The Paper Caper is book 16 in Kate Carlisle’s Bibliophile Series. The book can be read as a stand alone but reading some of the other books in the series is a benefit. Joseph Cabot is a wealthy businessman that is a large donor to the Covington Library and has planned a week long fair celebrating Mark Twain and his book The Prince and the Pauper. Of course, Brook and Derek are central to the planning and storyline. There’s a murder and some major sleuthing going on.

Kate Carlisle always delivers and this book is no exception. I definitely recommend the series.

Thank you to #netgalley and #berkleypublishing for allowing me to read the eARC of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.

This is book 16 in the Bibliophile Mystery cozy series. Joseph Cabot is a rich friend of Derek and Brook and is sponsoring a book convention in their hometown of San Francisco to raise money for the Covington Library. Brook is going to give live demonstrations of book repair on an original edition of Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper. To add intrigue they are running a look alike contest for Joseph Cabot. Of course there is murder and mayhem in all of Kate Carlisle books and this one just seemed a little long winded. It can be read as a stand alone but there might be some points a new reader might miss.

Brooklyn is a book restorer. When most people would see trash in a damaged book, Brooklyn sees potential. She’s giving a demonstration at the prestigious Covington Library where they are celebrating Mark Twain. These are her people.

Her husband of only a year, Derek, is in charge of security for the five-day event. There’s a frog jumping contest in the park, a river boat casino night, and for kids, a chance to paint a fence with Tom Sawyer. What could go wrong?

The highlight is the Look Alike contest. The Clarion newspaper is the sponsor of the event and the contestants are supposed to look like the paper’s owner, Joseph Cabot. The paper chose Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper, to represent the festival.

While Joseph is a wonderful and generous guy, his new wife is standoffish and her mother, well, bossy doesn’t begin to describe her. To give Ella and her mother time to collect themselves, Brooklyn gives Ella a tour of other sections of the library but is disappointed they run out of time before seeing the Poisoned Papers exhibit. A newspaper printer had added a sticky substance to the paper and used a gold powder to celebrate Queen Victoria’s coronation. Unfortunately, the substance was poisonous and workers at the paper died. Inks achieved special colors with the addition of arsenic and typesetting, done by hand, used lead type.

When one of Joseph’s employees is murdered, Brooklyn has to wonder, was he the intended victim or was Joseph? And now that Joseph’s look-alike has been introduced to the public, with an uncanny likeness, is it Joseph or the lookalike who is targeted? Brooklyn and Derek have to rush to save not only the event but Joseph and his doppelgänger.

This is book sixteen in the series. Brooklyn has grown more confident overall. She’s always known her work is excellent but now knows other people think so, too. She has Derek’s undying love and devotion, friends in their building, and a good relationship with her family. And they have a cat.

I love a mystery where there are secret agendas and no one knows who to trust. There’s a hint at the end of the book that things are changing, so look for book seventeen for what’s next.

Carlisle has also written nine Fixer Upper mysteries, some reviewed here.

The Paper Caper is the latest release in the Bibliophile Mystery series by Kate Carlisle. I find the title very clever what with the method of murder being poisoned paper and of course the obvious tying into Brooklyn’s job. This series is what started me on cozy mysteries and I look forward to reading the latest one every time. I really enjoyed reading Brooklyn and Derek’s latest story and can’t wait for the next one. My only critique about this book is that I kept waiting and waiting for a murder to take place, until it finally did right before I was halfway through the story. In my opinion the murder should have happened a bit earlier in the story, since it is a cozy mystery after all.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves books and a good murder mystery, with a little romance thrown in as well.

I describing the garden I could picture it vividly. I could not see the end before it played itself out. Quite astonishing.

Another delightful mystery from Kate Carlisle, this time centered around Mark Twain's famous story, "The Prince and the Pauper." I enjoyed how Brooklyn and Derek took on a series of dangerous events to protect his client and find the clues as to who was behind it.

When Covington Library, and her dear friend Joseph, host the Mark Twain Festival, Brooklyn is very excited-not only do the events sound fun, but she's been invited to showcase her bookbinding skills. The main event is a Prince and the Pauper contest, where Joseph will trade places with the person who most looks like him. Keeping a careful eye on him is Brooklyn's husband Derek, who works in security.

But when someone is poisoned, Brooklyn and Derek must now solve a dangerous mystery as well.

Brooklyn is a cool unique character-I've never seen a bookbinder as the heroine of a cozy mystery before. She is strong and smart, and paired perfectly with her gorgeous husband (they are almost too perfect, but come off as just cute and loving enough to ride the line successfully). This book has a lot of suspense, and isn't only for Mark Twain fans. There is so much else going on that there is something for everyone. I look forward to reading more of this series.

What book lover could resist the Bibliophile series?

Certainly not me. I have read each series entry and always enjoy them. The insights into the work of a book restorer are fascinating, and the characters in this series are old friends at this point. With Mark Twain's classic The Prince and the Pauper serving as a framework, the Paper Caper has our heroine Brooklyn Wainwright and her security expert husband Derek attempting to solve the murder of their billionaire friend Joseph's surly butler Hobson. The murder takes place amid a Mark Twain festival in San Francisco, an event that may hold perils for Joseph, whom someone seems to want do away with. In a unique spin, the murder is accomplished via paper infused with poison.

While a fun read, the suspense in this entry was a bit muted as the identity of the murderer(s) was pretty obvious throughout and the denouement seemed a bit rushed and unrealistic, even for a cozy. Still I enjoyed my visit with these characters and look forward to Brooklyn's future adventures.

Full Disclosure--NetGalley and the publisher provided me with a digital ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

This review is for the eBook version. I have a separate review for the audiobook.

The Bibliophile series is one of my favorites, so when the audiobook disappointed me, I went back and read it on my own. It was a lot better the second time.

The Paper Caper brings us back to the Covington Library, where there is a Mark Twain/ the Prince and the Pauper festival happening. I'm not a huge Mark Twain fan, but that did not stop me from enjoying the story.

As others have pointed out, the death did not come until much later in the book, so much later that I started wondering if there would be a murder or a different kind of mystery to solve. The mystery started much earlier than the murder, so it didn't feel like nothing was happening.

There was quite a bit of recapping, but I feel that is to be expected in the 16th book of a series. There is a fine line between making sure new readers can join without needing to read 16 books and not boring your long-time readers. I thought there was a good balance.

Overall, a good mystery with some of my favorite characters.

Thank you to Berkley and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

It's the first annual Mark Twain Festival put on by the Covington Library and a long time friend of Derek's Joseph Cabot. Everything is running smoothly until Joseph's butler winds up murdered the day after the winner of a look-a-like contest is announced. Of course Brooklyn and Derek are on hand to help find the culprit. I enjoy all of Kate Carlisle's books and this one does not disappoint. The character's introduced were wonderful and it was fun to have the murder not solely committed over a book as like the other books in the series. I thought the mystery was well put together and was evenly paced. It is an easy read, so easy that I did not even notice I was getting close to the end of the book until it was practically upon me in the best way possible. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend this and all of Kate Carlisle's books.

What a fun read.


It’s time for the first annual mark twain festival and Brooklyn Wainwright could not be more excited. Joseph Cabot, The local newspaper man is sponsoring the event with many contests and lots of prizes. What should be an amazing event with lots of literary fun, has gone a bit to the dark side with a murderer too. Brooklyn and Derek seem to be right in the middle of things. With lots of questions and just as many suspects, Brooklyn does all she can to get to the bottom of this caper.


The Paper Caper was my first read of the Bibliophile Mystery Series. Brooklyn is amazing. Not only is she smart and intuitive, the passion that she has involving books. Makes her a gal after my own heart. I loved reading about the restoration process and how passionate she is. I really enjoyed the Mark Twain Festival and the switching of positions for two different people to see a different side of life. With this being a well-established series there is a core group of characters that mesh well together and truly make the story come alive. Kate Carlisle has something very special with this series. It intrigues the reader with a good mystery, has characters that are relatable and fun. There is a great bit of humor mixed in with this mystery which I truly loved. The Paper Caper is a great rate for any cozy mystery lover.

It’s the first annual Mark Twain Festival in honor of the Covington Library in San Francisco, and bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright is ready for it. The festival is sponsored by the newspaper, the Clarion, which is owned by billionaire entrepreneur Joseph Cabot. Brooklyn’s husband Derek once saved Joseph’s life, so they are close friends. And Brooklyn is friendly to anyone who loves books, so Joseph is her friend too.

The festival has several different activities through the week, including riverboat gambling, a frog-jumping contest, fence painting for the kids, and Brooklyn will be doing her bookbinding magic on a first edition of The Prince and the Pauper, right in the middle of the library for anyone who wants to watch her work. The inside pages aren’t too bad, but it needs to be rebound and the gold on the cover needs to be re-gilded.

And as the centerpiece for the festival is a sort of reenactment of The Prince and the Pauper. Joseph has created a contest where people have applied to show how they look like Joseph. three judges have picked out the person they think look most like him to take his place for the duration of the festival. That person will live in his house, eat meals prepared by his chef, and be driven around by his driver. At the end of the festival, that person will earn a new custom wardrobe and $100,000. Meanwhile, Joseph will be taking their place for the week.

Because Joseph decided to put up a life-changing amount of money in this competition, there have been some threats. Joseph doesn’t want to take any chances, so he hires Derek and his security company to guard both Joseph and the look-alike.

They announce the winner of the contest at Joseph’s mansion, surrounded by friends and by the press. The man chosen is named Tom Cantwell, an Army veteran down on his luck. Joseph introduces him and then whisks him away for an immediate makeover, so the press can show the before and after photos in the next morning’s paper. When Tom returns, he looks almost exactly like Joseph.

Meanwhile, all is not entirely well with everyone at the house. Joseph’s butler Hobson is upset by the idea of a stranger moving in and refuses to help. He was also arguing with Joseph’s mother-in-law Ingrid, who is visiting. While his wife Ella is lovely and has always been kind to Brooklyn, Brooklyn is still intimidated by her beauty and flawless fashion sense. But Ella’s mother Ingrid has spent her time at the festival activities complaining and arguing, creating lots of speculation and gossip but not too many friends.

But when someone is murdered at Brooklyn’s bookbinding sessions, then she takes it personally and wants to know why. Is the murder about the look-alike contest, or are there some other nefarious reasons for it? She has the reputation of the festival and the library to keep in mind, but someone’s death is more important. Brooklyn knows it’s dangerous to investigate, especially with a killer smart enough to kill in the manner they did, but she won’t feel safe until she finds out the truth. And hopefully she can figure it out before someone else gets hurt.

The Paper Caper is book 16 in the Bibliophile mystery series. Kate Carlisle never fails to entertain with these cozy mysteries starring a bookbinder and her adventures in crime solving. While there are a lot of mystery series about books, librarians, and book lovers of all types, these are the only ones I know of that feature a bookbinder, which offers an entirely new way of looking at books and their value. Brooklyn and Derek, along with the friends and family who tend to show up in these books, feel like old friends, and reading one of Carlisle’s mysteries is like taking a vacation back to a favorite location.

I really enjoyed The Paper Caper. Each chapter starts with a quote from Mark Twain, which is a fun reminder of the man’s wit and depth. Having the celebration of his life as the background to this story adds a lot of texture, and I admire Carlisle’s creativity it coming up with activities based on his work. The look-alike competition was maybe a little weird (the characters thought so too), but Carlisle made it work. And the ingenuity of the murder weapon shows that she has definitely done her research. I loved that Brooklyn and Derek got to stay close to home for this one, and that library sounds like a dream. The Paper Caper is a strong addition to this series and a lot of fun for fans of mysteries as well as of Mark Twain and his influence on American literature and culture.

Egalleys for The Paper Caper were provided by Berkley Publishing Group through NetGalley, with many thanks.

🌟New ARC Book Review!

Title: The Paper Caper
Author: Kate Carlisle
Published: 7/26/22
Rating: 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is the 16th book in The Bibliophile Mystery series. These books are extremely well-written and plotted, and the characters are interesting and quirky. I always look forward to the next book in the series. In this book, Brooklyn and her dashing husband Derek help out a friend named Joseph Cabot as he puts on a week long celebration of Mark Twain’s book The Prince and The Pauper at the Covington Library.

Derek’s company will provide security, while Brooklyn will restore a damaged copy of the book as a demonstration. One of the contests is a Joseph Cabot lookalike contest with the winner living in Cabot’s house. While opening the mail, Cabot’s butler is exposed to something in a letter and dies.

Brooklyn and Derek know the police detective, and Brooklyn is especially suspicious of Cabot’s wife and mother-in-law, who seemed to be in cahoots with the butler. Can she solve the crime without putting herself in danger?

I loved this book, it was a good read with fascinating characters.
5 stars.

Synopsis:
San Francisco book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright is back with an intriguing new mystery in the New York Times bestselling Bibliophile Mystery series.

Joseph Cabot is a very popular wealthy San Franciscan who owns the main newspaper in town, as well as radio stations and TV. Years ago, Brooklyn’s husband Derek and his security team rescued Joseph from an assassination attempt and now the man and his wife are friendly with Derek and Brooklyn. The friendship is helped along by the fact that Joseph is a big book lover and contributes lavishly to the Covington Library. His favorite author is Mark Twain (another newspaperman) and he’s underwritten the first annual Mark Twain Festival at the Covington.

As part of the festival activities, Brooklyn will spend a few hours every day at the Library, giving demonstrations of her work at re-binding an old copy of The Prince and the Pauper. There will be events all week, all around town, celebrating the time Twain spent in the city. But the biggest event is being run by Joseph’s newspaper: a citywide contest based on The Prince and The Pauper—they want to find someone who looks like Joseph! The two men will trade places for a week as part of a huge publicity campaign to raise money for the Covington Library. But the fun turns frantic when a murder occurs right before Brooklyn’s eyes! Now Brooklyn and Derek will have to chase clues all over their beloved city to solve the murder before another death becomes front-page news.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Kate Carlisle’s publisher, Berkley, has some of the best cover artists in the business, and, whoever they selected to illustrate the cover of The Paper Caper excelled at the job. Because I read an egalley, I can’t give credit to the artist, but I wish I could.

Part of the joy of the Bibliophile mysteries comes from the discovery of the book that Brooklyn Wainwright chooses to restore. Brooklyn is a bookbinder specializing in rare book restoration. This time, she’s restoring a copy of Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper. Mark Twain and his novel are essential parts of the current story. Joseph Cabot, a “multibillionaire”, is a voracious reader who loves Twain’s work. He’s a newspaperman who owns the San Francisco Clarion Press, and he’s a best friend of Brooklyn’s husband, Derek, owner of Stone Security. He’s also a contributor to the Covington Library. This year, Cabot is underwriting the first annual Mark Twain Festival at the library. There will be five days of events, including a lookalike contest. The person who most closely resembles Cabot will switch places with him for several days, and win one hundred thousand dollars. It’s a high-profile week, and Derek and his team are providing security throughout the event.

While Brooklyn and Derek love Joseph, they’re not as fond of his second wife, Ella. And, Ella’s mother, Ingrid, is a cold fish. But, when asked, Brooklyn is quite happy to show Ella around the Covington Library. She doesn’t show her one of her favorite exhibits, though, The Poisoned Papers one. When someone in the Cabot household dies unexpectedly, though, Brooklyn’s thoughts immediately go to the poisoned papers.

Kate Carlisle does an excellent job with the Mark Twain Festival, and the connection to Twain’s works in The Paper Caper. The chapter headings are quotes from Twain or his books. The festival itself, including the fence painting for children and the jumping frog contest, is delightful. Brooklyn has the chance to demonstrate book repair. Then, of course, there is the lookalike contest that leads to trouble. All those elements are fun.

It’s Brooklyn herself that I have problems with, as I did with her last book, Little Black Book. Ever since her marriage a year earlier, she’s become scared and whiny. When she freaks out at a party because Derek leaves her side, she even admits she doesn’t tend to freak out. But, her behavior has become odd. At one point, she wants to search bedrooms at Cabot’s house, and Derek has to remind her that’s why the police are involved. Brooklyn just doesn’t seem to be the strong, confident woman of the earlier books, and it’s tiring to read about Brooklyn in her recent incarnation.

I enjoyed all of the connections to Mark Twain in The Paper Caper. And, Derek, along with Brooklyn’s friends, are still entertaining. But, something has to be done soon about Brooklyn’s petulance.

The Paper Caper by Kate Carlisle has Brooklyn Wainwright and Derek Stone enjoying the first annual Mark Twain Festival sponsored by Joseph Cabot. The event includes a lookalike contest with the winner looking amazing like Joseph. Joseph and the winner switch places for the rest of the festival. When someone close to Joseph ends up dead, Brooklyn and Derek wonder if the murdered killed their intended target. The Paper Caper is the sixteenth A Bibliophile Mystery. While it can be read as a standalone, you will be missing out on some background information. I have read every book in this series for booklovers. I look forward to a new A Bibliophile Mystery each year. Brooklyn Wainwright is a book restorer and lover of books. She is one of my favorite fictional characters (if she was real, I could see us being friends). I did find her to be a little off in this book. She seemed squeamish which is unexpected for someone who has been involved in over a dozen murders. She also became scared and paranoid at one of the events. Brooklyn is normally levelheaded. Derek Stone is her strong, handsome husband who is protective. There are times when I feel that Derek treats Brooklyn like a child. It is infrequent, but I found it irritating. Brooklyn is a clever, talented woman who has helped Derek solve many cases. She is observant with good deductive skills. Brooklyn and Derek are a cute couple (still very much in love). I enjoyed the first annual Mark Twain Festival which benefited the Covington Library. There were some fun events. The Prince and the Pauper is the book featured in The Paper Caper. Brooklyn restores a copy for the Covington Library. I love learning about Brooklyn’s trade as a book restorer. The mystery was straightforward. It does not begin until almost the halfway point. By the time the murder occurs, I already knew the solution. I admit that I enjoyed how the deed was done. It is certainly unique. We get to catch up with Brooklyn’s family as well as Ian and his partner. Detective Lee, of course, is in charge of the case. There is rumor that she will be getting a new partner. There is humor sprinkled throughout the story. There is some mild foul language (just to let you know). I hope the next A Bibliophile Mystery will have more substance and a trickier whodunit. I like Kate Carlisle’s casual writing style. It is like you are visiting old friends when you open A Bibliophile Mystery. The Paper Caper is a delightful tale with a pulsating prince, a pleasant pauper, an animated marketing maven, a Swedish bombshell, a disagreeable butler, a malicious mother, a debonaire Derek, and a busy Brooklyn.

The Paper Caper is one of Carlisle's best books in her Bibliophile series. Her characters are enjoyable and make you feel like you are good friends with all of them. Her attention to detail, especially in the art of bookbinding, is interesting and informative, yet never boring, and important for the story. The mystery itself is well-crafted and will keep you guessing "whodunit" until the very end.

📖My Thoughts 📖

First of all, I have a lot of catching up to do, as this is the 16th book in A Bibliophile Mystery series, but nonetheless, I loved every minute of it! There is a great blend of characters, even Hobson the butler and his crotchety personality and the ever so sweet couple and sleuths, Brooklyn and Derek. The story includes a Mark Twain festival that complete with a Look-Alike competition, river boat gambling, fence painting, and of course, we can’t forget, a murder. All that right there is enough to have me hooked! This was a very entertaining, cute, fast paced book. Though it is the 16th book in the series, it was fine to read as a stand-alone. I really enjoyed this one and will have to go back and start the series from the beginning, because I think it was make me love this book that much more. Thank you Netgalley, Kate Carlisle and Berkley Publishing Group for the opportunity to read and review this delightful cozy mystery. If you’re in the market for a good cozy mystery series, I would suggest you check this one out! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

THE PAPER CAPER is the sixteenth book in the Bibliophile Mysteries by Kate Carlisle. Every time I see that a new book is being released in this series, I can’t wait to find out which classic book and author will be showcased for the theme. In this newest release, it’s Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper, and Ms. Carlisle, as always, puts her own twist on the classic tale. Her storytelling expertise has had me racing to read the original classic several times after finishing her books, and The Paper Caper was no exception. I also loved that she starts each chapter with a quote from Mark Twain, which adds to the theme’s appeal.

With protagonist Brooklyn, and her husband, Derek, involved in the Covington library’s Mark Twain Festival, the mystery is set up quickly when a generous benefactor announces a look-alike contest with a hefty monetary prize. Since Derek is in charge of the benefactor’s security and Brooklyn is in charge of restoring a rare first edition of The Prince and the Pauper, the pair land in the thick of things when the look-alike winner is targeted with violence. Along with writing a well-plotted and fast-paced mystery that kept me intrigued, the author does an admirable job in bringing the details to life. It was easy to visualize the streets of San Francisco, feel the pages of the old book between my finger, hear the happy chatter of the kids taking part in Brooklyn’s library craft, and taste the wine from Brooklyn’s parents’ winery. It brings the characters and the setting to life, and keeps fans coming back to find out what happens next in Brooklyn and Derek’s exciting life!

I was provided with an advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Excitement abounds! The first annual Mark Twain Festival is happening in San Francisco. Wealthy media mogul, Joseph Cabot is sponsoring the festival that will feature city-wide events. Picket fence painting, jumping frog contests are planned. The big draw is the Prince and the Pauper Look - Alike contest in which Cabot will switch places with someone who looks like him. The lucky man will win $100,000.
At the library Brooklyn will conduct a book restoration project in front of an audience. Derek and his company will be providing security at events. Both Derek and Brooklyn have concerns about the wisdom of the Look-A- Like contest fearing that Cabot is putting himself in danger. Hudson, Cabot's butler has major reservations as well. When an envelope is delivered to Cabot's mansion Hudson becomes a murder victim and the contest winner's life is threatened.
Inspector Lee, Derek and Brooklyn race against time to find the motive and the killer.
This is the 16th Bibliophile Mystery. I enjoyed the time given to describing Brooklyn's book restoration techniques but found the mother-daughter duo a bit over the top.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for the opportunity to read the latest in the series.

This was my first Kate Carlisle read in her series. It looks like I have a lot to catch up on since it's number sixteen. It worked wonderful as a stand alone also and I like that, when i can drop in anywhere in a series. Maybe I don't know all the history but if I enjoy it, like I did number sixteen, I can always go back and start at number one.

I found the book binding information valuable. It brought out very clear images in my mind, to understand how it is done. I always love books with librarians, so interesting.

And don't I love a strong, irritating antagonist, like Joseph's mother-in-law? No, not at all but very necessary to balance out the protagonist I'm rooting for.

I'd recommend to anyone who enjoys a good who-dun-it, with a strong female sleuth. She's in a happy marriage and that's pleasant to read. Poison is my favorite way to kill off a problem, thanks Kate Carlisle for offering this great story.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.