Summary:

Brooklyn's hometown of Dharma is hosting it's first Book Festival. Everyone's excited and getting involved. The local bookshop owner even found a first edition of Little Women (the festival theme) for Brooklyn to repair that will be in the silent auction. However, one dead body leads to questions and revelations- not to mention another dead body and other mayhem.



I'm a fairly new reader to this series. I recently discovered it and loved it. While I'm only a few books in, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to read this one. Brooklyn and Derek are newlyweds and full of all the lovey-dovey stuff of newlyweds. When Rebecca, Brooklyn's Mother, is threatened by a not so nice community member, Brooklyn and Derek spring into action. Threats lead to an attempt on her life and the discovery of a fellow festival committee member's dead body. When Lawson is found dead, new revelations comes to light: where did the all the festival money he was in charge of go?



This story is full of possible suspects and you either like them, or meant not to. While the plot took a bit to get moving and all the action to start happening, once it did you were gripped. You can picture the mountain surroundings and the small town feel as you try to figure out how one thing leads to another. While this book is the 14th in the series, I didn't need to read all the previous books to feel in the know of what's going on. Kate does a great job of giving you whatever background information you may need.



I enjoyed this book! It was a fun mystery to get lost into. Like I said, I'm a new fan of the series. I look forward to reading the books leading up to this one. Go out and get your hands on this book so you can spend part of your summer solving a mystery.

Brooklyn and Derek are back in Dharma for an amazing Book-fest event, one that Brooklyn is helping her mom to pull off. But soon, events start to unfold that show that all is not exactly going to plan. Pulling this event off will take all of Brooklyn and Derek's skills, as they call in their friends and family to help. A great addition to the series, and a fun read with lots of drop ins by characters we have grown to love through the past installments.

In her 14th installment of the Bibliophile series, Kate Carlisle changed the normal San Fran setting to the groovey town in the wine region, Dharma. As usual, Brooklyn is minding her own business and repairing a damaged book when bodies start to appear. Derek and Brooklyn are in Dharma visiting for the first-ever book festival when murder occurs not once, but twice and Brooklyn’s mom is being targeted next. I loved how all of the family members were present and had residence in this book which showed the author’s emphasis and importance of family. What a great Combo-wine, Jane eyre, and murder!

Once again Kate Carlisle has given me the means to escape for pure reading pleasure in her latest release, The Grim Reader, in the Bibliophile Mysteries series...this time set solely in Dharma (in the beautiful very real Napa Valley in Northern California) this was a departure of the typical setting of Derek and Brooklyn’s home in the City of San Francisco...it’s been a pleasure to witness the town of Dharma grow over the course of the series.

With a large cast of characters, and an ever changing suspect list, the twist and turns of the story kept me turning the pages just to see who would do what next...along with the intelligent dialogue I typically associated with Ms Carlisle’s writing, the banter between Brooklyn and her sisters was priceless...also, the absolute love between Derek and Brooklyn made my heart sigh on more than one occasion. With fifteen books (one being an eNovella) into the series, this author is truly gifted in keeping the stories and characters fresh, relatable, and interesting...I typically look forward to the release of the next book in the series as soon as I finish reading the current one, and this story was no exception...Brooklyn’s next exploits can’t come soon enough!

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

The Grim Reader- 14th book in the mystery series by Kate Carlisle.

Starting off the author brings you to Dharma, a quaint wine country town Northern California. The story introduces Brooklyn, and her new husband, Derek who is with their family and friends back together for the first annual Book Festival in Dharma. I loved the character development, and the relationships Brooklyn and Derek’s family have, especially how supportive they are of each other. Brooklyn and Derek’s mothers are best friends and enjoyed the feisty duo.

Meanwhile, a greedy villain is at local vineyards, and using them to sell stolen boxed wine. With plenty of suspicious suspects to keep the reader guessing, the plot unfolds at a nice pace until the dramatic reveal.

Overall, the author does a great job of wrapping up the story into a conclusion and now I am wanting to read the next book!


Thanks to Netgalley, Pub, and Carlisle for this oppurtunity.

THE GRIM READER, the fourteenth book in the Bibliophile Mystery series by Kate Carlisle, brings the reader back to the delightful setting of Dharma, a quaint wine country town situated in Sonoma County in Northern California. A long-time fan, I’ve greatly enjoyed previous books that has protagonist, Brooklyn, and her new husband, Derek, surrounded by their family and close friends. THE GRIM READER brings them all back together for the first annual Book Festival in Dharma. The close-knit relationships Brooklyn and Derek’s family have together is heartwarming. I love how they’re supportive of each other with nary a jealous or snide remark to be seen within the in-laws. In fact, Brooklyn and Derek’s mothers have become best friends and together they are a force to be reckoned with. I greatly enjoyed seeing Brooklyn’s mom, Becky, take center stage in this story, which helps give the reader glimpses of why Brooklyn is who she’s become in adulthood. One of the greatest strengths in this series is the character development Ms. Carlisle brings throughout the arc of the books and builds on that development with each passing page.

While Brooklyn and Derek’s families may be kindhearted, caring individuals (and most of the community is as well!) a greedy predator is gobbling up local vineyards and using the harvests to produce inferior boxed wine. He goes out of his way to harass and threaten the Book Festival committee, particularly, Becky. Early on in the book I thought I knew which way the mystery would go but Ms. Carlisle throws in several twists to keep the reader on their toes. I love how she intertwines a rare mishandled first edition copy of Little Women into the mystery along with scenes showcasing Brooklyn’s bookbinding and restoration skills. With plenty of suspicious suspects to keep the reader guessing, the plot unfolds at a nice pace until the dramatic reveal. The author does a great job of wrapping up all the threads in the story into an entertaining conclusion that left me wishing the next book in the series was ready for me to read!

A cozy mystery, the 14th book in the Bibliophile series, finds Brooklyn and Derek returning to wine-growing area of Dharma to visit family, help with the grape harvest, and help with Dharma's first Book Festival run by Brooklyn's mother. The theme of the festival is Little Women. Brooklyn has a rare book and book restoration business and she is given a copy of Little Women to restore for a bookshop owner. And then the bodies start piling up. No one is safe and no one knows why they are all being targeted. It is up to Brooklyn and Derek to solve the mysteries and keep everyone safe - and help the Book Festival succeed.

I've read one other book in this series - this is the 14th - and because I enjoyed the story and characters in that one (the 13th) so much, I was delighted to have the opportunity to read an advance review copy through NetGalley). I liked this one as well, albeit not quite as much.

In part, I think, it's because main character Brooklyn Wainwright and her new husband and security consultant Derek Stone, somehow seemed more subdued here. And, there didn't seem to be as much emphasis on the how-tos of Brooklyn's work as a bookbinder who specializes in rare book restoration (details in the previous book were fascinating to me, and I'd looked forward to learning more). In fact, Brooklyn, who narrates the story, wasn't even identified until the 11% mark on my Kindle. Another intriguing character popped in and out, but I never found out from whence he came. Because he always calls Brooklyn "Babe," it actually crossed my mind that Ranger, Stephanie Plum's hunky temptation in the popular series by Janet Evanovich, had somehow morphed into this series under a pseudonym).

Once Brooklyn was properly identified, however, it was pretty much all systems go the rest of the way. She and Derek are back in Dharma, where her flower-child-like parents live amid the wineries of California's Sonoma region. Her mother is heading up the community's first annual Book Festival, which will be followed a week later by the grape harvest (her parents own a vineyard). Relationships are strained among some of the committee members, and one particularly nasty character - who's been buying up nearly foreclosed wineries in the area and turning them into producers of (gasp!) box wine - actually threatens Brooklyn's mother at one of the committee meetings.

Not long after the meeting, Brooklyn's mother and Derek's mother find a dead body in the town hall - he's the treasurer for the festival. Further investigation reveals that the committee's bank account - about $70,000 - has vanished. Meanwhile, a local bookstore owner gave a raggedy old copy of "Little Women" to Brooklyn to restore, with the intent to sell it by silent auction at the festival (readers do get a bit of details on the restoration process). Still another murder follows, and from that point on, everything is focused on making the festival a success and finding out who the murderer is - ideally before some other character bites the dust.

All in all it's an engaging experience, although I'd suggest that newbies read others in the series before tackling this one. That said, the recipes for some of the goodies mentioned in the story are at the end for those who are into such things (truthfully, they sound absolutely delicious; but anything with more than three ingredients doesn't get made at our house). And absolutely, I'll be watching for the next installment!

4.5 Stars

This is the fourteenth book in the Bibliophile mystery series by Kate Carlisle.

This is the first book I have read in this series. Please someone tell me how I missed this series over the years. I mean, this is book 14 for heaven’s sakes!

The bookbinding stuff, as much of it as there was, was particularly interesting. From what I understand, the bookbinding content is usually higher considering this is a bookbinding mystery. That stuff is just fascinating. Hard to imagine they take apart a book like that and put it back together better than it was. The book that caused the murder was a copy of Little Women

The cast was quirky and easy to get along with. When all the money from the account went missing overnight, you could almost hear the hush going on in the room. That would be a scary thing to uncover. I am glad they decided to investigate because I sure wanted to know what was going on! Definitely kept my interest all the way through.
Quite a page turner!

If you like this type of book and want to read a good cozy mystery, check this one out for sure. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

I love this series! It is well-written and the characters continue to grow and change with each book. I also love reading about how Brooklyn does her bookbinding work, especially since I'm a Special Collections Librarian. A lot of what she does I have discussed with my co-workers to see if the tasks are being described correctly (and they are.) Brooklyn has changed a great deal since she found that first body and met her new husband. All the changes have been for the good, with her becoming more confident in her work and her views of herself. Brooklyn is a good female role model.

I've read the entire Bibliophile Mystery Series, and while I suggest starting at the beginning, you could start with this book and still understand the characters. This book was a bit disappointing compared to the rest of the series. The characters are fun and I always enjoy when they return to Dharma, but the mystery was predictable and too much of the book was taken up with catty dialogue. It's not the best book in the series, but my library will still buy a copy because the series is so popular.

In The Grim Reader, book #14 in the Bibliophile Mystery, Brooklyn and her new husband, Derek, visit her hometown of Dharma, California, in wine country, for the inaugural book festival. The theme of the festival is Little Women and Brooklyn is asked to restore a rare first edition of the book. Brooklyn's mother is co-chairing the festival and has made an enemy of a local businessman. The mystery begins when a festival committee member is found dead and money for the festival has seemingly disappeared. Readers of book-themed cozy mysteries will enjoy this cozy mystery.

In The Grim Reader, Brooklyn and her husband Derek attend Dharma’s first annual Book Festival. The official “book of the festival” is Little Women. Brooklyn is asked to restore what may be a rare, and valuable, first edition of the book. Brooklyn’s mother is in charge of organizing the festival and, in the process, makes an enemy of a local businessman, who turns out to be a real troublemaker. When the body of one of the festival committee members is discovered, Brooklyn and Derek have to hunt down the killer. One of my favourite aspects of this series is the description of antiquarian books and the restoration process, which Carlisle always describes so well, but that falls a little short in this installment. More pages are devoted to catching up with Brooklyn’s quirky relatives, and on the shenanigans Brooklyn and Derek’s mothers get up to while sleuthing. Nevertheless, the book festival is a fun setting and the banter between Derek and Brooklyn is delightful, as always.

A quick, cute mystery related to one of my favorite things....books! This was the perfect reading for the time - a compelling mystery without too much violence or gore to become depressing. Exactly what I needed during this somewhat depressing time. While I enjoy Kate Carlisle's writing and the stories she creates, I still don't find anything too special about it. It's wonderful, but still a bit generic, which is common with this genre.

I love these books by Kate Carlisle. Brooklyn has married the perfect man of her dreams - a cross between James Bond and George Clooney. They are visiting her family in Sonoma and of course, she stumbles on a body - rather, her mother and Derek's mother do. Brooklyn gets in the thick of solving the murder, and begins to uncover truths that someone would rather she didn't. It's interesting to me that these cozy mysteries are always about someone getting murdered, yet they make me feel calm and comforted; it is as if Kate Carlise takes away the messy side of murder for us.

This series appealed to me at first because of Brooklyn's trade - bookbinding. They continue to appeal in their sweetness and the good nature of all the people that are in her immediate world. Brooklyn and her family and friends are people I would personally like to hang out with! Thanks for the fun, sweet, easy, yet intriguing read, Kate Carlisle!

I love this series…not your typical cozy mysteries. Brooklyn is a restorer of rare books and her cast of characters is amazingly diverse. A book festival in Brooklyn’s hometown brings many of the quirky friends of Brooklyn and her new husband Derek together. Murder and mayhem ensue with a few red herrings along the way. Great mystery, wonderful characters and I enjoyed it immensely.

Number 14 in the Bibliophile mysteries has Brooklyn and her husband Derek leaving the city to help Brooklyn's mother with the first ever book festival in their small town, while also enjoying some quiet and tranquility in Dharma. Except someone didn't get the memo, and there is trouble everywhere. An abrasive businessman has been buying out local wineries and is trying to pressure more of the folks around Dharma to give in to his offers. He also thinks he can throw his weight around and be part of the festival committee, barging into meetings, making threats and insulting committee members, and generally being very unpleasant. With festival funds mysteriously disappearing, an attempted hit and run in Dharma's quiet streets, and even a murder (of course Brooklyn can't go anywhere without coming across a dead body or two), it looks like the book festival may not happen.

This book pulls in characters from many of the other stories in the series. Suzie and Vinnie and their daughter come to set up some of their chainsaw art. Alex visits and manages to talk Brooklyn into taking some lessons at the local dojo until she is back home and can continue her training. Gabriel is on hand since he has a home in Dharma. Annie, the daughter of Brooklyn's mentor Abraham, has settled into town and has a kitchenware shop. It all seems too idyllic a place for anything to go wrong, which just makes Brooklyn all the more determined to find the culprit and make sure that the festival is a success.

If hostile winery take-overs, embezzlement, murder, book festivals, or a musical version of Little Women appeal to you, then you have found the right book. Readers YA and up will enjoy the intrigue, moments of romance, and tons of book related action.

A book festival, Little Women, a murder? What do these have in common? Brooklyn and her husband come home to help her mom with the festival when they realize not everyone in town is a fan of what she is doing. Why are 2 people murdered and another attempt made on someone's life?

This was a very good read. I enjoyed the mystery and of course the characters. The interaction between all of the family characters is great and I like getting to know them better in each book. I always like visiting Dharma. Although, it is always sad when bad things happen there. I liked the book festival idea as well.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for an honest review. - I highly recommend this series.

A fun cozy set at a book festival. I look forward to reading more in this series. I really enjoyed Brooklyn and her family as well as the small town setting.