Reviews

The Caxton Private Lending Library & Book Depository by John Connolly
★★★☆☆

The Compendium of Srem by F. Paul Wilson
★★★★☆

The Mysterious Disappearance of the Reluctant Book Fairy by Elizabeth George
★★☆☆☆

The Book of Ghosts by Reed Farrel Coleman
★★☆☆☆

The Scroll by Anne Perry
★★★★☆

Reconciliation Day by Christopher Fowler
★★★☆☆

knitsandnovels's review

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

me2brett's review against another edition

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4.0

For me, a somewhat uneven collection of short stories. These are "stories of crime" - some are more thriller than mystery (the former is less to my taste). In addition, there's a whole swath that all somehow involve the party in power in 1930s/40s Germany, and they are all clumped together, one right after the other. I did greatly enjoy some of the other short stories, later in the book, especially Estleman's Book Club and Lippman's "Library Thing".

zabacitanovine's review against another edition

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DNFed

I really tried, but this book didn't fit with me at this point.

The concept was interesting and I hope to come back to it one day, but I couldn't make myself go further with it at this point.

lissalibrarian's review against another edition

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4.0

This collection has some great and not-so-great short stories in it. There's one in particular that I will forever remember about the Secret Library of Fictional Characters with first editions that could alter all copies of that book in the world. That was an amazing story.

amyl88's review against another edition

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4.0

In most short story collections, there are losers and winners. This one is a pretty even collection, in my opinion. Even my least favorite, "The Book Case" by Nelson DeMille, is not a badly written story. I just REALLY didn't like the narrator. He's an asshole and if he has his own series, I'll be passing on that one. (UPDATE: It's John Corey, and yes, he has his own series. And yes, GR reviews seem to indicate he's a jerk.)

I think my favorite is David Bell's "Rides A Stranger," in which a grown son learns a lot about his deceased father.

There are some established characters - a story featuring Columbo, and one with Mike Hammer.

There are 2 or 3 stories that have supernatural elements; the rest are straight crime/mystery fiction. But all stories in this collection are centered around books: books, bookstores, libraries, book clubs, readers, authors.

Truly enjoyable collection; I will be looking for the next compilation.

andyn5's review against another edition

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5.0

This collection is the perfect read for lovers of books and mysteries. What can be better than murders themes around books?

These 15 short stories were written by distinguished mystery writers and they make every story count. The editor Otto Penzler put together an anthology of crime between books that fill fit the likes of most readers. From hidden messages inside old books, a deadly bookseller and the deep secrets a library might hide, make this book impossible to put down.

Each storyline is different but they all have something in common: books. The title was definitely well picked and it describes perfectly its content. All the stories take place in modern times and they all involve different types of books or characters related to books like booksellers, book collectors, books privately owned, public displayed books and even an old scroll. Even though most of the stories can be classified as thriller/mystery, some of them have a fantasy touch to them and one fits in the fantasy genre completely.

The authors with stories on this collection, by order of appearance, are:

Jeffery Deaver - "An Acceptable Sacrifice "
C.J. Box - "Pronghorns of the Third Reich"
Ken Bruen - "The Book of Virtue"
Reed Farrel Coleman - "The Book of Ghosts"
Peter Blauner - "The Final Testament"
Thomas Cook - "What's In A Name? "
Loren D. Estleman - "Book Club"
William Link - "Death Leaves A Bookmark"
Laura Lippman - "The Book Thing"
Anne Perry - "The Scroll"
Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins - "It's In the Book"
Andrew Taylor - "The Long Sonata of the Dead"
David Bell - "Rides A Stranger"
John Connolly - "The Caxton Lending Library & Book Depository"
Nelson DeMille - "The Book Case"

The editor Otto Penzler did a great job putting this anthology together. All the authors have different styles of writing, different ways of describing and interaction with the reader which is very refreshing when you’re jumping from story to story. Some of the authors I’m familiar with and it was a treat to read some short works from them, like Jeffrey Deaver, Thomas Cook and John Connolly. Additionally, discovering other authors just made my to-read list a bit longer for next year.

I absolutely recommend this anthology to all the fans of murder mysteries and books. These great authors write great stories and getting to know other creators of this genre might help you discover some great books you haven’t read yet.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher Pegasus Books and the editor for allowing me to read and review a digital copy of this book.

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