Murder by Death

I've always loved this series because the MC is a bookbinder and conservationist, and although the details aren't always strictly accurate, it's fun to read about it.  Her quirky family can always be counted on for entertainment and she's surrounded by gorgeous, heroic men (although no love triangle, thank the stars).

Ripped from the Pages was no exception and should have been a 4.5/5 star read because the plot takes place in Dharma, her parents commune (Dharma redefines the term 'commune', btw) and involves secret treasures discovered in caves, the French and a bit of WWII history - what's not to love?!?!

Well, Brooklyn's moments of angst and downright bubble-headedness, that's what.  The angst has a touch of "I'm the centre of the universe" to it and some of the flights of fancy she takes when speculating on the suspects are just down right ridiculous, when I think the author was aiming for endearingly wacky.  There were enough of these moments to leave an impression, but not significantly alter my enjoyment of the book, so still a 4 star read.  Cheers to Ms. Carlisle though for keeping Brooklyn from making any TSTL moves, and I genuinely love watching her and Derek together.  (Also, thank you for bringing Gabriel back, although he seems disconcertingly legitimate.)

The murder mystery was well plotted, although I had more fun reading about the treasures.  This series firmly remains on my auto-buy list.