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Gimme Shelter–blackmail and murder
Gimme Shelter
by Libby Klein
“Vice and Virtue?” What kind of name is that for a cozy mystery? What does it even signify? The title gradually revealed its meaning, as I read the first book in the Layla Virtue Mystery series. By the time I closed that book, I was hungry for the next which, fortunately, had already been published in the spring of 2026. Gimme Shelter was every bit as exciting as I hoped it would be.
The protagonist, Layla, wasn’t looking to be part of any investigation. She had left the cop part of her life behind when she and her alcoholism were responsible for the deaths of her team members and the bungling of a sting operation. She does get pulled in, however, by the drug peddlers who escaped her carefully laid plans. She is also asked by her former nemesis on the force Detective Castinetto to use her skills to find the murderer of a well-loved teacher.
Layla uses her investigative skills while also trying to survive the social situations she finds herself in. She is attracted to Nick, her neighbor at the trailer park, who has as much of a traumatized past as Layla does. Layla battles addiction, guilt, and an inability to trust. With the help of her three new friends from AA, she gradually begins to regain her memory of that traumatic day. She never wanted friends, but these three ladies stick by her and don’t allow her to leave their circle of friendship. As she is learning what it means to be a friend, she finds one in an unexpected place—Ringo, a lovable and loving support dog trained by Nick. Humor plays a role in the book whenever Layla has a gig as a guitarist and singer. She ends up filling in for bands who are in need of a substitute, wearing crazy costumes and performing in unlikely venues. Also humorous are Layla’s interactions with other trailer park residents after she becomes owner of the park, a gift of her father, Don Virtue, a famous rock and roll guitarist. Her interactions with him display the poignant and amusing sides of dementia.
The problems posed in the first book continue in the second with closure on some and not on others. Layla’s relationship with Nick carries on with ups and downs while he proves essential to her investigation with his high level security skills. I’m looking forward to the next book in the series. Will Layla ever be trusted as a police officer again? If so, would she want that life or will she be too busy caring for her unpredictable, but good-natured father?
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #2 in the Layla Virtue Mystery series but the new reader of the series will be brought up-to-date in this book.
2. Clean.
3. The Layla Virtue Mystery Series has a protagonist that deviates from the typical, but will still please cozy mystery readers and Klein fans.
Publication: April 28, 2026—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
November through New Year’s was prime season for addiction meetings. No matter how airbrushed the advertisement, holiday meals and family gatherings didn’t usually fulfill their promises of bringing one peace and joy. And if they did, the feeling was fleeting and followed by a dangerous post-holiday letdown as soon as the day was over.
I threw the Jeep in reverse and backed out of there so fast, if I was still on the force, I would have given myself a ticket.
“What if I forget who I am in Italy? Who will help me? I only know how to say like four things in Italian and three of them will get me arrested.”
Vice and Virtue–addictions and mysteries
Vice and Virtue
by Libby Klein
Layla has been keeping her head down for six months in a shabby trailer in Lake Pinecrest Mobile Homes, formerly a tourist resort. Hated by her former police colleagues and hiding her relationship with her rock and roll father, she ekes out a living playing her guitar, usually songs from the 80’s, when she is able to land entertainment gigs from children’s parties to anniversary celebrations. Trouble rears its head when lecherous Chuckles the Clown and Layla are both hired for a child’s birthday party held at the mansion of a wealthy family and attended by a number of mothers who are sloshed. When Chuckles’ body jerks and flops, it is not part of his act. Thus begins an investigation that Layla, who quit the police force in shame, should not be a part of. She does not want to be a part of it…but she was there and she notices things.
There are a lot of interesting characters in Vice and Virtue. Layla doesn’t want to have anything to do with the people around her. That’s how you get hurt. But many of them force themselves on her. There are neighbors in the mobile home park who are really “characters.” They will keep you chuckling. Recognizing she has a drinking problem, Layla attends AA meetings and tries to keep her distance from others, but several ladies there want to be her friends and won’t let her push them away. Nick is a handsome next door neighbor with a great, compassionate dog, Ringo. Nick is almost as secretive as Layla and could successfully compete with her in a tortured background contest. Layla and her former colleagues on the police force agree that she is responsible for the deaths of her team, including a boyfriend, but that investigation was not tied up neatly and she is willing to let it lie. Her absentee father Don shows up on her doorstep, but not to sponge off of her. Quite the opposite, he wants to make up for the years he wasn’t in her life. Can he win her over and get her to accept help? The fame that accompanies him whenever he is recognized is a huge stumbling block for Layla. As a character who was strung out on drugs in the early years of his career, he seems to be in and out of the present and of reality. He is a genuinely nice guy and a very funny character.
I read this book as an Advance Reader Copy, but I liked it so much that, upon finishing it, I immediately went to my library online and checked out the next book in the series. So, watch for my reactions to Gimme Shelter in my next review.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #1 in the Layla Virtue Mystery series
2. Clean
3. I enjoyed Libby Klein’s Poppy McAllister Mysteries, but with 9 in the series, it seems the author decided to try something new and different. The Poppy McAllister series is excellent and fits well in the typical cozy mystery genre. The Layla Virtue Mystery Series has a protagonist that deviates from the typical, but will still please cozy mystery readers and Klein fans.
Publication: April 29, 2025—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
SOME DAYS SEEM LIKE THEY’RE JUST OUT TO GET YOU. SOMETIMES the attack announces itself right out of the chute so you can begin damage control. Buy a couple gallons of ice cream, some chocolate syrup, sign into Netflix, and hunker down for the aftermath.
“There’s no worse feeling in the world than regret. But we don’t live in the past, and we can’t change anything.”
“You know my memory is like Swiss cheese anyway. It’s why I call all the gals things like sugar and doll. It keeps me outta trouble for saying the wrong name.”
education pathways 