Rare books and antiquities expert Brooklyn Wainwright is thrilled to be invited to the fiftieth birthday party of her neighbor Suzie’s aunt Grace. A retired founder of a major video game corporation, Grace is a larger-than-life character who’s turned her Lake Tahoe mansion into a fun house, full of everything from pinball machines and giant props to secret passageways and trap doors. Brooklyn is most excited to catalog Grace’s extensive collection of rare paperback pulp fiction.

Part of the fun involves a séance, but after the lights flicker, one guest is dead, poisoned by a cocktail intended for Grace. It seems someone is determined to turn Grace’s playful palatial estate into a house of horrors. Brooklyn suspects the key to the killer’s identity may lie in the roman á clef Grace has written about her life. With Grace in great peril, “must-read” takes on a whole new meaning, as Brooklyn tries to stop a murderer who’s through playing around… ( )

Now here is a bibliophile book that truly lives up to it's name. The main character has a bedroom that is filled with books, she finds books all over the mansion, even in the wine cellar. She repairs books and reads books. A pretty good English Manor mystery is the center of the book about a group of computer game company employees trapped in the snow, lots of fun to read. ( )

Brooklyn has been invited to the 50th birthday party of her friend Suzie's aunt Grace at her isolated country home located on the shores of Lake Tahoe. Grace had been the owner /primary designer for a computer game developer and she has taken her skills and incorporated them into the design of her retreat home - moving walls, hidden accesses and holographic changes.

One of the early "events" for the celebrations, is a séance where one of the guests is poisoned - but the poison was meant for Grace! A massive snowstorm arrives shortly after Gabriel who helps keep the remaining guests "safe" while waiting for the police.

This was so much fun - not just figuring out the whodunnit but also trying to picture the various changes as they happen. ( )

I loved the cover and was hoping this would be like the Booktown mystery series which I've enjoyed, but I just couldn't get into this one.

This was an enjoyable cozy mystery. I enjoy this series and like the main character, Brooklyn. The fact that she is a rare book restorer adds to my liking this. Books about people who work with books always make the top of my list.

Brooklyn goes to a 50th birthday party for an eccentric millionaire, Grace, the Aunt of her neighbor Suzie. She has built her mansion like a fun house, with changing walls, trap doors and every sort of entertainment you can think of. I love the descriptions of the house, although a cage that captures people and a trap door that you fall through to the cellar seem a bit extreme. And hard to believe that no one has gotten killed before.

At a seance, when one of the party guests is poisoned, it seems the poison was intended for the hostess. The group of people is told not to leave the house, and soon become snowed in. Another attempted murder soon takes place and Brooklyn begins sleuthing to find the killer before it is too late.

There are lots of suspects to chose from. Several unlikable characters, and others who stand to gain financially from Grace's death. One thing that seemed weird to me was that even being trapped in a house with a killer, no one really panicked or seemed very worried. I know I would want out of there as soon as possible. ( )