When bookbinder and restorer Brooklyn Wainright gets a short term book appraising gig for national television show This Old Attic she is nervous about being on camera but ecstatic at a new venue to share her love of books. Unfortunately the very first book she appraises leads to her showing up at another murder scene and being in danger herself.

Kate Carlisle's THE BOOK STOPS HERE is filled with the kind of detail I love. Lavish descriptions of rare books, details about author Frances Hodgson Burnett and actress Mae West as well as vivid scenes in beautiful San Francisco and it's surroundings form a wonderful backdrop to a very clever mystery peopled with charming supporting characters and creepy villains. Although this is the eighth Bibliophile Mystery it is the first I have read. I was delighted to plunge into a new-to-me series that was written so well I didn't feel at all left out by missing the first seven. Carlisle gives brief sketches of events and characters who impact the current story without detracting in the slightest from my enjoyment.

THE BOOK STOPS HERE intrigues me enough I plan to go get those previous seven books in the Bibliophile series (and the novella, too.) Kate Carlisle does a masterful job of weaving romance, suspense, humor and beloved books into a plot that keeps you guessing until the very end. I am also looking forward to the first in her new Fixer Upper Mystery series, A High End Finish, due out November 2014.