Scan barcode
pam2375's review against another edition
4.0
This was a great mystery and I was guessing through the entire book. I never did figure out what was happening until it was revealed to me. This was a well written mystery.
My thanks to netgalley and Minotaur Books for this advanced readers copy.
My thanks to netgalley and Minotaur Books for this advanced readers copy.
eastofthesunwestofthemoon's review against another edition
4.0
I listened to the audio book. It was an easy and enjoyable listen. Kudos to the author for making the second in the series a reasonable stand-alone - I could tell there were things that came before, but enough background is provided that I could easily keep up with the carryover plot bits, which are ancillary to the mystery anyway. He also demonstrates some characters' moral failings and has them drawn into grey areas, while still building some sympathy for them. I am so very tired of full casts of hateful, despicable characters. This was a welcome relief.
annieb123's review against another edition
4.0
I love libraries. I love everything from the atmosphere to the endless exciting possibilities they represent to the unique personality of almost every library whose threshold I've crossed. I even love the smell of libraries.
Personally I'm also predisposed to liking mysteries and thrillers, so, a mystery/thriller in a library? Yes, please!
This is the second book in the 42nd Street library mystery series. I read the book without having read any of the author's other books. This one didn't suffer in my estimation for having been read as a standalone.
The characters are well written, with well thought out motivations and, in some cases, agendas. There's a lot going on: terrorist fanatics, murder, espionage, prison politics, murky dealings, kidnapping and long ago history tied to politics and the murder of a labor union boss for which the wrong man was imprisoned. Despite so many subplots, the author handled the complex storyline well, and I never felt lost or confused.
The main protagonist isn't young, tough or wisecracking. He's a mild mannered librarian with a melancholy background, entangled in a custody battle over his grandson. I loved that he wasn't a superhero.
One of the secondary characters in this book (a bartender!) is the protagonist in his own series of 3 books, making this book a tie-in/crossover. Again, I don't think it suffered for my not having read the other books, an oversight I intend to remedy soon.
It's clear that the author is also a bibliophile and as a bonus this book is a rich source of book-hunting gems for further reading because of the classic mystery thriller name dropping. It inspired me to revisit Dashiell Hammet, Vera Caspary, and to look up Chester Himes. I like it when my reading list leads me to more books!
Enjoyed this one very much and I fully intend to read the other books in the related series.
Four stars
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.
Personally I'm also predisposed to liking mysteries and thrillers, so, a mystery/thriller in a library? Yes, please!
This is the second book in the 42nd Street library mystery series. I read the book without having read any of the author's other books. This one didn't suffer in my estimation for having been read as a standalone.
The characters are well written, with well thought out motivations and, in some cases, agendas. There's a lot going on: terrorist fanatics, murder, espionage, prison politics, murky dealings, kidnapping and long ago history tied to politics and the murder of a labor union boss for which the wrong man was imprisoned. Despite so many subplots, the author handled the complex storyline well, and I never felt lost or confused.
The main protagonist isn't young, tough or wisecracking. He's a mild mannered librarian with a melancholy background, entangled in a custody battle over his grandson. I loved that he wasn't a superhero.
One of the secondary characters in this book (a bartender!) is the protagonist in his own series of 3 books, making this book a tie-in/crossover. Again, I don't think it suffered for my not having read the other books, an oversight I intend to remedy soon.
It's clear that the author is also a bibliophile and as a bonus this book is a rich source of book-hunting gems for further reading because of the classic mystery thriller name dropping. It inspired me to revisit Dashiell Hammet, Vera Caspary, and to look up Chester Himes. I like it when my reading list leads me to more books!
Enjoyed this one very much and I fully intend to read the other books in the related series.
Four stars
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.
virginiacjacobs's review against another edition
1.0
This book was really poorly written and I didn't finish it.
cj_mo_2222's review against another edition
4.0
Raymond Ambler, the curator of New York City’s 42nd Street Library, teams up with homicide detective Mike Cosgrove to solve the murder of a young woman found murdered in the library. Ambler is convinced the death has connections to seemingly unrelated murders and won’t give up until he helps get justice for the murder victim.
This book is the second in this series, but the first I’ve read. I was able to quickly catch-up and enjoy the book even though I missed the first one. The mystery is well-written and with a complex plot and complicated characters, sometimes to the point of being a little confusing to follow. However, I enjoyed the unique setting and the team of a library curator and a detective working together to solve the crime. The book kept my interest from beginning to end and is an intelligent mystery, tackling relevant issues, that fans of Sara Paretsky or Betty Webb will enjoy.
I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Minotaur books. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
This book is the second in this series, but the first I’ve read. I was able to quickly catch-up and enjoy the book even though I missed the first one. The mystery is well-written and with a complex plot and complicated characters, sometimes to the point of being a little confusing to follow. However, I enjoyed the unique setting and the team of a library curator and a detective working together to solve the crime. The book kept my interest from beginning to end and is an intelligent mystery, tackling relevant issues, that fans of Sara Paretsky or Betty Webb will enjoy.
I received this book from NetGalley through the courtesy of Minotaur books. The book was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.
lissalibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Raymond Ambler is a librarian at NYPL in the crime fiction room and a new librarian, Leila, just happened to be found dead in his office. His should-be-girlfriend and also librarian at NYPL, Adele somehow gets herself involved and there's a recently donated collection that seems like it has something to do with the murder. There's several people involved in this whole scheme and Ambler takes it upon himself to figure out who is the murderer. The reader is kept waiting until the last twenty pages or so until this all comes to a head and the killer is finally revealed.
rubenstein's review against another edition
1.0
A murder! In a library! This one practically screamed my name. Unfortunately I just couldn't get into to, try as I might.
elzecatreads's review
2.0
Like I said in my review of the first book in this series, I really WANT to love this series about a librarian who solves murders that take place in and around the library where he works. But they're just not written very well, and the "mysteries" being solved aren't all that interesting.
canada_matt's review
3.0
Perhaps a generous 3.5 stars
First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Con Lehane, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
Returning to the majestic building of the 42 Street Library in New York City, Con Lehane continues the adventures of Crime Fiction librarian Raymond Ambler. In this story, Ambler finds himself in the middle of quite the conundrum. Tasked with preparing a display of crime fiction over the past century and a half, Ambler must come up with a collection that taps into all aspects of crime. In waltzes a former cop and aspiring author, Paul Higgins, who wishes to donate his private papers to the cause, but seeks a promise that they will not be shared with anyone. Ambler holds them in trust, but it is only then that the real trouble starts. Working alongside Adele Morgan has helped foster a close friendship, which may have more to it. However, when a murder occurs within Ambler’s own office, Adele’s closeness to the victim proves more an impediment than help. Leila Stone seems to have been working at the library under an assumed name and on a mission. As NYPD Homicide begin their investigation into the Stone murder, they are shoved aside when the Intelligence Division takes control of the case and quickly snatches up a suspect. Adele’s ongoing interest in this man, an Islamic scholar, leaves Ambler concerned that she might be shielding the truth out of a sense of romantic desire. Meanwhile, Ambler is trying to process having his grandson living with him while in a custody battle with the boy’s maternal grandmother. Seeking to uncover the rationale for this murder and if it might have ties to a case three decades in the past takes a back burner, as Ambler attempts to keep his personal life from falling apart. There seems to be more to every story in his life, but Ambler can find neither index nor cliff notes in an attempt to set it straight. Lehane offers some interesting sleuthing insight in this piece that meanders as much as this summary review. Possibly of interest to those who like a little mystery with the protagonist’s angst-filled journey.
I must congratulate Con Lehane for putting together the foundation of what looks to be a highly intriguing and captivating novel. This is the second in the series and I enjoyed the debut novel, though this piece seemed to lack a strong connection to the core essentials. The characters develop well, for the most part, particularly Raymond Ambler and Adele Morgan, though outside of their emotional tug-of-war, I found a number of the other characters out of sync with the story arc. Their personalities were present, the backstories seemed to fit, but the delivery seemed less than what I might have hoped to see. It was as though Lehane let his characters scurry around like ants and used the narrative to zoom in and offer some commentary before panning out and looking elsewhere. The story had the potential to be strong and well grounded, but meandered too much to really connect for me. Surely the present and past murders that are developed throughout have something that ties them, for that is the flavour that the narrative offers. However, nothing seemed to bring it all together smoothly for me. While some might say it is petty, I felt that Lehane did not use gaps in time effectively. Where some authors might use a set of asterisks or symbols to denote a delay in the narrative or even an empty line or two, Lehane seems to steamroll ahead two days between sentences. Yet, he does use the aforementioned ‘gap symbols’ on other occasions as well. This inconsistency left me wondering if the draft of the book was posted to the galley site before proofreaders or editors had done the job for which they are paid. I cannot be sure whether Lehane should be shamed on those who received payment for shoddy work. Either way, there is a glimmer of possibility here and I may return if a third novel surfaces, though I cannot promise to add it to my watchlist.
Kudos, Mr. Lehane for a valiant effort. The pieces may not have worked too well as a cohesive unit, but they were far from jagged and destructive.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/248185-a-book-for-all-seasons
First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Con Lehane, St. Martin’s Press, and Minotaur Books for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
Returning to the majestic building of the 42 Street Library in New York City, Con Lehane continues the adventures of Crime Fiction librarian Raymond Ambler. In this story, Ambler finds himself in the middle of quite the conundrum. Tasked with preparing a display of crime fiction over the past century and a half, Ambler must come up with a collection that taps into all aspects of crime. In waltzes a former cop and aspiring author, Paul Higgins, who wishes to donate his private papers to the cause, but seeks a promise that they will not be shared with anyone. Ambler holds them in trust, but it is only then that the real trouble starts. Working alongside Adele Morgan has helped foster a close friendship, which may have more to it. However, when a murder occurs within Ambler’s own office, Adele’s closeness to the victim proves more an impediment than help. Leila Stone seems to have been working at the library under an assumed name and on a mission. As NYPD Homicide begin their investigation into the Stone murder, they are shoved aside when the Intelligence Division takes control of the case and quickly snatches up a suspect. Adele’s ongoing interest in this man, an Islamic scholar, leaves Ambler concerned that she might be shielding the truth out of a sense of romantic desire. Meanwhile, Ambler is trying to process having his grandson living with him while in a custody battle with the boy’s maternal grandmother. Seeking to uncover the rationale for this murder and if it might have ties to a case three decades in the past takes a back burner, as Ambler attempts to keep his personal life from falling apart. There seems to be more to every story in his life, but Ambler can find neither index nor cliff notes in an attempt to set it straight. Lehane offers some interesting sleuthing insight in this piece that meanders as much as this summary review. Possibly of interest to those who like a little mystery with the protagonist’s angst-filled journey.
I must congratulate Con Lehane for putting together the foundation of what looks to be a highly intriguing and captivating novel. This is the second in the series and I enjoyed the debut novel, though this piece seemed to lack a strong connection to the core essentials. The characters develop well, for the most part, particularly Raymond Ambler and Adele Morgan, though outside of their emotional tug-of-war, I found a number of the other characters out of sync with the story arc. Their personalities were present, the backstories seemed to fit, but the delivery seemed less than what I might have hoped to see. It was as though Lehane let his characters scurry around like ants and used the narrative to zoom in and offer some commentary before panning out and looking elsewhere. The story had the potential to be strong and well grounded, but meandered too much to really connect for me. Surely the present and past murders that are developed throughout have something that ties them, for that is the flavour that the narrative offers. However, nothing seemed to bring it all together smoothly for me. While some might say it is petty, I felt that Lehane did not use gaps in time effectively. Where some authors might use a set of asterisks or symbols to denote a delay in the narrative or even an empty line or two, Lehane seems to steamroll ahead two days between sentences. Yet, he does use the aforementioned ‘gap symbols’ on other occasions as well. This inconsistency left me wondering if the draft of the book was posted to the galley site before proofreaders or editors had done the job for which they are paid. I cannot be sure whether Lehane should be shamed on those who received payment for shoddy work. Either way, there is a glimmer of possibility here and I may return if a third novel surfaces, though I cannot promise to add it to my watchlist.
Kudos, Mr. Lehane for a valiant effort. The pieces may not have worked too well as a cohesive unit, but they were far from jagged and destructive.
Like/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/248185-a-book-for-all-seasons
vkemp's review against another edition
4.0
Raymond Ambler, a librarian at the 42nd Street branch of the New York Public Library is curating an exhibit, "A Century-and-a-Half of Murder and Mystery in New York City." Raymond is the archivist for the crime fiction collection at the library. But when another librarian is murdered in Raymond's office, he is again caught up in the investigation. Unfortunately, his police buddy, Mike Cosgrove, is frozen out of the homicide investigation, which has been taken over the NYPD Intelligence Department, in the person of Bradley Cooper. Also involved is Raymond's dear friend, Adele Morgan, another librarian who does not agree with the NYPD's theory that Gobi Tabrizi, a scholar reading Islamic literature at the Library, is involved in Leila's murder. And when Raymond uncovers proof that Leila may well be involved with a murder dating back many years that also involved NYPD intelligence, no one is safe. Superb plotting and entertaining characters are the hallmarks of this second entry in the series.