Once upon a Spine
A Bibliophile Mystery
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3.8 • 6 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
In this Bibliophile Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Books of a Feather, San Francisco bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright stumbles through the looking glass in a tale of murder, rare books, and a quest for the perfect pie…
Brooklyn's oh-so-proper future in-laws are traveling from England to meet her, and if that's not enough to set her on edge, rumors abound that the charming Courtyard shops across the street may be replaced by high-rise apartments. Their trendy neighborhood will be ruined unless Brooklyn and her fiancé, Derek Stone, can persuade the shopkeepers not to sell.
But with a rare edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland causing bad blood at the Brothers Bookshop and a string of petty vandalism making everyone nervous, Brooklyn and Derek feel like they're attempting six impossible things before breakfast. Then the owner of the Rabbit Hole juice bar is felled by his own heavy shelves, and the local cobbler lies dead beside him. An accident . . . or something more sinister? Things get curiouser and curiouser when a second priceless copy of Alice is discovered. Will it stir up more trouble within the close-knit community?
As the Brits descend, Brooklyn learns they're not so stuffy after all. Derek's dad is won over with chocolate cream pie, and his psychic mum would kill to help Brooklyn solve this murder—before another victim takes a tumble.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Carlisle's discursive 11th Bibliophile mystery (after 2016's Books of a Feather) finds bookbinder and heiress Brooklyn Wainwright coveting a rare edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in a San Francisco book shop. But her main concern is the imminent arrival from England of the upper-class parents of her tall, dark, and handsome fianc , Derek Stone, a former British secret agent who now runs an internationally renowned private security agency. How will these toffs get along with Brooklyn's own hippy-dippy family? Meanwhile, during a visit to the Rabbit Hole, a health food shop, she discovers the owner unconscious and the bare feet of a dead man poking out from beneath a section of heavy shelving. Detailed instructions on how to make handmade paper and remove bookplates, as well as digressions on shopping and descriptions of every meal, compensate for the perfunctory sleuthing and unlikely resolution of the murder case. Carlisle rounds out this cozy with recipes for such dishes as "hot buttered rump bites" and "perky breast nibbles."
