If Books Could Kill is novel #2 in the Bibliophile Mystery series by Kate Carlisle. This one picks up a few weeks after the ending of novel #1, Homicide in Hardcover.
Book restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright is attending the Edinburgh Book Fair in Edinburgh, Scotland. While there, Brooklyn runs into an ex-boyfriend, who confides that he is in possession of a rare book. This particular rare book apparently contains secrets that could potentially change history surrounding the British monarchy. Moments later, the ex-boyfriend is murdered and Brooklyn is tasked with identifying his killer to avoid being accused of homicide—yet again.
This Bibliophile mystery series is such fun and delightful to read. I was able to finish this one in just under 24 hours because it was tough to put down. Brooklyn’s humor and inner monologue is witty and highly entertaining, and so is that from the other regular characters in this series including Brooklyn’s parents, her best friend Robin, her love interest Derek, and long-time archenemy Minka LeBoeuf.
My only gripe with If Books Could Kill is that it feels as though I missed some of the romantic buildup between Brooklyn and Derek. They went straight from bantering and to barely tolerating each other in the 1st book to being extremely flirty and lovey-dovey in this 2nd book. I think their romantic chemistry would be more believable if it were allowed to gradually build up for a few more novels.
Overall, I loved If Books Could Kill, which ended much sooner than I wanted it to! Good thing I’ve already got the next several books on hand!
Here are my reviews for books #1 and #3 in the series:
Do you read this series, and if so, what do you think about it?
Last Updated on November 11, 2025 by Sarah Ann
Affiliate Disclosure: There may be affiliate links in this content. This means I earn a small commission if you buy anything from those links. This comes at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support.
Leave a Reply