Over the years, I’ve enjoyed many of Otto Penzler’s crime and mystery anthologies. This theme anthology from 2017 features stories that involve books and bookstores. I really liked Loren D. Estleman’s “Book Club” where a book seller is murdered and a rare book is missing. William Link writes a pretty clever Columbo story in “Death Leaves a Bookmark.” Jeff Smith once took Jeff Meyerson, Andy Jayanovich, and me to THE BOOK THING in Baltimore (we were attending a BOUCHERCON). THE BOOK THING is a book store that gives books away. For FREE. Laura Lippman makes THE BOOK THING the star of her story of the same name. Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins send Mike Hammer on a search for a dead gangster’s “ledger” in “It’s In the Book.” Bibliomysteries ends on a high note with Nelson De Mille’s “The Book Case” where two vicious beneficiaries are involved in a murder that could make them millionaires. If you’re in the mood for stories about books and crime, Bibliomysteries will fit the bill. You can read my other reviews of Otto Penzler anthologies here, here, here, here, and here. GRADE: B
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION By Ian Rankin i
An Acceptable Sacrifice – Jeffery Deaver p. 1
Pronghorns of the Third Reich – C. J. Box p. 43
The Book of Virtue – Ken Bruen p. 69
The Book of Ghosts – Reed Farrel Coleman p. 93
The Final Testament – Peter Blauner p. 121
What’s in a Name? – Thomas H. Cook p. 151
Book Club – Loren D. Estleman p. 179
Death Leaves a Bookmark – William Link p. 203
The Book Thing – Laura Lippman p. 231
The Scroll – Anne Perry p. 257
It’s in the Book – Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins p. 293
The Long Sonata of the Dead – Andrew Taylor p. 333
Rides a Stranger -David Bell p. 361
The Caxton Lending Library & Book Depository – John Connolly p. 413
The Book Case- Nelson De Mille p. 471
Good one. I read this recently too, and I loved remembering our visit to The Book Thing while reading Lippman’s story. Jeff Smith told us the sad story of the fire in the store, but they are planning to reopen it (if they haven’t already). so maybe we’ll get another chance to go there.
Jeff, THE BOOK THING is a wonderful concept. With so few used bookstores left, THE BOOK THING fulfills an important need for that community.
OK, I checked. The store is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 to 5.
Book Thing.
Sorry, I messed up the link. Just Google The Book Thing of Baltimore.
A used bookstore just opened near me. But I am worried it won’t last. It was empty when I peeked in.
Patti, we’re down to a handful of used bookstores in our area. I try to support them as much as I can. We used to have over a dozen used bookstores just a few years ago.
I bought this was a pretty good anthology.
Rick, I enjoyed BIBLIOMYSTERIES, too. I’ve never seen a review of it, though.
And I always thought that where there are books no crime could happen! 🙂
Re book stores:
I’m in Germany right now in the university town of Tübingen (I often tell people it’s Heidlberg’s little, less well known sister – 90 000 inhabitants and 28 000 students) and even here ther are less book stores than some years ago and even less used book stores (we call them Antiquariat) …
It’s really sad but probably inevitable …
Wolf, ebooks and AMAZON has killed off most used bookstores around here.
I looked at the mini-review I wrote for myself when I read this book earlier in the year and liked the John Connolly and Andrew Taylor stories the most.
Kent, I enjoyed most of the stories in this collection.