The Book Stops Here

 The Book Stops Here by Kate Carlisle (2014) 323 pages

Brooklyn Wainwright restores old books for a living. She's thrilled to get a three-week-long gig consulting with members of the public about the value of their old books for a show called This Old Attic (a show like The Antiques Roadshow), which has traveled to San Francisco. As in other books in this series, Brooklyn can't seem to avoid being at the scene of a murder. This murder appears to be connected to the appraisal she gave for a book during the show. Even with her British boyfriend Derek on full alert, she can't seem to avoid being followed and menaced by people who are determined to get hold of the book.

Brooklyn is smart and knowledgeable, as are her friends. But she does come into contact with some characters in the course of the story who seem somewhat caricatured. Nonetheless, the story is entertaining and moves fast.

Once Upon a Spine

Once Upon a Spine by Kate Carlisle (2017) 279 pages

Much has happened in the time between the first Bibliophile Mystery (published in 2009) and this one (from 2017). Brooklyn Wainwright, book restoration specialist and paper maker, is engaged to be married. With only a couple of months before the wedding, she hasn't yet met her future in-laws, but they're scheduled to arrive any day now, along with her own parents who live on a commune not far from her and her fiance's apartment in San Francisco. She's freaking out about how the parents will get along, all staying together in their apartment for a week. She's upset about a heel breaking on her best good shoes, because that pair was her go-to pair for the outings planned with the parents. She's also greatly concerned about the status of "The Courtyard," a group of eclectic businesses in an old Victorian-era building across the street that are rumored to be for sale, afraid that if a sale goes forward, the attraction will be razed for apartments, which would diminish their quality of life. 

When Brooklyn happens upon a deadly scene in the health food store/juice bar in The Courtyard early one morning, it's not clear if the death of the local cobbler was intended, or if it was a case of mistaken identity. Meanwhile, two guys who own a bookstore in The Courtyard are getting quite antagonist towards each other. What's going on there? Brooklyn and her fiance do what they can to help the local police with the murder while dealing with all of the in-laws-to-be. When both of the mothers-in-law practically insist on getting involved, that adds a dimension I hadn't expected.