There are whole categories of really fun mystery titles in which some other cultural element is brought into the story. Anne George was known for her “Southern sisters” mysteries, covering everything from snake handling to professional genealogy con artists in her books. Agatha Christie’s famous Miss Marple is a professional gossip and town figure who is able to solve mysteries due to her in-depth knowledge of the countryside and the world beyond.
In John Dunning’s series, we’re brought into the world of rare book collecting as his main character stumbles upon owning a bookshop. It’s fast-paced, sophisticated and very edge-of-your-seat. I loved stepping into the world of book collecting and meeting its many eccentric characters wonderfully portrayed in this novel. Dunning’s series lead, Detective Cliff Janeway, is fabulous, a noirish cop with a solid moral compass, even if his detective techniques are at times unorthodox.
I was excited to see that there are already a number of other titles in the Janeway series, all of them keeping the rare book theme in their titles.