This book, the first in "A Bibliophile Mystery" series, is the first Carlisle book I've read. Her protagonist, Brooklyn Wainwright, is trained in the conservation and preservation of books. She'd first come to the profession by training with her mentor, Abraham Karastovsky, whom she'd met as a child when her family lived in a commune near San Francisco. She and Abraham had had a falling out when she'd decided to open her own business rather than staying with him. When the story opens, she's very nervous about seeing him again at a private showing of an important book collection he's working on, not knowing how their relationship stands after six months apart.To Brooklyn's immense joy, Abraham welcomes her with great enthusiasm. However, that same night, she finds him dying in his workroom in the basement of the facility where the private showing is occurring. All he can say before he dies is "Devil. Remember the devil."
Brooklyn is an immediate suspect in his murder. Worse, in her view, is when she begins to think that her own mother is involved. Brooklyn not only wants to finish Abraham's work preserving a Faust book by Goethe, which is said to be cursed, but (of course, as Whodunnits often go) she also wants to find out who killed Abraham.
Carlisle creates a nice mix of characters, some a bit stereotyped, but still entertaining: from Brooklyn's family (she is one of six children raised by Grateful Dead-enamored hippies), to her best friend Robin from their "growing up in the commune" years, to her ex-fiance Ian, to colorful neighbors, to wealthy benefactors. Finally, there's Derek, whose good looks continue to stun Brooklyn, even though she's not sure whether to trust him.
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