Books as Wish Fulfillment by Kate Carlisle, author of The Little Black Book

Jenn McKinlay: She's here! She's here! My amazing plot group buddy and partner in all manner of shenanigans is here to share the latest on her upcoming release The Little Black Book (which is FANTASTIC)!!! Yay! Everyone, please welcome the amazing Kate Carlisle!

Kate Carlisle is the New York Times bestselling author of two ongoing series: the Bibliophile Mysteries featuring San Francisco bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright, whose rare book restoration skills uncover old secrets, treachery and murder; and the Fixer-Upper Mysteries (as seen on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries), featuring Shannon Hammer, a home contractor who discovers not only skeletons in her neighbors' closets, but murder victims, too.

Kate: My husband and I love to travel. I’ll confess that the freedom to travel was a big part of why I wanted to be a writer. (And the tax write-off for research trips didn’t hurt!)

Right about the time the pandemic hit in March 2020, I was starting to work on the book that would become Little Black Book. Like so many other people, we’d had to cancel a trip, and planning future trips felt impossible with so many unknowns. I think that’s why I wanted this story to be an adventure, even more so than usual. I wanted to get away from COVID, to get out of my mind, out of my house, out of my life.

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Writing Little Black Bookwas my escape, and I hope reading it will be an escape for you. As bookbinder Brooklyn Wainwright and her British security expert Derek Stone follow the clues discovered in a first edition of Daphne du Maurier’s classic Rebecca,the action takes them from San Francisco to the wine country commune where Brooklyn grew up and all the way to a castle on the shores of Loch Ness.

 

In essence, there are four settings in Little Black Book to take you out of your mind, house, and life: San Francisco, Dharma, a luxurious private jet, and Scotland. As a bonus, I’ve included one recipe from each of the four locales at the back of the book, plus a fifth recipe to tie them all together. I’ve included one of the recipes below to whet your appetite, but first. . . 

 

ABOUT LITTLE BLACK BOOK 

San Francisco book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright is on the case when a rare edition of Rebecca leads to murder in this latest installment of the New York Times bestselling Bibliophile Mystery series.

Brooklyn and her hunky husband, security expert Derek Stone, have just returned from a delightful trip to Dharma, where the construction of their new home away from home is well underway, when a little black book arrives in the mail from Scotland. The book is a rare British first edition of Rebecca, and there’s no return address on the package. The day after the book arrives, Claire Quinn shows up at Brooklyn and Derek’s home. Brooklyn met Claire when the two women worked as expert appraisers on the television show This Old Attic. Brooklyn appraised books on the show and Claire’s expertise was in antique British weaponry, but they bonded over their shared love of gothic novels.

Claire reveals that during a recent trip to Scotland she discovered her beloved aunt was missing and that her home had been ransacked. Among her aunt’s belongings, Claire found the receipt for the package that wound up with Brooklyn and Derek. Claire believes both her own life and her aunt’s are in danger and worries that some complications from her past are coming back to haunt her.

But just as Brooklyn and Derek begin to investigate, a man who Claire thinks was following her is found murdered, stabbed with a priceless jeweled dagger. With a death on their doorstep, Brooklyn and Derek page through the little black book where they discover clues that will take them to the shadows of a medieval Scottish castle on the shores of Loch Ness. Under the watchful gaze of a mysterious laird and the irascible villagers who are suspicious of the strangers in their midst, Brooklyn and Derek must decode the secrets in Rebecca to keep their friend’s past from destroying their future....

Savory Cheese Scones

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp garlic salt

2 Tbsp sugar

8 Tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 egg

1-3 Tbsp cold milk, divided

2 oz sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1/8-inch pieces

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided

2 Tbsp fresh chives

Whisk or sift together the flour through sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the Greek yogurt and egg, then put in the fridge until you're ready for it.

Cut the butter pieces into the flour mixture until it resembled wet sand. Stir in the cold yogurt/egg mixture. The dough is meant to be crumbly, but if it won't come together at all, sprinkle with one tablespoon of cold milk and stir again. If it still won't come together, sprinkle with one more tablespoon of cold milk. Fold in half the grated Parmesan, all of the cheddar and all of the chives. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball of dough, and then into a round disk, about 3/4-inch thick by 9 inches in diameter. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Cut the disk into 12 wedges. Put 1 Tbsp cold milk in a small dish and brush top of each scone with milk. The sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake about two inches apart until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Do you love to travel? What dream trip would you like to take, if money were no object?