Rating: 3 Stars
Description: When her friend Ian shows book restorer, Brooklyn Wainwright, a copy of Beauty and the Beast she realized two things. The first is it's a gorgeous book she'd love to restore. The second is the book is stolen. Several years ago she gave this exact book to her friends Max and Emily as an engagement present. A month later Max was dead in a mysterious car accident and 3 weeks after that the book was stolen from Emily's house. When the book dealer who sold the book to Ian is found dead with a tool that resembles one of Max's and Brooklyn finds herself being threatened she realizes all is not as it seems.
Genre: Mystery
My Impression:
Pro: The first sentence of this book reads "My name is Brooklyn Wainwright and I am a book addict." It's pretty hard to picture a better start to a book for me. I like Brooklyn. She's smart, loyal and just plain nice most of the time. I like her family as well as the town of Dharma. In the first book when the commune subject came up it felt like a giant flashing warning sign but it's been done well and I think lightens the book up. I also like Brooklyn and Derek's relationship. His career in security and investigative work helps keep Brooklyn's involvement in murder investigations somewhat logical. I like the San Francisco detectives - especially Lee - and their attitude towards Brooklyn. They don't treat her like a suspect but they do keep it professional though it's obvious they joke about her propensity for finding bodies. The mystery was well paced and I read the bulk of it in 1 sitting without getting bored or wanting to put the book down.
Cons: First of all I can't stand Minka. The arch nemesis is one of the characters I should've put on my Characters That Piss Me Off list last Tuesday. She's just absurd and so unprofessional I can't imagine how she would still be in business. In this one her reasons for stalking Brooklyn don't make a whole lot of sense and don't really fit in well with the rest of the story. The reason's for Max's disappearance/death are a little sketchy but we often do things that aren't the most rational so I'll give that one a pass. The ending did seem a little jumbled together and maybe even a little anti-climatic.
Overall: I really enjoy this series. While it's not perfect I adore the book information and would love to get my hands of some of the editions she talks about. The mystery was good and I liked seeing more of her family in this one. A good mystery series for any book lover!
Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Yes I already have the next 2 waiting on me!
Would I Recommend this Book?: Yes
I've been wanting to try this series for awhile now. It sounds like a lot of fun. I think I'd really like Brooklyn too. It's too bad about Minka's role in this book, but it sounds like the rest of the story makes up for it.
ReplyDeleteI like Brooklyn and the book talk is drool worthy. Is definitely worth giving the series a try. I don't think you'd necessarily have to read them in order though I always prefer too. Thankfully Minka usually plays a small role I just kind of wish she didn't exist!
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