hunter, lovers of all things bookish, are slowly cataloguing Cam’s private collection of first edition books acquired from the deceased patriarch of the wealthy Stewart family. When Jane finds a note from Kimberly Stewart Ward, one of the daughters of the Stewart patriarch–who supposedly committed suicide–she discovers someone was actually targeting her with the intention of killing her. 

Jane and Cam decide to look into the supposedly closed case, but their investigation becomes urgent when another member of the Stewart family is found dead from a drug overdose. The victim’s friends claim he’d been clean and sober for years and refuse to accept the cause of death.

Believing both cases to be connected, Jane and Cam resolve to solve them before any other direct heirs of the family are targeted.

When Jane Hunter visits the Stewart family home to pick up some rare books purchased by her employer, Cameron Clewe, they find themselves drawn in to investigating a cold case that turns hot with another suspicious death.

The Hunter and Clewe mysteries give us an unusual duo of investigators. Cameron Clewe is a wealthy young recluse, social inadept and likely somewhere on the spectrum, while Jane Hunter is a retired librarian hired by Cam to catalog his extensive collection of books.  Along with the mystery de jour we continue to delve into the interpersonal relations of our characters. Cam is interested in his assistant, Lauren, but unsure how to address it, Jane is insistent that she is not interested in romance but really, I’d like to see something more between her and the antique dealer, David Benton. Side characters are also interesting from Cam’s assistant Lauren, Jane’s daughter Bailey, Jane’s landlord, Vince and Cam’s estranged biological family. We make a bit of, maybe, progress in the ongoing story thread of the search for Cam’s biological father, or possibly it is a scam being run by the shady Vanessa.  In this case, while the specific murderer was not clear cut (but, boy. did I dislike the character who turned out to be guilty) the reasons for all the deaths was fairly clear from the beginning. The denouncement seemed a bit rushed but made sense in who the guilty party/ies were.

I am enjoying these mysteries. To a degree they are reminiscent of the Nero Wolfe mystery series which, now that I think of it most younger readers are unlikely to be familiar with, with a “lead detective” who rarely leaves their house and an assistant who does the leg work. I look forward to the next installment of this series. Recommended. ~~ Stephanie L Bannon

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