Brooklyn Wainwright and her husband Derek are on honeymoon in Paris, enjoying the foods, wines and sights. From a book stall, Brooklyn picks up a first edition James Bond hardback book, The Spy Who Loved Me. She brings it home to San Francisco and finds that it’s worth a lot more than she paid. THE BOOK SUPREMACY, a play on thriller The Bourne Supremacy, involves a lot of secret agent doings.
I love Kate Carlisle’s Fixer Upper Mystery series about a building contractor, Shannon Hammer. Because I’m jumping into this alternative series midway, I’m not sure what Derek’s surname is, but Brooklyn awkwardly says that her surname is Wainright Stone, so I’m guessing he’s Derek Stone. Derek, who is Home Counties English, has previously served Her Majesty as a spy. Now the midlife pair are trying to put all that behind them. One of Derek’s friends, however, met him in Paris and seems to be still involved, while another one has opened a so-called spy store in San Francisco, selling security gadgets and hidden cameras.
Derek runs a security firm but at his time of life, he mainly makes phone calls and computer searches. Brooklyn is a bibliophile, meaning book lover, and works as a bookbinder. She describes carefully restoring a couple of elderly books to good condition. The spy store owner, Owen Gibbons, also runs fun escape rooms in his shop, called Spectre. Brooklyn just has to give this a try. A good third of the story elapses without any murder, but it’s entertaining, and when Brooklyn offers to let Owen exhibit her new James Bond book, the reader can expect this will cause trouble.
I like the small group of newbie crime writers who gather to compare chapters and give moral support. Writing could be anti-social, so they are making a social event of their hobby. With the fame of James Bond, when someone attempts to steal the first edition, it needn’t be a book lover who’s responsible. There is a death to investigate, which both scares Brooklyn and ties her up in sleuthing. Derek does much of the work.
THE BOOK SUPREMACY can be read as a standalone, but the cast of friends and relatives would probably mean more if you’ve been following the Bibliophile Mystery series. Kate Carlisle always writes about practical sleuths who are good with their hands. Brooklyn just happens to use endpapers and gum instead of hammers and saws. I enjoyed the read and dipping into the vibrant city atmosphere of San Francisco, with its nearby vineyards.
In the latest in this New York Times bestselling series, San Francisco book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright investigates a mysterious spy novel linked to a string of murders... Newlyweds Brooklyn and Derek are enjoying the final days of their honeymoon in Paris. As they're browsing the book stalls along the Seine, Brooklyn finds the perfect gift for Derek, a first edition James Bond novel, The Spy Who Loved Me. When they bump into Ned, an old friend from Derek’s spy days, Brooklyn shows him her latest treasure. Once they're back home in San Francisco, they visit a spy shop Ned mentioned. The owner begs them to let him display the book Brooklyn found in Paris as part of the shop's first anniversary celebration. Before they agree, Derek makes sure the security is up to snuff—turns out, the unassuming book is worth a great deal more than sentimental value. Soon after, Derek is dismayed when he receives a mysterious letter from Paris announcing Ned’s death. Then late one night, someone is killed inside the spy shop. Are the murders connected to Brooklyn's rare, pricey book? Is there something even more sinister afoot? Brooklyn and the spy who loves her will have to delve into the darkest parts of Derek's past to unmask an enemy who's been waiting for the chance to destroy everything they hold dear.
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