My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Series: Bibliophile Mystery #12
Publication Date: 6/4/19
Number of Pages: 288

This lovely story and the series are wonderful love notes to books. The writing is excellent, the mystery isn’t so much in the ‘who did it’ as in the ‘how we’ll catch him/her’, and the romance just gets lovelier with every new book in the series.

Brooklyn Wainwright is a bookbinder specializing in rare book restoration. She loves books – the feel of them, the smell of them – just being near them. Her passion is taking a book that has fallen on hard times and restoring it to its former glory. Oh – and she also has a penchant for stumbling over dead bodies. She’s married to a handsome, super sexy, ex-spy, Derek, who helps her solve the crimes.

Brooklyn and Derek finally had their wedding at the end of the previous book, Buried In Books. Now, as their honeymoon in Paris draws to a close, they spend time browsing in the lovely Bouquinistes (bookstalls that lined both sides of the Seine River). Brooklyn finds two lovely old books that she wants to restore – One is a perfect gift for Derek and another that is perfect for the mother of her friend Inspector Janice Lee, SFPD homicide detective.

Mysterious things begin to happen before they ever leave Paris. Derek meets an old colleague that he hasn’t seen in years – and their hotel room is broken into. Those mysterious things continue after they return to San Francisco. Then, there is the murder that is somehow connected to the book Brooklyn bought for Derek.

The times are tense at Derek’s company because somebody is creating strife in the workplace – and they have a murder on their hands – actually, maybe more than one murder. Are Derek and/or Brooklyn in danger as well? What would someone want with the book?

I highly recommend this book and this series. We have visits from the ongoing supporting characters like Alex and Gabriel and Brooklyn’s parents as well some new characters – Tinker, Soldier and Drummer Girl, also known as The Jackals. They are a fun addition to the story and you’ll like them.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.