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ONE BOOK IN THE GRAVE
by Kate Carlisle
Signet, February 2012
280 pages
$7.99
ISBN: 0451236122


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

When the Covington Library calls Brooklyn Wainwright in to ask her to restore a copy of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, she is at first thrilled and then dismayed. The specific copy of the book she was given to work on is in fact, the very same book that she herself once owned and gave to close friends Emily and Max upon their engagement. Sadly, this is the very book that was stolen from Emily after Max's death three years ago. Where has the book been for three years and how did it come to land in the Covington Library? Brooklyn is immediately drawn into the mystery surrounding the book's disappearance and its sudden arrival at the library. Before long, Brooklyn is in for another shock when she finds the body of a dear friend and mentor in his shop. Although she doesn't want to believe it, all evidence points to a connection between book and the body.

There are several things about this series that help set it apart from the shelves and shelves of cozy paperback mystery series featuring an amateur protagonist. The most notable one is Brooklyn's occupation. There are a slew of series with cooks, knitters, gardeners, bookstore owners and crafters of all sorts, but Brooklyn, as a book restorer, has a unique profession that requires specific education with highly developed skills that not just anyone can pick up. My favorite parts of all of the books in this series are when Brooklyn is working on a book. The details given as she moves through the steps of the restoration are fascinating.

The characters are also a plus for this strong series. Brooklyn, having grown up in a commune, brings an interesting perspective to life. She is part of a large family member of which also frequently appear throughout the series. Her parents are still every bit the hippies they were in the 1960s in their views on life. In the first book of the series, I found them to be too stereotypical of the aged hippies and more than a little bit over the top, but as the series has continued, either Carlisle has toned them down or I have grown accustomed to their antics. Now Brooklyn's parents are now two of my favorite characters. Both her family and the commune figure heavily in the plot of ONE BOOK IN THE GRAVE.

Even though ONE BOOK IN THE GRAVE is the fifth book in the series, readers unfamiliar with Carlisle's books would have no problem picking this one up as a first taste of the series.

§ Caryn St.Clair resides in University City, Mo and is a former elementary school media specialist, President of the Parks Commission and a docent at the St.Louis Zoo.

Reviewed by Caryn St Clair, May 2012

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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