I'm a long time Kate Carlisle fan but this is my first time listening to one of her books on audio. Even better, it's one I hadn't read. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Young does an excellent job not only bringing the characters to life but differentiating the voices. Chapter changes are simply announced and Young even handles various accents with aplomb. It was interesting to hear the minor but distinct changes in the Swedish accents utilized, too, both showing character traits in a subtle way. Kudos to both author and narrator.
As for the mystery, it opens with Brooklyn's security team chief husband, Derek, on the job protecting Joseph Cabot, a wealthy San Franciscan. Cabot is a huge supporter of the Covington Library and is sponsoring and hosting a Mark Twain related festival as a fundraiser. One of the big draws is a contest to select someone who looks like Joseph, not Twain. There are also children's activities, a riverboat casino cruise, and even a frog jumping contest. Brooklyn, a book restoration expert, is on site giving presentations on her restoration of a copy of Twain's "Prince and the Pauper", the book that inspired the look-alike contest, as well as mingling with guests and, ultimately, suspects in the murder of Cabot's long-time butler. Derek and his team are top-notch and Brooklyn, well, she's snoopy and has the knack of being in the right place at the right time to see and overhear things.
They, along with Detective Lee, follow clues and hunches, many courtesy of Brooklyn, to solve the problem. Complications arise, of course, as Brooklyn and the rest deal with crowds, rowdy children, and two "blond bombshells", Joseph's wife and his mother-in-law. Could they be involved? Where did the killer get the idea for the murder weapon? Who had the skill to make it work? Why does Ella tolerate her mother's treatment of her? How does Brooklyn get so lucky at casino night? Should we all remember her numbers? Why were Joseph and his butler arguing? Was the butler even the intended victim? Why is someone afraid of look-alike winner Tom's presence? Would you risk your own life for a friend like Wyatt did for Tom?
And...oh, so much more. I liked watching the wheels turn in Brooklyn's mind even if, well, they did tend to ping and zing and zip off in different, unexpected ways at times. I mean, I sorta related as my own mind often works that way. Like, her random thought about frog handlers made me wonder what sort of qualifications such a worker must have. That detail seemed irrelevant but others weren't, making it all the more interesting. Throughout it all, of course, we book people were treated to a flood of fascinating information about books, printing, book restoration, and, of course, Mark Twain. Btw, Derek and Brooklyn have only been married for a year, so, yes, lots of sweet lovey-dovey moments but nothing that distracted either them or the reader from the plot.
Thanks #NetGalley and #DreamscapeMeida for inviting me to the Mark Twain Festival to hang out with Brooklyn, Derek, and friends. I'm thinking the ending perhaps gave us a foreshadowing of big news to come? Can't wait!
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