Helpful Score: 20
This book sounded like a good read and a different plot line. Started out in the first couple chapters introducing every character (it seems) all at once. Unfortunately, what really killed it for me was the language. I just fail to understand why authors have to mess up what sounds like a good mystery by inserting foul language throughout the book. I was very disappointed in this book and author. This of course represents just my humble opinion, but I would not recommend it.
Cathy C. (cathyskye) -
Helpful Score: 13
First Line: My teacher always told me that in order to save a patient you'd have to kill him first.
When book restorer Brooklyn Wainwright decided to go into business for herself, it caused a rift between her and her teacher, Abraham Karastovsky. She is relieved when he welcomes her with open arms at a party in the prestigious Covington Library in San Francisco, but a short time later Brooklyn walks into a workroom to find Abraham lying in a pool of blood. Leaving her with a cryptic message and an extremely rare (and supposedly cursed) volume of Faust, she finds herself right in the middle of a murder investigation, complete with family members as suspects and a delectable British security officer.
Although Hardcover in Homicide suffers a bit from wanting to be all things to all people with a wide-ranging cast of characters that could've been pared down, I did enjoy the book. The information about book restoration was fascinating without bogging down the pace. The San Francisco-Napa Valley locales added the perfect ambiance to the story, and Carlisle does have some gems in her line-up of characters-- foremost among them Brooklyn's family. Her parents live in a commune named Dharma in the Napa Valley, and her siblings have similarly geographic names: Austin, China.... Led by Guru Bob, the people of Dharma are quite the interesting bunch to visit, and I'm hoping that future books in the series will let us get to know Brooklyn's siblings better.
Led by a very interesting main character, once this series tightens its focus a bit, it will be a very entertaining one to follow. One small aside: I find it amusing that Homicide in Hardcover is published as a mass market paperback (but then, I can be easily amused)!
When book restorer Brooklyn Wainwright decided to go into business for herself, it caused a rift between her and her teacher, Abraham Karastovsky. She is relieved when he welcomes her with open arms at a party in the prestigious Covington Library in San Francisco, but a short time later Brooklyn walks into a workroom to find Abraham lying in a pool of blood. Leaving her with a cryptic message and an extremely rare (and supposedly cursed) volume of Faust, she finds herself right in the middle of a murder investigation, complete with family members as suspects and a delectable British security officer.
Although Hardcover in Homicide suffers a bit from wanting to be all things to all people with a wide-ranging cast of characters that could've been pared down, I did enjoy the book. The information about book restoration was fascinating without bogging down the pace. The San Francisco-Napa Valley locales added the perfect ambiance to the story, and Carlisle does have some gems in her line-up of characters-- foremost among them Brooklyn's family. Her parents live in a commune named Dharma in the Napa Valley, and her siblings have similarly geographic names: Austin, China.... Led by Guru Bob, the people of Dharma are quite the interesting bunch to visit, and I'm hoping that future books in the series will let us get to know Brooklyn's siblings better.
Led by a very interesting main character, once this series tightens its focus a bit, it will be a very entertaining one to follow. One small aside: I find it amusing that Homicide in Hardcover is published as a mass market paperback (but then, I can be easily amused)!
Really surprisingly good 'read', for a debut novel. Totally caught me up in the characters. Enjoyable, and thought about it, the characters, for days after completing it. I DO wish to read the next book by this author.
Helpful Score: 5
cute, but this book has it all:
the young, blonde, cute protagonist who is overshadowed by a flambouyant friend.
the male protagonist who is drop dead gorgeous and RICH and who falls for her.
the lesbian friends.
the inheritance so she ends up rich at the end.
the wacky but wonderful mother.
With this list of cliches, if you are an avid mystery reader, you can probably name half a dozen books with these identical elements.
Still, if you overlook the lack of depth to the characters (people are either 100% good or 100% evil), overlook the cliches, and overlook the predictability of the plot and the fact that each plot "twist" is very expected, then this is a cute book for a first work by a brand new author.
the young, blonde, cute protagonist who is overshadowed by a flambouyant friend.
the male protagonist who is drop dead gorgeous and RICH and who falls for her.
the lesbian friends.
the inheritance so she ends up rich at the end.
the wacky but wonderful mother.
With this list of cliches, if you are an avid mystery reader, you can probably name half a dozen books with these identical elements.
Still, if you overlook the lack of depth to the characters (people are either 100% good or 100% evil), overlook the cliches, and overlook the predictability of the plot and the fact that each plot "twist" is very expected, then this is a cute book for a first work by a brand new author.
Heather F. (AZmom875) -
Helpful Score: 4
I just got started and so far, She has added the token, lesbian neighbor, her cuter best friend, and just crammed a whole bunch of other characters left and right into a party. Do I even want to finish?
Nancy G. (ComfyReader) reviewed Homicide in Hardcover (Bibliophile, Bk 1) on + 330 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Brooklyn Wainwright is a restorer of antique books. Taught by Abraham Karastosky on a commune in the Napa region that her parents brought her and her siblings to when she was a young child.
Brooklyn and Abraham had always been close, that was until about six months previous when she had decided to start her own business and Abraham was not too fond of that idea. Brooklyn had hopes of being back on better footing with Abraham so on the night of the Covington Libraries Rare Books Gala she went to seek him out only to find him dying on the floor of his workroom. With a rare Faust book pressed into her hands and Abrahams dying words, Brooklyn is left to finish his last restoration and to find his killer.
Of course Brooklyn and a whole slew of quirky characters are first pinpointed and then released as suspects making this book rather predictable in its search for the murder. I had actually picked the wrong who-done-it person, but then again, there were so many different people thrown at you with their own reasons for wanting him dead that when the end came you could only say oh, ok.
Im sure that this is the first of many more in this series, just cant picture myself rushing out to buy the next.
Brooklyn and Abraham had always been close, that was until about six months previous when she had decided to start her own business and Abraham was not too fond of that idea. Brooklyn had hopes of being back on better footing with Abraham so on the night of the Covington Libraries Rare Books Gala she went to seek him out only to find him dying on the floor of his workroom. With a rare Faust book pressed into her hands and Abrahams dying words, Brooklyn is left to finish his last restoration and to find his killer.
Of course Brooklyn and a whole slew of quirky characters are first pinpointed and then released as suspects making this book rather predictable in its search for the murder. I had actually picked the wrong who-done-it person, but then again, there were so many different people thrown at you with their own reasons for wanting him dead that when the end came you could only say oh, ok.
Im sure that this is the first of many more in this series, just cant picture myself rushing out to buy the next.
Helpful Score: 3
Begins a little slow, I almost put it down because I have sooooo many others to read. I'm glad I didn't. This author is new to me and I'll read her again for a fun fast read. The book was enjoyable and the "who done it" came out of left field. I like that.
You'll enjoy this mystery and as you go along, google some of the information about old books and the process of book binding, you'll find it fascenating.
You'll enjoy this mystery and as you go along, google some of the information about old books and the process of book binding, you'll find it fascenating.
Helpful Score: 2
I've just finished Homicide in Hardcover. A cozy with a twist. A bookbinder/restorer professional how's that for a new cozy profession?
I enjoyed this one because I was page turning and was open mouthed when the killer came through the door. Never ever suspected that person!!! I can usually figure out whodunit and just read to verify that I was right.
Brooklyn Wainwright is a skilled surgeon who uses her expertise with a scalpel to save the lives of her patients. Patients with life threatening ailments of cracked, brittle leather, moldy paper and dried-up glue. She's the daughter of Deadheads who joined a commune and have become wealthy in their own right.
As the story opens, Brooklyn is at a museum reception enjoying a happy reconciliation with her life-long mentor, Abraham Karastovsky who she later discovers him dying in an isolated workroom, from a gunshot wound. With his final breath Abraham presses the supposedly cursed copy of Goethe's Faust that he has been restoring into her hands and pleads with her to "Remember the devil."
Brooklyn finds herself in the mystery surrounding Abraham's murder and the curse of Faust. Derek Stone, the British security agent (think James Bond with attitude) assigned to protect the priceless copy of Faust initially believes her guilty of the murder.
A few of the suspects include Ian, her former fiancée who is in charge of the museum exhibit that contains the Faust, Minka LaBoeuf, the thieving, conniving she-witch who has hated Brooklyn since college, Enrico Baldacchio, the sleazy book restorer who is always just this side of the law and, sometimes, on the other side. Even Brooklyn's mother isn't above suspicion. As Brooklyn works to restore the Faust she also turns amateur detective to ferret out the truth of Abraham's murder, trying to stay one step ahead of the delicious Derek and well out of range of the killer who now appears intent on eliminating her.
I never thought that book-binding and restoration would be interesting. The historical facts and bits of trivia sprinkled throughout this book were so fascinating that instead of being bored I found myself wanting to know more.
The potential for a deeper romance between Brooklyn and Derek is firmly established before the end of the book but Carlisle also tosses in a delicious twist that has me eagerly anticipating the next book in what I hope will be a long-running series.
I enjoyed this one because I was page turning and was open mouthed when the killer came through the door. Never ever suspected that person!!! I can usually figure out whodunit and just read to verify that I was right.
Brooklyn Wainwright is a skilled surgeon who uses her expertise with a scalpel to save the lives of her patients. Patients with life threatening ailments of cracked, brittle leather, moldy paper and dried-up glue. She's the daughter of Deadheads who joined a commune and have become wealthy in their own right.
As the story opens, Brooklyn is at a museum reception enjoying a happy reconciliation with her life-long mentor, Abraham Karastovsky who she later discovers him dying in an isolated workroom, from a gunshot wound. With his final breath Abraham presses the supposedly cursed copy of Goethe's Faust that he has been restoring into her hands and pleads with her to "Remember the devil."
Brooklyn finds herself in the mystery surrounding Abraham's murder and the curse of Faust. Derek Stone, the British security agent (think James Bond with attitude) assigned to protect the priceless copy of Faust initially believes her guilty of the murder.
A few of the suspects include Ian, her former fiancée who is in charge of the museum exhibit that contains the Faust, Minka LaBoeuf, the thieving, conniving she-witch who has hated Brooklyn since college, Enrico Baldacchio, the sleazy book restorer who is always just this side of the law and, sometimes, on the other side. Even Brooklyn's mother isn't above suspicion. As Brooklyn works to restore the Faust she also turns amateur detective to ferret out the truth of Abraham's murder, trying to stay one step ahead of the delicious Derek and well out of range of the killer who now appears intent on eliminating her.
I never thought that book-binding and restoration would be interesting. The historical facts and bits of trivia sprinkled throughout this book were so fascinating that instead of being bored I found myself wanting to know more.
The potential for a deeper romance between Brooklyn and Derek is firmly established before the end of the book but Carlisle also tosses in a delicious twist that has me eagerly anticipating the next book in what I hope will be a long-running series.
Vandana D. (romabellaroma) reviewed Homicide in Hardcover (Bibliophile, Bk 1) on + 12 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
A comfortable enough read, but not a keeper. Characters are likeable, the background interesting (book restoration, bookbinding), little bit of romance in addition to the mystery. But things happened to the main character in terms of moving the mystery along instead of active investigation : it just seemed there were too many coincidental discoveries. I'm glad I read it and tried out a new author but this will not be a series I'll be looking out for.
Helpful Score: 2
A cute story. The characters are funny. Carlisle makes you either love them or hate them. It was interesting to read about the different techniques they use to restore books.
Linda R. (wolfie123) - , reviewed Homicide in Hardcover (Bibliophile, Bk 1) on + 421 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Start of a very good series !!!!!! Looking forward to the upcoming installments...Some very interesting characters......
Helpful Score: 1
I found this a fun and fast read. I'll definitely read more of this series.
Helpful Score: 1
Easy read, fast paced, good plot, moves along--does not bog down. I highly recommend this story and author. She keeps you guessing on the who done it!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pamela C. (pj-s-bookcorner) reviewed Homicide in Hardcover (Bibliophile, Bk 1) on + 885 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Brooklyn is a rare book restorer. While attending an exhibit opening at the museum, she comes upon her mentor and old friend lying mortally wounded in his workshop. Lively cast of characters in the first of a series. Fun read.
Helpful Score: 1
A book you hate to put down. Well written with interesting characters. I'm looking forward to the next on the series.
I really enjoyed this book! I liked the humor and mystery woven together. I am looking forward to more in this series. I like Kate Carlisle style. I am also enjoying her "fixer-up" series.
I thoroughly enjoyed this first book in the Bibliopile mystery series. I've already read the second and am starting on the third. Cozy mystery series are my favorites and this series has is a good example as to why this is.
Ingrid C. (dappagirl101) reviewed Homicide in Hardcover (Bibliophile, Bk 1) on + 4 more book reviews
This book is dreadful. Its a Harlequin novel--with all it's standard elements: willowy weeping women lusting after dashing men--thinly veiled as a murder mystery. To be fair this review is based solely on the first five (5) chapters. That's as much as I could tolerate.
I'm looking forward to reading more by this author.
An enjoyable cozy series; a booklover's dream.
