Peril in Paperback: A Bibliophile Mystery

Wainwright is brilliant, feisty, and funny.”
    —
Romantic Times
(4½ stars)
    “Let’s just say it up front—I really enjoyed this book. For once I am very happy this is part of a series because I want more. This book is unusual in that it has both a strong mystery
and
unique, well-created characters…. Thank goodness for Kate Carlisle.”
    —Front Street Reviews

O THER B IBLIOPHILE M YSTERIES
    Homicide in Hardcover
    If Books Could Kill
    The Lies That Bind
    Murder Under Cover
    Pages of Sin
    (A Penguin e-Special Novella)
    One Book in the Grave

P ERIL IN
P APERBACK
    A Bibliophile Mystery
    Kate Carlisle
     

    AN OBSIDIAN MYSTERY

O BSIDIAN
    Published by New American Library, a division of
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    First published by Obsidian, an imprint of New American Library,
    a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
    First Printing, August 2012
    10    9    8    7    6    5    4    3    2    1
    Copyright © Kathleen Beaver, 2012
    ISBN: 978-1-101-59393-6
    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
    OBSIDIAN and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
    Printed in the United States of America
    PUBLISHER’S NOTE
    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
    The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
    If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
    ALWAYS LEARNING
    PEARSON

This one’s for you, Jane, with all my love and gratitude.
Thanks for being there for me when I was overwhelmed
by a desperate desire to explore that cheesy haunted
house and when I insisted on driving hundreds of miles
to find a goat farm. Thanks for your steadfast insistence
that I sample every champagne in the world—all in the
name of art and research, of course. And thanks for
everything else, too. Love you!

P ERIL IN
P APERBACK

Chapter 1
     
    “We call it the Library Suite,” my hostess said, beaming with pride as she led me into the spacious bedroom that would be all mine for the next six days.
    “I can see why.” As I looked around the room, I hoped my expression remained calm despite the volatile mix of shock, fascination, and trepidation coursing through me as I took in the mad proliferation of books.
    I love books, but this is crazy,
I thought. That funny old cliché about the walls closing in on you? It wasn’t so funny anymore. On the other hand, there were so many books, I wouldn’t be able to see if the walls were getting closer or not.
    “Isn’t it marvelous?” Grace said, tugging to smooth out the pale sage duvet cover on the king-sized bed. “Ruth teases me about my book obsession, but I have a good time with it.”
    “I’m stunned,” I muttered. It was the truth. The number of books she’d managed to cram into this spacious bedroom/sitting room was astounding.
    I’m Brooklyn Wainwright, book-restoration expert and lover of books, good