Homicide in Hardcover

There is a subgenre of cozy mysteries series which picks up a hobby (usually art or craft) or business and sets the series around it - coffee-shops, baking, bookstores... you name it, it probably exists. Most of them are formulaic to some extent (there is a love interest, whoever runs the business/has the hobby becomes a reluctant detective, the police seems to always think they did at least the first murder at least for awhile and so on) but they tend to have enough details and difference to actually work on their own.

This novel is the first in one of these series. Brooklyn Wainwright restores old books and is one of the best in the business, albeit very young. A rare collection, being restored by her old mentor Abraham Karastovsky, show more is about to be shown in a local museum but he does not live long enough to see it - during a celebration in the museum he is killed. And it seems like Brooklyn and people she cares about are in the frame for it. So she resolves to do two things: find the murderer and finish Abraham's work with the collection.

There is an old love interest, there is an old foe (almost Cruella de Vil level cartoonish in her hate) and then there is the security consultant which makes Brooklyn's knees week. All that was the usual formula. Then there are the details - the commune where Brooklyn grew up (and met Abraham), all the book binding and restoring details and Brooklyn's personality which after a bit of a stumble early on (way too... formulaic) actually evens out and even shines.

But what really carries the book is the mystery itself - the murder and its resolution. With old books all over the place it was bound to be ties to the past and it is. But it was handled properly, without sudden jumps or surprises.

A good start for a new cozy mystery series - if you are in the mood for the style. I plan to read at least a few more from the series - they are a wonderful palate cleanser after heavier books. show less

Homicide In Hardcover by Kate Carlisle is the first of the Bibliophile mysteries. Brooklyn Wainright is an expert in book restoration and binding. A potentially cursed copy of Faust leads to the death of her mentor where her mother is a suspect!

Two factors drew me to this series: the book binding aspect and the setting — San Francisco. Carlisle's description of San Francisco and surrounding areas (mostly in Marin county) were believable, capturing both the landscape and the quirks of the local culture. Meanwhile the book binding and repair details were just enough to be interesting without getting in the way of the plot.

I think fans of Penny Warner's Party Planning series will enjoy the Bibliophile series. Brooklyn has a similar show more dysfunctional but loving relationship with her mother, though her's is in good health, and her father is still alive.

As a first mystery, the clues and suspects are pretty easy to put together for an observant reader. The characters and setting, though, more than make up for the simplicity in plot. show less

The first book in the Bibliophile mystery series introduces book restorer Brooklyn Wainright and her eccentric family. Brooklyn spent most of her childhood living in a commune in California's wine country. Her parents met as Deadheads traveling around following the band. However, now they are very successful members of a rich commune. Her father makes wine. Her mother follows every path to enlightenment.

The commune is where she met Abraham Karastovsky who first began teaching her how to repair books when she was eight. Brooklyn broke off her apprenticeship with him when she went off to college and graduate school. Abraham didn't think she needed what college taught her.

They met again at an opening at the Covington where rare books show more were going to be the focus of attention. They mended their past differences and renewed their long friendship just in time for Abraham to be found murdered.

Brooklyn discovers the body and shortly after is discovered by Commander Derek Stone who is doing the security for the exhibition. He initially suspects her, and she is keeping secrets. She isn't willing to mention that she saw her mother in the same area as the murder.

When one of her ex-fiancés asks her to take over Abraham's restoration of a very valuable edition of Faust, Brooklyn agrees even though the book is believed to be cursed having left a string of dead owners behind it.

And the deaths continue when a second, somewhat criminal book restorer is also murdered. Brooklyn also discovered his body since she had an appointment with him. Brooklyn also comes under attack when her studio is vandalized, and she is knocked unconscious.

This was a fun series beginning. I liked the information about bookbinding. I liked Brooklyn and the cast of characters who surround her. I'm eager to read more in the series. show less

Homicide in Hardcover is an adorable mystery about Brooklyn Wainwright, a San Francisco book restoration expert who gets caught up in a criminal investigation. Her former beloved mentor, Abraham Karastovsky, has been murdered while working on a supposedly cursed book, The Faust.

Brooklyn takes over the project, and tries to solve the crime herself with the help of her kooky family, a handsome security officer, and some endearing friends. (Brooklyn’s name, along with the odd place names of her siblings, comes from the places where her hippie parents had been to Grateful Dead concerts.)

The book has loads of humor, suspense, good fun, and some great lines. (My favorite: “Suffice it to say, this was another lesson learned the hard way. show more Men were good for one thing only. Killing spiders.”)

If you like food, wine, sass, the frisson of suggested sex and a bit of mystery, you won’t be disappointed by this delightful book. show less

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

Brooklyn Wainright is an expert bookbinder. After finding her mentor and teacher, Abraham Karastovsky, dead she is devastated. More than that, she is determined. Just before Abraham died he said a few words to her and gave her a priceless book, Goethe's Faust. When Abraham's employer, who is also Brooklyn's former boyfriend, asks her to take over the restoration of Faust, she agrees. Meanwhile she is forced to deal with a British security expert, Derek Stone, who both attracts her and annoys her.

At the outset, Derek thinks she might be guilty. His feelings on the matter change rather quickly, especially when he discovers that she plans on checking things out for herself. Meanwhile, Brooklyn is super busy. She has show more less than a week to restore the book, must fend off attacks while asking one too many questions, and has constant run-ins with Derek.

Brooklyn must also contend with another restorer, Minka. They have been having difficulties for years, and Minka is pushing all of her buttons. Despite Minka's evil nature, there are other great characters in this book, including Brooklyn's best friend Robin and her delightful parents.

This story is told in Brooklyn's first-person's point of view. One bonus to Kate Carlisle's writing style that I enjoyed while reading this book is Brooklyn's side comments to herself. She is so snarky and fun.

Homicide in Hardcover is a wonderful cozy mystery and I am glad to have had a chance to read it. It is the first book in the Bibliophile series. There are currently 13 titles. The latest title is The Book Supremacy, which I have already read. I really enjoyed that book, so I decided to backtrack and read the series from the beginning. Immediately after reading this first book, I then read the second, If Books Could Kill, and have already borrowed the third, The Lies That Bind, from my library. show less

Kate Carlisle's Homicide in Hardcover cozy mystery stars Brooklyn Wainwright, a book restorer, who finds herself tracking down a killer after her mentor and friend, Abraham Karastovsky, is murdered while restoring a priceless copy of Goethe's Faust.

My overall impression of this book was "meh" with occasional "ugh". The book restoring promised to be fascinating, but instead was rather poorly explained. I'm reasonably well-informed in a number of subjects, but book restoration is not among them, so I was suitably interested in the craft. That said, the book immediately throws jargon at you without bothering to explain it to the layman. It started off promisingly, but quickly devolved into some vague stabs at explanation while rattling off show more on tangents. Carlisle spent more time describing the protagonist's clothes than the process of book restoring.

Brooklyn herself is not a terribly interesting character outside of the book restoration, either. She has all the traits of a typical "flawed" female character: oh, she eats a lot (but never gains weight, of course!). She can't keep plants or animals alive! She apparently also blurts out whatever she's thinking, which is more cringeworthy than anything.

I also question how on earth she got as far as she did without being arrested earlier. First she is found with her mentor, previously estranged, dying in her arms and a priceless book on her person, then she pushes past the police tape of his house and wanders in, steals some things, and is somehow not charged with anything. Apparently these cops are quite savvy to the genre and kindly refrained from arresting her until it was necessary to do so for the sake of the plot.

The most "argh" moments, however, were the "love interest". I use this loosely because it was baffling why she would be interested in him at all and the fact that it wasn't really love so much as really creepy lust. He approaches her after she finds her beloved mentor dying, and - not two minutes after her mentor dies in her arms - she thinks, "He smelled like heaven. Manly and warm with a hint of green forest and a touch of leather and - " (34).

Granted, she is waking up after fainting (really? Is she a Victorian heroine?), but still, she spends the rest of the time when she doesn't remember her uncle figure dying in her arms to think about how manly and wonderful said love interest is. It's okay though, because she says, "I no longer cared that he was sexy and smelled good. He was too incredibly annoying" (35). Well, then, that makes it okay!

His name, point of fact, is Derek, and he is a Grade A jackass. His first real introduction is when he wakes her up from her swoon: " 'Women,' a male voice muttered in scorn" (34). Charming, right?

She discovers that he works for Causeway Cornwall International, a security firm, and says, "Causeway Cornwall is the underwriter for the Winslow exhibition", to which he responds, " 'Exactly.' He nodded at me as if I were a particularly bright three-year-old" (38).

Well, isn't that what every woman wants, really? A man who mutters, "Women" scornfully under his breath and treats her like a particularly bright three-year-old? Take me now, you big stud.

I understand that Carlisle was going for the love-hate relationship, but it frustrates me when authors try this and fail so spectacularly. A character who is witty, charming, and gets digs in with a good-natured smile? That's grounds for a love-hate relationship. This guy is not witty, charming, or good-natured. Perhaps we're meant to feel our hearts beat faster because he's so "manly" - here code for "jackass" - or forgive him because he's just so incredibly sexy!

There's a problem with this. One, I would not be won over by anyone, no matter how sexy they are, if they treated me like he treats Brooklyn, and two, the reader doesn't have the "incredibly sexy" part in their heads. He's a frowny guy who scowled at her earlier. That's it. The part the reader is concentrating on is his actions and words, which are not flattering to him right now.

This is something, quite honestly, that I would expect out of a bad romance novel - not in a cozy mystery. It takes a deft hand to write romance into a cozy mystery without overpowering the mystery aspect. Carlisle's hand is more a bludgeoning tool against the reader.

There's something so distasteful about him that it soured my impression of the entire book, even the parts without him. I would prefer to get to know Brooklyn a little better before throwing in a love interest who is unpleasant, condescending, and a touch misogynistic. show less

This really is one of my favourite cosy series and as enjoyable to reread as any I have every encountered. I love Brooklyn and her funny family, her boyfriend makes me think of Bodie all the time (except he dresses better :-) and her stories take place in cities I don't often read about and so I love the descriptions. I do wish the Covington really existed so I could go on line and look at pictures.

Book expert Brooklyn Wainwright discovers that murder is always a bestseller in the first novel in the New York Times bestselling Bibliophile Mystery series.

Brooklyn Wainwright is a skilled surgeon. Sure, her patients might smell like mold and have spines made of leather, but no ailing book is going to die on her watch. The same can’t be show more said of Abraham Karastovsky, Brooklyn’s friend and former employer.

On the eve of a celebration for his latest book restoration, Brooklyn finds her mentor lying in a pool of his own blood. With his final breath Abraham leaves Brooklyn with a cryptic message, “Remember the Devil,” and gives her a priceless—and supposedly cursed—copy of Goethe’s Faust for safe-keeping.

Brooklyn suddenly finds herself accused of murder and theft, thanks to Derek Stone, the humorless—and annoyingly attractive—British security officer who found her kneeling over the body. Now she has to read the clues left behind by her mentor if she is going to restore justice… show less