Homicide in Hardcover: A Bibliophile Mystery

by: Kate Carlisle

Published by: Signet

Reviewed by Sara Porter

Kate Carlisle’s Homicide in Hardcover: A Bibliophile Mystery is a wonderful book about a woman who usually tends to lifeless patients, until people start dying on her.

Brooklyn Wainwright, book restorer, attends a party given in honor of her former mentor, Abraham Karastovsky–held in honor of his restoration of a rare copy of Goethe’s Faust. Abraham is attacked by an unknown assailant, and when Brooklyn finds him, he whispers, “Remember the devil,” to her right before he dies. Temporarily accused of the murder, Brooklyn must wade through clues and avoid being interrogated by the very mysterious and handsome, Derek Stone, to find her mentor’s killer.

Homicide in Hardcover is a sharp and witty start to a hopefully continuing series. It has been awhile since I read the first book to a mystery series, and was excited for the author to continue with the next one.

Brooklyn makes a commendable lead. She is given a lot of humorous and charming details that make her seem like a real person than a superhuman female detective. Everything from her obsession with junk food to her hippie parents is made light of. Some of the best scenes are when Brooklyn returns to the hippie commune that she grew up in. Seeing a newcomer dressed in a long green skirt and tie-dyed t-shirt, she says “Dharma has claimed another convert.”

In contrast, Derek Stone, the object of Brooklyn’s investigation, is a complete mystery. Brooklyn doesn’t really know who he is or where he comes from. He starts off as a humorless James Bond-wannabe, but then emerges as a charming, cynical hero. Brooklyn is clearly torn between despising and lusting after him. When the two are trapped in a suspect’s house, Brooklyn is annoyed with Derek silencing her, but then is seduced by the smell of his aftershave.

The book contains some interesting details about the process of book restoration and antiquities dealing. There are also some interesting suspenseful scenes, leading up to a decent ending, with some promises of what is to come.

Armchair Interviews says: The first of what is hoped will be a series.

Author’s Web site: http://www.KateCarlisle.com