Friday, September 11, 2009

Homicide in Hardcover


Kate Carlisle has introduced a new sleuth to the cozy mystery scene with Brooklyn Wainright in Homicide in Hardcover. Brooklyn has an intriguing occupation, she repairs and restores antique books, this painstaking work gives her a deep insight into teeny details the ordinary person would never see.

As I read I kept wondering if Brooklyn my precious copy of the first American edition of Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist. It is bound in green patterned silk, but the spine has parted ways with the body. This is how well Kate Carlisle (a debut author) develops her characters. They become real to the reader.

Brooklyn was named for the place she was conceived by her "flower children" parents who have managed to make their avocation a success in a commercial world. She discovers her mother leaving a basement studio of her mentor just minutes before she discovers his body in the disaster strewn workshop. Why was her mother in the museum where a major collection of prize books is being shown? What is her mother hiding and did she have anything to do with the crime?

The plot and its numerous threads are woven together like the very fabric of a fine book covering. The suspense builds as evidence accumulates that points to several candidates for the killer in this fine who-done-it.
I've been looking for a new sleuth to follow and purchased this title through Amazon's Those Who Bought This Book Also Bought section, otherwise I may never have discovered this jewel of a cozy.
Kate Carlise has also received another review from a fan, see http://mmgornell.wordpress.com/ for a second opinion and welcome Kate to the world of cozy mystery fiction.
Nash Black, author of Indie finalists Writing as a Small Business and Haints.