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dustin_o's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
tsutrav's review
5.0
This is the one that started Dunning's Janeway series. I was hooked from the first page to the big-twisting end.
This detetective story is peppered with all kinds of book facts that will keep any bibliophile turning the pages. I guess it's a good detective story too. But, hands down, it's a winner just for merging detectives and books.
Half-way through, it had me Googling "book scout" and wondering if I could make a living at that myself.
Needless to say, I was smart enough not to quit my day-job, all the while wishing this book-detective tale never ended.
This detetective story is peppered with all kinds of book facts that will keep any bibliophile turning the pages. I guess it's a good detective story too. But, hands down, it's a winner just for merging detectives and books.
Half-way through, it had me Googling "book scout" and wondering if I could make a living at that myself.
Needless to say, I was smart enough not to quit my day-job, all the while wishing this book-detective tale never ended.
xterminal's review
4.0
John Dunning, Booked to Die (Pocket, 1992)
This book's probably got a niche market in the same way that Christopher Morley's wonderful turn-of-the-century bookstore-themed mysteries did. You're going to get a lot more out of this book if you've ever trod the bibliophile's path yourself, or at least have some other kind of collecting bug in your bonnet. Otherwise, you might do well to avoid this one.
Okay, now that we've got rid of the riffraff, let's get down to brass tacks. This is a great little mystery that introduces us to Cliff Janeway, a Colorado cop who dreams of retiring from the force and opening his own rare bookstore. It doesn't matter that every other shop on the street where he wants to open his is a rare bookstore; competition doesn't apply to the types of folks who frequent rare bookstores. After all, most every copy of a rare book is different, and this gang is usually looking for that one specific typo that sets edition A apart from edition B and wants printing X; so many variables everyone's bound to hve different stock. But Janeway's bookstore dreams are a background to the novel, which is above all a mystery. There are two plotlines here. The first concerns the murder of a bookscout, onje of that class just up from the homeless who make their living buying books at Goodwill and selling them to people who know what they're worth. The second concerns a rather nasty person that Janeway's been trying to nab for years. Due to the American system of justice, the guy keeps evading capture. Everyone else in the novel wants to combine the two; they're convinced the nasty type did in the bookscout, and everyone's happy. Everyone, that is, except our fearless narrator. Things get out of hand. Complications ensue. If they didn't, it wouldn't be a mystery novel.
Where Dunning excels here is in the balance ebtween the book talk and the mystery talk. Separating the two out would make for a passable novel about the book trade (think Penelope Fitzgerald's The Bookshop as told by Mike Hammer) and a passable mystery novel (think My Gun Is Quick as told by Penelope Fitzgerald). Neither side suffers from the inclusion of the other, something which is rare indeed among novels that attempt to blend two such disparate streams of thought. Add to this Dunning's eye for detail-- the only stones that remain unturned are those necessary to set up the idea that these characters will continue on into other novels (a second Janeway novel, The Bookman's Wake, has already been published)-- and you've got a fun little read. It's not earthshaking, it doesn't break any new ground, and it's a niche. More people remember Agatha Christie than Christopher Morley, too, but that doesn't make Morley's books any less wonderful. As Morley, so Dunning. Highly recommended for those who find themselves in the first paragraph of this review. *** 1/2
This book's probably got a niche market in the same way that Christopher Morley's wonderful turn-of-the-century bookstore-themed mysteries did. You're going to get a lot more out of this book if you've ever trod the bibliophile's path yourself, or at least have some other kind of collecting bug in your bonnet. Otherwise, you might do well to avoid this one.
Okay, now that we've got rid of the riffraff, let's get down to brass tacks. This is a great little mystery that introduces us to Cliff Janeway, a Colorado cop who dreams of retiring from the force and opening his own rare bookstore. It doesn't matter that every other shop on the street where he wants to open his is a rare bookstore; competition doesn't apply to the types of folks who frequent rare bookstores. After all, most every copy of a rare book is different, and this gang is usually looking for that one specific typo that sets edition A apart from edition B and wants printing X; so many variables everyone's bound to hve different stock. But Janeway's bookstore dreams are a background to the novel, which is above all a mystery. There are two plotlines here. The first concerns the murder of a bookscout, onje of that class just up from the homeless who make their living buying books at Goodwill and selling them to people who know what they're worth. The second concerns a rather nasty person that Janeway's been trying to nab for years. Due to the American system of justice, the guy keeps evading capture. Everyone else in the novel wants to combine the two; they're convinced the nasty type did in the bookscout, and everyone's happy. Everyone, that is, except our fearless narrator. Things get out of hand. Complications ensue. If they didn't, it wouldn't be a mystery novel.
Where Dunning excels here is in the balance ebtween the book talk and the mystery talk. Separating the two out would make for a passable novel about the book trade (think Penelope Fitzgerald's The Bookshop as told by Mike Hammer) and a passable mystery novel (think My Gun Is Quick as told by Penelope Fitzgerald). Neither side suffers from the inclusion of the other, something which is rare indeed among novels that attempt to blend two such disparate streams of thought. Add to this Dunning's eye for detail-- the only stones that remain unturned are those necessary to set up the idea that these characters will continue on into other novels (a second Janeway novel, The Bookman's Wake, has already been published)-- and you've got a fun little read. It's not earthshaking, it doesn't break any new ground, and it's a niche. More people remember Agatha Christie than Christopher Morley, too, but that doesn't make Morley's books any less wonderful. As Morley, so Dunning. Highly recommended for those who find themselves in the first paragraph of this review. *** 1/2
bookishoutsider's review
4.0
I think this book may be one of the longest residents of my bookshelves! Someone gave it to me just before I started my first job as a bookseller and no doubt thought it would be funny to give me a book about people in bookstores being murdered... Definitely going to have to track down the next book in the series so thank you to whoever it was all those years ago :)
cspiwak's review
3.0
Good, enjoyed all the book lore. Noir romance felt a bit forced to me. Will try another, as this was the first
pltavormina's review
3.0
There's a lot to like in the story--some passages are fantastic, and the protagonist is a decent human being with respectable goals and realistic flaws. The mystery angle was decent. Pacing was good. I liked the book business angle too. So, lots to like. Was not crazy about how the interpersonal relationships were handled.