The Grim Reader

The Grim Reader by Kate Carlisle is the 14th A Bibliophile Mystery. I have read each book in this entertaining series, but The Grim Reader can be read as a standalone (but, really, why would you want to). I have enjoyed following Brooklyn from the very beginning. Brooklyn Wainwright is a bookbinder who specializes in rare books. She lives in San Francisco with her dashing husband, Derek Stone and their adorable cat, Charlie. Derek and Brooklyn are in Dharma, Brooklyn’s hometown, for the first annual Dharma Book Festival. This festival is featuring Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and will include a one-night performance of Little Women—the musical (it was performed on Broadway). Brooklyn’s mother, Becky Wainwright is co-chair of show more the festival committee and she has been having a difficult time with Jacob Banyan. Jacob has been acquiring wineries in the area by dubious means and turning their fine vintage into a box wine which has the other winery owners up in arms. Jacob threatens Becky more than once in an attempt to get his way. I like that all the women in the Wainwright family are strong and creative. Brooklyn is a spitfire just like her mother. The Grim Reader contains Kate Carlisle’s signature writing style which is engaging. The story is narrated by Brooklyn. I was quickly drawn into the book which moved along at a quick page. The mystery was intriguing with a murder or two, an attempt on Becky’s life, and missing money. While I narrowed in on my choice of killer early on, my interest did not wane. I kept turning the pages quickly so I could see how the whodunit would play out. The reveal scene was a delightful and creative. The dialogue is witty and provided me with many laughs. Brooklyn does a little book restoration in this story, but not as much as in other books. I missed Brooklyn doing a creative, unique paper project. Of course, Brooklyn is busy visiting family, preparing for the festival, keeping her mother safe, playing with Charlie, and repairing a first edition copy of Little Women. There are some delectable culinary delights in this book that will have your mouth watering. Thankfully, there are recipes at the end of the book. There are some great tidbits regarding Little Women in the book. The Grim Reader is a story that takes me on a journey into Brooklyn’s world that I was sad to see end. I cannot wait for the next A Bibliophile Mystery to come out next year. My favorite line comes from Brooklyn when she said, “Couldn’t we stumble across a poisoning once in a while.” Poor Brooklyn has an aversion to blood. One of Brooklyn’s other lines that had me laughing is, “So suck it up buttercup.” The Grim Reader is a compelling cozy mystery with a big bully, committee chaos, beaucoup blood, missing money, a bounty of books, and a fun festival. show less

Ah, the world of Brooklyn and Derek Stone where no one swears, no married couples bicker, and cats are actually friendly. So, clearly a cozy mystery, but I needed to get lost there for awhile. In this one, the book at the center of the mystery is actually a book festival. Brooklyn’s mom heads the committee and after two long years of work, it’s about to launch. Unfortunately, Becky has to deal with a local bully and difficult committee members, but she handles it all with patience that boarders on superhuman. Then she, along with Derek’s mother Meg, find a body. A good book for my current reality.

Brooklyn Wainwright and her husband Derek Stone are going back to visit the small community of Dharma, California, where Brooklyn grew up. Dharma is having their first annual Book Festival, and Brooklyn will be one of the vendors, teaching children how to make accordion books and appraising books for people. She's excited once again to see her family, and Derek's mom and dad have recently purchased a summer home there, since one of their sons is living with Brooklyn's sister, and Derek's mom Meg has become best friends with Brooklyn's mom Becky.

After they arrive they decide to surprise Becky at the festival meeting that she's chairing are are surprised themselves when a big man is standing in front of the group and starts arguing with show more Becky. Brooklyn and Derek are stunned, but watch the action, happy that Becky can hold her own. The man storms out, and they learn he's Jacob Banyan, and he's been buying up wineries in the county only to turn the wine into boxed wine instead of the fine wine like that produced by Brooklyn's family. He's angry because he's not being allowed into the festival to hawk his boxed wine, and is determined to take it out on the committee members, including Lawson Schmidt, whom he says something cryptic to before leaving.

But Becky is excited that for this first festival they are putting on a musical version of Little Women, and they've managed to snag an ex-Hollywood movie star for the role of Marmee. Everyone's excited about the festival, and Brooklyn is also, though she's happier just to have family and friends around her.

Unfortunately, things aren't going the way they're planned. There's more confrontations with Banyan, her mother has become a target of someone, and then there's a murder...one where Becky and Meg have found the body. Now everyone is on edge, and Brooklyn is trying to protect her mother with people watching her round-the-clock. But when a second murder occurs, the ante is upped and she knows that not only is there a killer out there, but her beloved mom is in danger, and Brooklyn will do whatever it takes to protect her...

This is the fourteenth book in the series, and I do believe that it's just getting better every time. I discovered this series mid-way, and I'm enjoying going back to the beginning 'where it all started.' Saying that, you can see how much I love it. In this book, we get to know more about Becky, which is nice. She has both an inner and outer strength, which she passed on to Brooklyn, but Becky, for her part, isn't bothered by anything little like blood which still makes Brooklyn queasy. (Blood doesn't bother me, either, but my husband isn't real fond of it, ha!)

We learn a little more about about the place Brooklyn grew up, which everyone thinks was a commune but really wasn't, and of course, the author reiterates how Brooklyn and her siblings got their names, which is always nice. I also like how the relationship between Meg and Becky has gotten stronger; and I've always found it funny that Becky is proud of Brooklyn not only for who she is, but the fact that she manages to find dead bodies. It's rather macabre, but still done in a humorous way, so when Becky and Meg find the body, they're almost excited to have done so.

When the police start investigating, they want to know who wanted this person dead and why. But it leads to other things that are discovered and not in a good way - putting more than Becky in harm's way, and now Brooklyn and Derek are trying to find out what's going on while Brooklyn is still preparing for the festival.

The plot is done beautifully, the dialogue is witty and fun, and the characters are given depth and are believable and animated. The area around Dharma is described so lovely that I'd like to visit it someday. Ms. Carlisle has a way with words and a talent for bringing you into the story from the first page and taking you on the journey with her to the end. It all comes to a head eventually, which we know it will; and when the killer is discovered and the motive for the murders, it's as old as time itself, but never dull in the telling. Highly recommended. show less

Series: Bibliophile Mystery #14
Publication Date: 6/2/20
Number of Pages: 336

This is a wonderful series and this book just adds to it. It is well-written, well-plotted, and the characters – both main and supporting – are superb. You’d love to meet them all in person and become friends with them. Brooklyn Wainwright, a bookbinder and restoration expert and her drool-worthy, security expert husband, Derek Stone, have their mothers to protect as well as multiple murders to solve in this story.

It has long been a dream of Brooklyn’s to have a book festival in her hometown of Dharma, and her mother, Rebecca, has worked for the last two years to make that happen. The festival is within a few days of beginning when Brooklyn and Drake show more arrive from San Francisco where they now live. Brooklyn is bubbling with excitement and can hardly wait for it to begin. Yet, when they head into town to pick her mother up from a planning committee meeting, they witness a large, burly man harassing and threatening her. While Rebecca deals with him and doesn’t let him cow her, Brooklyn and Derek worry that it could lead to more. When more harassment occurs and a dead body is found in the committee room, they go into high gear to protect Rebecca.

Their chief suspect is the nasty businessman, Jacob Banyan, who continues to harass Rebecca. But, as more clues are discovered, more attempts on Rebecca’s life are made, and yet another body is discovered, they have more suspects than they know what to do with.

Is embezzlement at the bottom of crimes, or is it the first edition of Little Woman that Brooklyn is restoring – or is it something else altogether? You’ll just have to read this delightful mystery, meet all of the suspects, and figure it out for yourself. Can there be more than one perpetrator?

In addition to the crimes to solve, we get a delightful visit with both Brooklyn’s and Derek’s delightful families. Brooklyn’s parents are deadheads from the sixties who followed Guru Bob to the Sonoma Valley and set about creating their own community, Dharma. They are all now very wealthy and well-respected members of the community – even though Rebecca still gets into karma, chakra’s, spirit cleansing, etc. You’ll love them. If you get the chance, be sure to read the series from the beginning so you can get to know and learn to appreciate all of the cast of characters.

If you are looking for a delightful read, this is the one for you. Happy solving!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. show less

As one of Kate's Raters, I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In this fourteenth installment of Carlisle's cozy Bibliophile Mystery series, book restoration expert Brooklyn and her husband, dashing security specialist, Derek are off to Dharma, her hometown, for a holiday of wine and words. Her unflagging mother, Rebecca, is taking charge of its inaugural book festival. The festival, actually Brooklyn's long-time project, has finally come to fruition thanks to her mother's thorough research and initiative.

With the whole town involved and excitement in the air, it is shaping up to be an event to remember with its fun booths. A musical performance of the official book of the festival, Alcott's show more Little Women, will be the grand finish to the festivities. But, what's a happy occasion without a buzzkill or two? And, what's a bibliophile mystery without a murder?

Both Brooklyn and Derek come from large families that share a rare, enviable, congenial and harmonious relationship. To the extent that one of Brooklyn's sisters is married to one of Derek's brothers. Not only that, Derek's parents bought a home in Dharma. Brooklyn and Derek's friends and family have made appearances in previous books, but not all at once. It's nice to see them all together. The moms Rebecca and Meg are two peas in a pod and effortlessly funny.

This was my favorite of the five books I've read in the series and that is saying a lot. Every book in this standalone series has a clever title and engaging plot. In this book, characters, both returning and new, were fun to re-visit and meet. The malcontents were insufferable, yet interesting. They usually are. Story, action, humor, romance, and, of course, delectable food...all made for a highly entertaining read. The culprit was not obvious. At least, not to me. Because of how this one ended, I even more eagerly await the next in the series. show less

Probably one of the weaker entries in the series. Derek, for one, despite being a true security officer, seemed to play second fiddle to Brooklyn in her speculations (often baseless) about the likely suspects. Together, they seemed to never ask some of the more obvious questions, such as what the murder victims were actually doing in the settings where the bodies were found. The final "reveal" was not a surprise, and was one of the few instances where the identity could be seen fairly early in the book.

For all that, a pleasant enough read.

On an otherwise unrelated note, instead of recipes in the back, I think a timeline synopsis of each previous adventure would not go amiss; I'm having difficulty getting a sense of how much time has show more passed between books and over the span of the series as a whole. show less

Brooklyn and Derek have come to Dharma in the Sonoma valley wine country where there is going to be a Book Festival. Brooklyn will be demonstrating her techniques and teaching children how books are bound. The theme for the Festival is The book Little Women and Brooklyn has been asked by the local bookseller to repair a first edition of that book. Brooklyn 's mother is the chairman of the Festival committee and she has had her hands full trying to thwart an obnoxious guy who is trying to making a fast buck and ruin the integrity of the wines made in Dharma by association. When a committee member is murdered, embezzlement discovered, and threats start flying, Brooklyn and Derek gather their families and friends to protect their loved show more ones and find the killer.

It was great to see not just Brooklyn's family but Derek's as well when they went into protect mode. The mothers are an absolute hoot and the food description mouth-watering. I always enjoy the descriptions of Brooklyn at work. show less