A review by ruthiella
Booked to Die by John Dunning

3.0

This was a bit Chandleresque. I half expected a line like “of all the used bookstores in Denver, she had to walk into mine”. Considering the book takes place in the mid 1980’s, the hard-boiled aspects of the story seemed a little out of place. A personal vendetta costs Cliff Janeway his job as a homicide detective. So he turns to his second love and opens a used bookstore specializing in first editions and rare books in the slightly seedy area of Denver known as Book Row. But he can’t put his past behind him and when an old case resurfaces and becomes personal, Janeway sets out to catch the killer. It was fun to read about various books and their values. Personally, if I had a mint condition first edition of any book worth a lot of money, I would sell it in a heart beat and put the money towards a new car or having my yard landscaped or something. I do have to fight against my hoarder’s tendency to buy books; however, my interest is in the content, not the book for the book’s sake