Homicide in Hardcover

3.5 stars

Homicide in Hardcover is a cute, quirky start to a mystery series.

This isn't a cozy about a bookshop owner, but a book restorer who repairs valuable tomes that have degraded with age and abuse. It opens with a touching scene where she reunites with her mentor, her friend, only to find him brutally murdered moments later.

Her internal monologue and family left me giggling, giving the series needed humor as it breaks between the tragedy of the murder. I loved the protagonist's quick wit and comebacks, her sarcasm in relationships and life beliefs, her introverted personality and work obsessed personality. The far out new age family and circle is a fun accompaniment. The writing style is a winner.

The mystery side is decent - show more there's some worthy misdirecting, a little actual investigating, and of course tricky tangling with some colorful detectives. It wasn't obvious who the murderer was, but the villain made sense in the end when the veil is lifted away. There's a tense scene or two that made the book hard to put down, but overall this is a rather sedate mystery pace.

Despite humor and quirk, the book balances the subject of murder and investigating evenly enough. I think I'll like the series, but the book didn't engross me yet. I'm thinking the next, especially considering how fun the characters are, will do the trick. I hope so since I bought the next three books already. Maybe a risky gamble, but how can a book-lover and mystery lover resists a bibliophile mystery series? show less

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

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

Brooklyn Wainwright is a book conservator and she was happy and excited to meet up with her mentor, Abraham Karastovsky at the gala at the Covington Library celebrating the restoration project of a collection that includes Goethe's Faust. While there, however, she finds Abraham in his workroom, dying in a pool of his own blood. Gasping, he utters a cryptic word and gives her the precious Faust. Brooklyn is now faced with attempting to figure out who killed her beloved mentor and why.

There were parts of this book that I greatly appreciated. I enjoyed the descriptions of bookbinding and repair. I also liked the depictions of many of the characters, such as Brooklyn's hippie parents and the police detective Derek. The mystery itself was show more well constructed and interesting.... but I didn't really care for Brooklyn herself .I found her acerbic, flippant tone irritating, and I just don't like a character who could forget to feed her neighbor's cats. I think it is unlikely that I will read another in this series. show less

Broolyn's mentor tells her he has some exciting news to tell her but he is murdered before that happens. She feels a responsibility to restore the book he was working on but everyone wants it. Enter Derrick, the very dishy British security guard assigned by the book's owner to keep it safe. Bickering begins and Brooklyn seems to continually put herself in danger to rescued by Derrick. She is the child of New Age Hippies in San Francisco which is an interesting twist.