Tag: rare cookbook

Mini Reviews – Bibliophile Mystery Series – Part 2

Valerie @ Valerie's Musings5 Comments

This is the second batch of mini reviews for Kate Carlisle’s Bibliophile Mystery series. The first batch of mini reviews can be found here.

Book Cover: Kate Carlisle - Pages of Sin - A Bibliophile Mystery - Cover includes a wooden desk/shelf holding three stacked books, two roses and a pocket watch

Pages of Sin – Book #4.5 – A Novella – 4 out of 5 stars

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Page of Sin is a novella that comes in between Murder Under Cover and One Book in the Grave.  This is one of my favorites in the series. And the reason I like it so much is not only do we get a pretty interesting mystery to solve, but much of this novella features Brooklyn, her mother, and their relationship. We don’t always get to see a lot of their relationship since they live an hour apart, but we get that rare glimpse in this novella and I really enjoyed that! This is only available as an eBook, but it’s well worth reading, even if you’re not usually a fan of eBooks!

Book Cover: One Book in the Grave - A Bibliophile Mystery by Kate Carlisle - "A first edition fairy tale may lead to a grim ending..." - Background includes a floor to ceiling bookshelf with an orange tabby sitting on it and birds flying outside an open window - Foreground has a desk with books piled, book restorer tools, and a copy of Beauty & the Beast

One Book in the Grave – Book #5 – 4.5 out of 5 stars

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This is another one that I really like, except for the ending. I felt the ending was a little weird. I know to an extent it was supposed to be weird. The cult that’s involved is weird. It just seemed weirder than I was expecting. That’s the only reason this one doesn’t get a full 5 stars.

I enjoy this one a great deal because we learn a lot about Brooklyn’s history and friends before we met her in Homicide in Hardcover. There are lots of great action and a fascinating mystery! Enjoy it today!

Book Cover: Peril in Paperback - A Bibliophile Mystery by Kate Carlisle - "A week in the country turns deadly..." - the background has a staircase with a black cat sitting on the bottom and a suit of armor and a pinball machine sitting next to the staircase. The foreground has a green table with noir paperbacks, other piled books, and a lit candle.

Peril in Paperback – Book #6 – 4 out of 5 stars

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While the writing in this book is well-done, just like the writing in most of Ms. Carlisle’s books, this one is one of my least favorites. I think it’s because for the majority of the book, Derek isn’t with Brooklyn and the assignment he’s on makes waves between him & Brooklyn. I love the two of them together so anything that makes waves between them and causes real conflict makes me nervous!

The mystery in this one is definitely interesting. I chose the wrong villain so I was surprised in the end. Plus, there’s an extra surprise in this one which made it more exciting! No spoilers tho’, you have to read the book! If you enjoy the series, you’ll enjoy this one too. 🙂

Book Cover: A Cookbook Conspiracy: A Bibliophile Mystery: Kate Carlisle - kitchen setting - stove is set in a recessed area that looks like a fireplace. Pots on the stove - an open cookbook on a counter in the background with a pot w/ a lid next to it - Black & white cat sitting behind a colander full of oranges - butcher block table in foreground with knife, kitchen utensils, and cookbooksBook #7 – A Cookbook Conspiracy – 4.5 out of 5 stars

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While not my favorite in the series, I do like this one a lot. I like the subplot (no spoilers!), the characters, the way we learn just a little more about Brooklyn’s life before the series started, etc. We learn more about Brooklyn’s relationship with her sister, Savannah, too, which I always enjoy the interpersonal relationship backstories.

Murder is Binding & Bookmarked For Death – REVIEWS

Valerie @ Valerie's MusingsLeave a comment

3 out of 5 stars for both

Purchase Links for Murder Is Binding: Amazon – B&N – Kobo

Purchase Links for Bookmarked for Death: Amazon – B&N – Kobo

line of books - some stacked, some standing, some leaning - books are blue, brown, red, green, and yellow
© Graphic Garden

Synopsis for Murder is Binding

The streets of Stoneham, New Hampshire, are lined with bookstores…and paved with murder.

When she moved to Stoneham, city slicker Tricia Miles met nothing but friendly faces. And when she opened her mystery bookstore, she met friendly competition. But when she finds Doris Gleason dead in her own cookbook store, killed by a carving knife, the atmosphere seems more cutthroat than cordial. Someone wanted to get their hands on the rare cookbook that Doris had recently purchased-and the locals think that someone is Tricia. To clear her name, Tricia will have to take a page out of one of her own mysteries-and hunt down someone who isn’t killing by the book.

 

Synopsis for Bookmarked for Death

What do a stone book and a stabbed cake have to do with Zoë Carter’s death?

Once a struggling town, Stoneham, New Hampshire is now enjoying a renaissance–thanks to booksellers like Tricia Miles, proprietor of Haven’t Got a Clue. It’s a great place to find a good mystery to read–or to solve ….

To celebrate her bookstore’s anniversary, Tricia Miles hosts a book signing for bestselling author Zoë Carter. But the event takes a terrible turn when the author is found dead in the washroom. Before long, both police and reporters are demanding the real story. So far, the author’s obnoxious assistant/niece is the only suspect. And with a sheriff who provides more obstacles than answers, Tricia will have to take matters into her own hands–and read between the lines to solve this mystery….

line of books - some stacked, some standing, some leaning - books are blue, brown, red, green, and yellow
© Graphic Garden

Review for both books

Murder is Binding & Bookmarked for Death both by Lorna Barrett are the first and second books in her Booktown Mystery series.  I’m doing them both together because I felt much the same about both so I figured I’d save people reading two posts with the same basic review.

These two books were okay. I really enjoy the main character of the series, but some of the characters are really annoying. The plots are not very complex and I figured out the villain fairly easily in both books.

I don’t know how I really feel about the series. I do like some of the characters, including the main character, but the plot line being so easy to figure out detracts from the enjoyment. I think I’ll keep reading the series for now and hope that they get better than these two.