I don’t often start a review by commenting on the cover, but Don Craig’s cover illustration for Kate Carlisle’s latest Bibliophile Mystery is stunning. It beautifully summarizes Ripped from the Pages, the new book featuring Brooklyn Wainwright, the bookbinder who specializes in rare book restoration and finding dead bodies.

Brooklyn and her boyfriend, Derek Stone, the British ex-M16 agent who now owns a security company, are remodeling their apartment. So, they head to Dharma, the commune in Sonoma where Brooklyn grew up, and most of her family still lives. The members of the commune built a successful town and community with vineyards and a winery.

Everyone is excited on the day the commune is excavating a storage cave. They’re going to build a tasting room for the winery, as other wineries have done. But, this cave is a little different. On the day of the excavation, they break through a concrete wall and discover an entire room of furniture, silver, and books. It’s Brooklyn who discovers the dead body behind that wall. What’s the cave’s connection to Guru Bob, who originally brought the commune to the 1600 acres of Sonoma farmland? Brooklyn is the one who makes that connection as well.

Ripped from the Pages is another fascinating mystery from Carlisle. She combines Brooklyn’s eccentric family, the bookbinding profession, a little about wineries and wine, and a story that takes readers back in history. And, of course there are those hunky men that seem more typical of romance novels than most mysteries. Fans of Brooklyn and Kate Carlisle will enjoy this trip back to Dharma and the history of the community there.

Kate Carlisle’s website is www.katecarlisle.com

Ripped from the Pages by Kate Carlisle. Obsidian. 2015. ISBN 9780451416001 (hardcover), 294p.

*****
FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of the book, hoping I would review it.