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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Mystery For Book Lovers!, August 1, 2005
If you're one of those people like me that loves the smell of a new book, are picky about what you read, and find yourself organizing your books with your own little system, here is something special for you. John Dunning's work is much more than a mere detective novel. It is a novel of intrigue and murder amidst the book world, or more to the point, those who love books and spend hours searching the shelves of used book stores for a rare first edition.
Cliff Janeway is the Denver bookman and part-time detective who goes looking for a girl who may have in her possession a rare, and unheard of, Grayson Press edition of Poe's "The Raven." It is a book worth a fortune to those in the know. But things are not always what they seem and as Janeway tries to help the young and frightened Eleanor the story becomes more complex and dangerous. Dunning's mystery is exciting and compelling, peppered with insights and observations about books from a writer who loves and respects them as much as we do.
This is a book you will love and respect after finishing it. It is a wonderful and exciting read and Cliff Janeway can stand side by side with Travis McGee and Lew Archer in American detective fiction. We are treated to keen observations about humanity during this twisty tale of books and murder. Dunning uses the rain in Seattle and the snow in Denver for atmosphere and there is almost a wistful feel to the ending.
This was the second Cliff Janeway novel, "Booked to Die" being the first, and both are highly recommended. This is a smart read that will be enjoyed by anyone who loves books. If you like an intelligent mystery with sharply drawn characters and keen observations on our society as well, then this book is a must have for your library. A real treasure of a book about books that are treasures.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Janeway Is Back!, April 15, 2004
This review is from: The Bookman's Wake (Cliff Janeway Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
Book-collectors and lovers of cerebral mysteries have reason to rejoice. Ex-Denver cop and now bookstore owner Cliff Janeway is back and involved in an intrigue that gets more byzantine by the page. Mr. Dunning is even more ambitious in this novel than his first with a plot that twists and turns as Janeway sets out to pick up a young fugitive in Seattle. But that is just the beginning of a mystery that takes him back in time as he uncovers murder after murder in some way connected to a 1969 edition of Poe's "The Raven." At one point in the novel the character Huggins describes the writing skills of another character Trish Aandahl: "The woman is just a sorceress when it comes to words. There's a seductive quality to her writing that hooks you by the neck and just drags you through it. Just wait till you get started reading her book-- you won't be able to leave it alone." That could be a perfect description of the better part of this well-plotted book where only at rare times do you see Mr. Dunning's scaffolding. Of course there's Mr. Dunning's opinions about the book business that I completely agree with, for example, the "anal-obsessive who defaces books: "You find a grand copy of an old Ross Macdonald and open it to see that some fool has written all over it, destroying half its value and all of its factory-fresh desirability. Why is a book the only gift that the giver feels free and often compelled to deface before giving?" "Even worse than the scribblers. . . were the name embossers." Finally, Dunning takes aim at "the remainder goons at the Viking Press." I have never understood why people in the book business insist on those awful remainder marks either. I get the feeling they would be just as happy retailing toilet tissue if the profit margin were greater.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
with stipulations, this is a knock out of a great book, June 26, 2005
This review is from: The Bookman's Wake (Cliff Janeway Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)
Everything about this book is perfect... or one could say that if you were to look at it under a certain light. What came to mind time after time while I was reading `Bookman's Wake' was that film by Jean Cocteau `Orpheus.' I say that because in the movie Cocteau creates a surreal world where Poets are akin to rock stars, crowds of beautiful young ladies cling to successful poets outside of cafes. In `Bookman's Wake' Dunning creates a similar world where a specialty book publisher attains the same heights as the poets in `Orpheus.' Not that it would be a bad thing if this were really so, but it just strikes me as preposterous in today's world, and I had a hard time swallowing it as a focal point of this novel. I myself enjoy collecting contemporary firsts and understand a little of the book collecting world. Specialty/fine press publication books are kind of goofy novelties in my opinion and just my predisposition towards this medium left me a little jaded towards this book. You can find an actual master at arionpress.com. A place located in San Francisco, where you can get a tour and check out some truly remarkable books.
OK, with all of that aside, I have to say that everything else about this book really is perfect. It is one of the very best mysteries that I have read. It doesn't pull punches, doesn't go over the top, and it is more of a cerebral journey than a brain dead thriller. The character Cliff Janeway is a pretty interesting guy. And this is not the first in a series of books. I say that because usually you will get most of the character development in the first book. I have not yet read the first book, but was still sucked in by the protagonists deep character. The story does feel like a good Raymond Chandler book as some other reviewer put it. But if you have really read Chandler, you will see that it is not a rip off of that long dead hard boiled writer. Instead it is a modern homage of Chandler in many ways.
Pick up this book. I totally recommend it. I have read hundreds of mysteries and maybe only one or two were as good as this one.
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