Review and Giveaway: One Book in the Grave

One Book in the Grave (Bibliophile Mystery - Book 5) by Kate Carlise

Publication Date: February 7, 2012
Publisher: Penguin Group USA
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pages: Paperback, 304pp
ISBN-13: 978-0451236128
ISBN: 0451236122


(Received for an honest review from Berkley Prime Crime)


Purchase: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository, IndieBound


Kate Carlisle on the WEB: website, blog, facebook, twitter


Books in the series: Homocide in Hardcover (2009), If Books Could Kill (2010), The Lies that Bind (2010), Murder Under Cover (2011), One Book in the Grave (2012), Peril in Paperback (2012)


CoverArt: Click on the picture for a larger, clearer image of the covers in this series.

Excerpt from One Book in the Grave

Synopsis:

There may be grave consequences for bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright as she attempts to solve two murders tied to one book...

Brooklyn's chance to restore a rare first edition of Beauty and the Beast seems a fairytale come true—until she realizes the book last belonged to an old friend of hers. Ten years ago, Max Adams, a renowned, brawny papermaker, fell in love with a stunning beauty, Emily, and gave her the copy of Beauty and the Beast as a symbol of their love. Soon afterward, he died in a car crash, and Brooklyn has always suspected his possessive ex-girlfriend and her jealous beau.

Now she decides to find out who sold the book and return it to its rightful owner—Emily. She believes a rare book dealer can assist her, but when she arrives at his shop, she finds him murdered. Is it possible the same couple who may have killed Daniel is now after his edition of Beauty and the Beast? With the help of her handsome boyfriend, Derek Stone, Brooklyn must unravel the murder plot—before she ends up in a plot herself...


Thoughts:

Kate Carlisle brings readers the fifth book in her Bibliophile Mystery series, One Book in the Grave. This is series is a book lovers dream. It delves in the making and restoring of books while providing action packed whodonit's. Carlisle has a knack for characterization and the fun loving family in this book adds comic relief as well as insight into the case. Readers who love a good book will love this series.

There were several things that I liked about this book. I will admit that I had not read the other books in the series before starting this one, but that certainly did not take away from the overall appeal of the book. It can easily double as a stand alone, as well as, part of the Bibliophile series. First of all, it's a series and a book that will strike a cord with other book lovers, because the heroine is a bookbinder and restorer. I thought that really added a literary element to the story that isn't present in a lot of cozy mysteries. I liked learning about the process of restoring old books and the history behind first editions and their rarity.

The main character, Brooklyn was fun to read about. She was interesting and had a good head on her shoulders. She was a stickler for detail and very observant. She seemed to be getting a bit worried about all the dead bodies she keeps running into, but she made a great amateur sleuth. Her love interest, Derek is a security specialist and has his hands full trying to keep her safe. He was quite handsome and it was a bit distracting at times when Brooklyn kept going on about him, but I don't think it really took too much away from the story.

I loved Brooklyn's family. From her quirky parents who gave up the corporate life to join Guru Bob in building a commune to her brothers and sisters who are all named after cities they were born or conceived in. They added a lot of comic relief to the book and lightened the subject of murder. The one thing I prefer about cozies over mainstream mysteries is the lightness. Mainstream mysteries are very heavy and have a lot of gore most of the time and this book proves you dont' need that to have an entertaining, well written mystery.
One Book in the Grave is available NOW from your favorite bookseller.


I'm giving this one 4 out of 5 apples from my book bag!

Golden Heart and Daphne du Maurier Award winning author Kate Carlisle spent over twenty years working in television production as an Associate Director for game and variety shows, including The Midnight Special, Solid Gold and The Gong Show. She traveled the world as a Dating Game chaperone and performed strange acts of silliness on The Gong Show. She also studied acting and singing, toiled in vineyards, collected books, joined a commune, sold fried chicken, modeled spring fashions and worked for a cruise ship line, but it was the year she spent in law school that finally drove her to begin writing fiction. It seemed the safest way to kill off her professors. Those professors are breathing easier now that Kate spends most of her time writing near the beach in Southern California where she lives with her perfect husband.

A lifelong love of old books and an appreciation of the art of bookbinding led Kate to create the Bibliophile Mysteries, featuring rare book expert Brooklyn Wainwright, whose bookbinding and restoration skills invariably uncover old secrets, treachery and murder. Kate is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers and Romance Writers of America. She loves to drink good wine and watch other people cook.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

The publisher is sponsoring a giveaway for one copy of One Book in the Grave by Kate Carlisle.


~ You must be GFC follower or an E-mail subscriber to participate
~ US addresses only!
~ The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST March 31st.


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