In a rather funny twist, this is the 2nd cozy I read this week that involves book restoration. This one by Kate Carlisle was even more interesting for me because it discusses the detailed techniques of bookbinding. I have actually had some experience in doing this through my various scrapbooking retreats through Club Scrap. So, the descriptions of the restoration and binding are quite interesting to me.
The mystery itself is very well written and full of plot twists to keep the reader engaged. This is actually the first book in the series although I had previously read a later installment last year. This book introduces us to Brooklyn and her family. They are quite interesting characters with unique family dynamics. Her best friend, Emily, is a childhood friend she met when her family moved to the commune north of San Francisco. Yep, this book has lots of stereotypical fruits and nuts to go around. There is also lots of high society SF money to be found in the showing of rare book collection being debuted in the story. The relationships are well developed and will continue to grow as the series progresses if the later installment is any indication. I look forward to reading the interim books to fill in the gaps.
Behind the story and the root of the murders is a copy of Faust that is written in German. The restoration of this book seems to be the source of crimes being committed. Brooklyn keeps finding dead bodies and trouble everywhere she turns. There are definitely plenty of red herrings and the guilty party is quite a surprise at the end especially the motive.
This book weaves some German history around the time of WWII into the story as well. So the 3 mysteries I read this week are all connected in some fashion, WWII Germany or book binding/restoration. A strange coincidence to say the least with a little bit for everyone.
Homicide in Hardcover by Kate Carlisle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Action packed cozy with a bit of a historic plot line mixed in with modern crime solving. There are several subplots and mysteries contained in this first installment of the Bibliophile series. Who knew book preservation could be so exciting
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Challenge Prompts
The Challenge Prompts I will use this for are:
- Library Love #LibraryLoveChallenge Book #123
- Finishing the Series #FinishingTheSeries2021 Bibliophile Mysteries #1
- Virtual Mount TBR #VirtualMountTBR2021 Book #133
- Back List Reader #Backlistreader Book #147
- Cruisin thru Cozies Free choice #90
- Cloak & Dagger #CloakDaggerChal Book #127
- Craving for Cozies Book #108
- Pick your Poison #20-4 A book with the word "hard" in the title
- Monthly Motif #MonthlyMotifGXO
- Medical Examiner Challenge 2 Toe Tags
- Beachcomber Challenge
- Crime Scenes
- Row 2
- Basement
- Row 5
- Bedroom
- Weapons
- Row 2
- Hand gun
- Pointy object
- Detectives- Brooklyn/Derek
- Victims- Abraham/Enrique
- Six Shooter Challenge Target #20 Shot #2
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