I've read one other book in this series - this is the 14th - and because I enjoyed the story and characters in that one (the 13th) so much, I was delighted to have the opportunity to read an advance review copy through NetGalley). I liked this one as well, albeit not quite as much.
In part, I think, it's because main character Brooklyn Wainwright and her new husband and security consultant Derek Stone, somehow seemed more subdued here. And, there didn't seem to be as much emphasis on the how-tos of Brooklyn's work as a bookbinder who specializes in rare book restoration (details in the previous book were fascinating to me, and I'd looked forward to learning more). In fact, Brooklyn, who narrates the story, wasn't even identified until the 11% mark on my Kindle. Another intriguing character popped in and out, but I never found out from whence he came. Because he always calls Brooklyn "Babe," it actually crossed my mind that Ranger, Stephanie Plum's hunky temptation in the popular series by Janet Evanovich, had somehow morphed into this series under a pseudonym).
Once Brooklyn was properly identified, however, it was pretty much all systems go the rest of the way. She and Derek are back in Dharma, where her flower-child-like parents live amid the wineries of California's Sonoma region. Her mother is heading up the community's first annual Book Festival, which will be followed a week later by the grape harvest (her parents own a vineyard). Relationships are strained among some of the committee members, and one particularly nasty character - who's been buying up nearly foreclosed wineries in the area and turning them into producers of (gasp!) box wine - actually threatens Brooklyn's mother at one of the committee meetings.
Not long after the meeting, Brooklyn's mother and Derek's mother find a dead body in the town hall - he's the treasurer for the festival. Further investigation reveals that the committee's bank account - about $70,000 - has vanished. Meanwhile, a local bookstore owner gave a raggedy old copy of "Little Women" to Brooklyn to restore, with the intent to sell it by silent auction at the festival (readers do get a bit of details on the restoration process). Still another murder follows, and from that point on, everything is focused on making the festival a success and finding out who the murderer is - ideally before some other character bites the dust.
All in all it's an engaging experience, although I'd suggest that newbies read others in the series before tackling this one. That said, the recipes for some of the goodies mentioned in the story are at the end for those who are into such things (truthfully, they sound absolutely delicious; but anything with more than three ingredients doesn't get made at our house). And absolutely, I'll be watching for the next installment!
The Grim Reader by Kate Carlisle (Berkley, June 2020); 336 pp.
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