🌟🌟🌟🌟 ½ Stars

I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Books of the Dead
(A Death in Paris Mystery #2) by Emilia Bernhard from NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books in order to read and give an honest review.

Having read Ms Bernhard’s first book in the series, Death in Paris, I have to say she has outdone herself!

Best friends Rachel and Magda are at it again after being persistent amateur sleuths and beating the police in solving a murder in the first book of the series Death in Paris. This time when dining at a small cafe Rachel stumbles across the body of a male librarian from the Bibliothèque National. Reuniting with Capitaine Boussicault, she is thrilled when he asks her to go undercover as a volunteer at the library to observe after a previous murder had occurred as well. Rachel is thrilled to be given the opportunity, unfortunately, Magda feels left out when the mission is only for Rachel. Although just meant to observe Rachel gets pulled deeper into the investigation which appears to be linked to missing antiquarian illustrations. After overstepping boundaries Rachel eventually gets dismissed by the police but is determines to solve the crime needing her best friend Magda’s help. Working together they work to solve the two murders.

After reading several very “heavy” books this was a fun and intriguing cozy murder mystery which kept me guessing to the very end. I was sure I knew who did it but was left second-guessing after coming across some very cleverly placed red herrings. I also love the quirky, flawed and very fun characters that Ms Bernhard has created.

This book would be great as a stand-alone, but I do recommend reading the first as it is also a fantastic read, both I feel are suitable for most ages. A fun, brilliant read that will keep you turning pages!

I liked the first book in this series and I liked this one.
It's gripping and entertaining, with a well written and likeable cast of characters that I was happy to meet again.
The historical background is well researched and the mystery, full of twists and turns, kept me guessing.
I look forward to reading the next instalment in this series.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Is it implausible that the French police would ask two Americans- Rachel and Magda- to help solve a murder of an employee of the French National Library? Yes it is. Does it make for a fun read? Yes it does. Rachel and Magda are mature women and when Captaine Boussicoult first asks Rachel to work undercover, they're excited to be fighting crime again. Turns out there's more than just the murder going on, there's other bad things in the stacks. A second murder means that the Captaine wants Rachel out of harms way but of course, she can't let things alone. Cozy fans looking for something different might enjoy this second installment in a series (don't worry- it's fine as a standalone). As before, this doesn't take as much advantage of the setting as it could but the women are a hoot and the plot skips along. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A fun read.

I thought the first title in this series was charming, but this second entry is cloying. The set up of having a police officer ask for "help" is pretty preposterous and it just ensues from there. I will not be continuing with the series.

A Parisian summer...mutilated rare books...dead librarians.....All the elements are here for a unique murder mystery. The interesting setting, obsessive characters and curiosity over medieval illuminations make this book easy to recommend. Hope this series continues on such a high level. Thanks to #netgalley and #crookedlanebooks for an advance digital copy.

This was a bit of a slow start, but turned out to be a fun cozy mystery with an eccentric list of suspects to choose from. Even better, it was set in France. This is the second of a series, but the author added enough back story information that I never felt like anything was missing.

The story centers around Rachel, an American ex-pat and her obnoxious friend Magda. Because they helped solve a previous crime, and due to the fact that Rachel stumbles upon a dead body, French Inspector Boussicault asks Rachel to help him by observing the individuals that the murder victim worked with. Even though she was asked only to observe and listen, Rachel and Magda are soon taking over the investigation on their own, much to the Inspector’s annoyance.

This was an easy and quick read and I enjoyed trying to figure out who was guilty. Cozy mystery readers will love this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

This is the 2nd "Death In Paris" mystery and my first by the author. I found this book intriguing and was unable to put it down to conclusion. The charcters , plot and mystery are very well written and enjoyable.

This is the story of amateur sleuths Magda and Rachel in Paris. This next book they are called in to assist in the investigation of a murdered librarian. Bibliothèque National is a famous Paris library and the police ask Rachel to volunteer to seek out clues and observe. Soon clues abound and she is on the right track.

I loved the intrigue of this book and the enjoyable setting of Paris. The author has a fast pace to the mystery which is pleasing to conclusion. I highly recommend this book and the series for all who enjoy reading mysteries set in Paris. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley. My review opinion is my own.

An enjoyable second installment of a series where the themes are libraries and books - what's not to love about that? And in Paris to boot.

This time, ex-pats Rachel and Magda are assisting the police with a murder investigation rather than taking it upon themselves to investigate independently. Rachel stumbled across a man's body (in the men's room) at a restaurant and had suspicions that it wasn't a natural death, but has a bit of a difficult time convincing the police of that. It takes 10 days before she is 'invited' to assist, taking on an undercover position at the Bibliotheque National, where the dead man worked. Somewhat implausible, but works for the purpose of the book.

I didn't like this one quite as much as the first, only because there was some divisiveness between Rachel and Magda throughout most of the book and part of what I enjoyed about the first book was their relationship and how they played off each other so well. It gets resolved in the end, but it just wasn't QUITE the same for me.

But it was overall an enjoyable read. I like the characters and I love the descriptions of Paris! I will definitely be keeping an eye out for the next installment.

The Books of the Dead is a cozy mystery following often funny amateur sleuths as they investigate the murder of an employee of the French national library. I really enjoyed that the book is set in Paris and although this is part of a series I did not feel lost reading this novel first.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC! The opinions in this review are honest and my own. #TheBooksOfTheDead #cozymystery #mystery #paris

Paris, libraries and murder is a good combination in this case. The Books of the Dead has quirky characters and at least I was guessing until the very end.

The Books of the Dead: A Death in Paris Mystery by Emilia Bernhard. This is the second book in this mystery series. The main characters are Rachel Levis an American amateur sleuth and Capitaine Boussicault a Paris police inspector. Rachel earned Boussicault‘s respect and admiration when they worked together in the first book Death in Paris. What could be more delicious than a library, rare books, authors and a murder mystery. Murder mysteries are not usually my first choice but after reading Death in Paris I was hooked. I loved the details, situations, quirky characters mixed with suspense and thrills. Bernhard keeps her readers guessing about motives, opportunity, clues and killer to the end. I found this book a well crafted mystery and exciting.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. I appreciate the opportunity and thank the author and publisher for allowing me to read, enjoy and review this book. 4.5 Stars

First I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me the opportunity to red and review this book.
i have previously read the first title in this series and really enjoyed it. so when i saw this title available on netgalley i knew I just had to read it,
I wasn't sure how I would feel about the second book since it has been a while but I was intrigued because this isn't your average cozy.. most cozy mystery series have an element of romance but this one is the exception. the MC and the Police detective are not friends or have any romantic interest in each other. He is not a believer of her skills and once again she (MC) has proven him wrong. the story line is some what predictable but not so much that I figured out the who done it. what I like is there the story takes place in france and there are French words throughout and I like learning them.
the writing flows very well and the story flows in a way that you wont get confused as to what is going on. I would give this book a 4 stars, the only down side is that I feel like the conclusion was a little too fast.. it was explained but it was like the police didn't figure it out and if they did the story didn't give any clue but the main character did without much evidence.. it was more like she was trying to prove who didn't do it versus who did. but besides this I enjoyed the book and will continue with the series

This story begins when our heroine Rachel Levis discovers a man who has been strangled on the floor of a men's room of a rather seedy cafe. She learns that he was an employee of the French national library and worked with rare books. She isn't surprised when Capitaine Boussicault asks her to go undercover at the Library to see if she can figure out who wanted him dead. She had worked with Bousicault before and solved another mystery.

Rachel quickly learns that the murder victim was rather universally hated by his colleagues. He destroyed the dream of becoming an author for one of them and destroyed their trust in men for the other. A note discovered by Rachel also seems to indicate that he was attempting blackmail on someone.

When it is discovered that illustrations from some of the rare books have been stolen, the suspect pool widens to include the scholars who have been using the library. And all of the visiting scholars seem to have money troubles and motives for theft.

I liked the characters in this story. Rachel is eager to be a detective since she is currently frustrated with her current assignment to write hymns. Her sidekick Magda is feeling resentful that she wasn't asked to infiltrate the library and tensions are building between the two best friends.

I liked the details about rare books and the French national library. I liked that Rachel and Magda felt frustration as they were searching for information about their suspects. I could also feel the frustration of Bousicault as Rachel kept thinking she was more important to the investigation than she was and kept getting in the way of the police investigation.

This was a nice cozy with a great setting. It is also the second in a series but stands alone quite well.

Having read the previous book by this author, I was looking forward to another adventure with our amateur sleuths Magda and Rachel.

This time the ladies don't take it upon themselves to solve a murder, but Rachel is called in by the Paris' police to assist. One of the librarians of the Bibliothèque National is found dead and pretty soon the police have three suspects. Rachel is hired to volunteer in the reading room, going about her daily duties and observe the visitors.
When the police don't make quick enough progress in her opinion, Rachel decides to take matters into her own hands.
Enter Magda, Rachel's best friend and a ball of energy full of bright ideas.

While our lady investigators are far from stupid, they come across as pretty naïve most of the time. Both of them obviously having watched too many crime series on tv, they seem convinced they can better the real police. They make me cringe just as much as laugh out loud.

The descriptions of the other characters involved are interesting enough to keep my attention. Nothing too deep.

The Books of the Dead is a fast and fun murder mystery. Well written, set in Paris, surrounded by books, I couldn't be happier. Add some policework to that et voilà, an entertaining read!

Thank you Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC.

Silly little book.

Rachel Levis finds a dead body in the men's room of a café. Ten days later the police ask Rachel - who has some experience solving a murder - to go undercover at the place of work of the dead man. Apparently, his former colleagues all disliked the man, but they are not saying why and the police can't make them.

So Rachel goes undercover and finds out why the dead man was disliked. But is no closer to finding out who did it, when two weeks later there is another murder. Rachel is then asked to sit in on the witness interviews because two may hear more than one. If that wasn't eye-rolling enough, the police tells each of the witnesses to not leave Paris. Seriously? Even a person that is formally considered a suspect and is placed under court supervision can go anywhere except leave France, but a person that can barely be considered a witness can't even leave town?

In the acknowledgements Emilia Bernhard mentions a few books that helped her get law details right. I think she forgot to research whether a French police capitaine has the same stature as a Wild West sheriff.

Anyway, the witnesses who are foreigners are all suspects, but for some reason, the French nationals that were present near the stacks at the time the second murder happened are not. I know French people are nationalistic, but this is silly. Neither the author nor the amateur sleuth is French so what is with this preoccupation to investigate the Brits and the American?

Rachel and her friend Magda stumble through the investigation. They do a lot of silly things and make silly assumptions. They are corrected when they do, or at least called out on it. This doesn't really stop them doing their investigations. And while usually I think it is stupid for the murderer to come after the sleuth (as often that is the one thing that gives them away), in this story I was actually looking forward for the murderer to come after Rachel and give her a good scare or knock some sense into her.

The Books of the Dead by Emilia Bernhard had it all for me: Paris, death and of course, librarians. My inner nerd girl was squealing when I received the galley for this novel. I think I was so drawn to it because it had an air of Jonny Depp's The Ninth Gate which I have watched probably too many times to count.

 A Double Murder
American sleuth Rachel Levis stumbles upon the body of an employee of the French national library strangled in the bathroom of a cafe. Having solved a murder, with her best friend Magda, only 18 months before, Rachel reaches out to Capitaine Boussicault for help.

She immediately goes undercover as a librarian to try to figure out which one of the man's colleagues could have offed him. Almost just as quickly as she is undercover, the drama really begins to come into play: first, a priceless antique book is found mutilated and then, her favorite suspect for the first murder is found dead in the stacks. Boussicault pulls Rachel from the investigation. However, she and Magda are dedicated to solving this mystery and take the investigation into their own hands.

A Cozy Mystery
This is definitely a cozy mystery where the amateur sleuths win over the professionals and become part of an unbelievable investigation. You will have to suspend your sense of realistic cream investigations to thoroughly enjoy the novel, it has all the pieces to it: the international setting, the pair of best friends solving crimes and a slightly absurd reason to murder someone. I am excited to see where this series goes and what other kinds of trouble our two girls will get into next!

Book Information
The Books of the Dead: A Death in Paris Mystery by Emilia Bernhard is scheduled to be released on October 8, 2019, from Crooked Lane Books with ISBN 9781643851570. This review corresponds to an electronic galley supplied by the publisher in exchange for this review. To be linked to special pre-order pricing, click the link at the top of this section.

The only thing worse than two immature, foolish middle age detectives is two immature, foolish middle age detectives that manages to solve the crime before police!

Rachel annoyed me only slightly more than her friend. They both were childish (seriously, I have liked some teenage characters more than them), dramatic, reckless, unskilled and irritating. They nearly put me off reading this book. The only reason I finished it was because I am expected to provide a feedback.

The 'how' of the crime was original, but only because it was completely unrealistic. The 'why' of the crime was unbelievable. And the 'who' of the crime was not totally unexpected.

What really bothered was the police's role in this. I could accept two very curious women who try to play detectives, what I can't swallow is these women encouraged and sanctioned to play detectives, by police. Seriously!? Have you ever heard to police sending a middle aged civilian, with no training whatsoever, undercover to investigate a murderer?

The plot had holes as wide as US boundaries. At one point, the heroines go through a couple of locations in cabs to catch the criminal and still manages to beat the police.

To make this even tolerable, what this book requires is copious amount of editing. Like, there is about a page of description for why Rachel was at the cafe (let me tell you, the short answer is NOT to get the coffee) where the body is found (and no, that doesn't include another two pages of explanation of why she was in the restroom, where the body was).

The book was a train wreck. It could be a lot better.

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale,where Rachel Levis, an amateur sleuth, on finding an employee of the French National Library dead in the bathroom, is asked to go undercover by the police as a librarian and then finds herself in the thick of the case.
Well written and entertaining. I found this an easily captivating read. Despite this being book two of the series, it is easily a standalone tale.

Totally a cozy mystery with the most unlikely situation of civilians helping with a police investigation. I did not know that this was part of a series except that another situation was mentioned a few times. It can be read as a stand alone but it might explain more if book one is read first. Characters are quirky but likeable and as noted, an totally unrealistic situation but it is a fun well plotted little mystery that will keep you guessing. A light fun read.
Thanks to the author,publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed are my own.

What mystery plot would be better for people who love to read books than a book about a crime in a library? The Books of the Dead, #2 in A Death in Paris Mystery series, is fast-paced, fun, and focused. The setting in Paris, France gives it an international air of mystery as American poet Rachel Levis uses her keen powers of observation to solve not one but two murders. 
 
What I Liked
 
The most intriguing element of the novel is the main character, Rachel Levis. Rachel is an amateur detective who longs to be a professional detective. Her desire is most notably stated when she imagines the role of police consultant with a capital "P" and "C." I have yet to run across another novel that wants to cross the lines between sub-genres, from a cozy to more hard-boiled (from amateur detective to a professional detective), so this an original choice that piques my interest. This bit of knowledge about Rachel gives her more dimension and intrigue than the average cozy detective.
 
And what better place to solve crimes than the city of light – the location that most people have on their bucket list to visit – Paris, France. Having visited there once myself, I could easily recognize the places mentioned, picture the setting, and see the different characters.
 
What I Wish
 
The story is plot-driven and reminds me of a game of Clue, where suspects were interviewed and unknowingly provide clues toward the goal of determining who-did-it and how. Other than that, there is very little in the way of character development, which is something I wish the story had. It would add more dimension and enable it to be a more full-bodied story. Though, I do appreciate the focus of the plot and lack of unrelated meanderings.
 
To Read or Not to Read
 
I am looking forward to seeing where this series goes, as I imagine most mystery lovers will be as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.