THE BOOK STOPS HERE centers on an autographed edition of The Secret Garden.  Brooklyn has a temporary job as the rare book expert/appraiser on This Old Attic.  Vera, who bought the edition at a yard sale for three dollars, is Brooklyn's first guest and appraisal.  After a teaser is leaked on the local news Brooklyn is physically threatened by a large, terrifying man demanding the book be returned to him.  When Brooklyn goes to Vera’s flower shop and finds her dead things start to get sticky.  In addition to Vera’s murder the star of the show, Randolph, swears he’s being stalked.  The producers laugh him off but deadly accidents are happening and unfortunately Brooklyn has a habit of being the one in the line of fire.  Derek has his hands full keeping her safe. THE BOOK STOPS HERE is my first Bibliophile mystery. I was charmed by the quirky, fun characters.  Brooklyn and Derek’s new neighbor, Alex, is a delightful addition to the already eclectic mix.  Alex is laugh out loud funny and bakes unique and amazing cupcakes.  She has other talents but I’ll leave those for readers to discover themselves.  It isn’t often the lead detective is an intelligent, attractive, delightfully snarky female so Inspector Lee was a real treat.  Then there’s Derek ~ handsome, British, international man of mystery…to paraphrase Derek, “he is James Bond.”  He’s madly in love with Brooklyn and almost too good to be true. The bookbinding details, information, and biblio trivia were fascinating.  Nothing dry about books when Brooklyn’s involved. The mysteries surrounding The Secret Garden, Vera’s death, and Randy’s stalker are engaging; the humor and dialog keep it on the lighter side and firmly in cozy territory. THE BOOK STOPS HERE is an imaginative, humorous, and entertaining bookcentric mystery that goes down smoothly; just the ticket for summer reading.
3.5 stars
If you're interested you can find the Bibliophile mysteries at Amazon & B&N & other retailers.