16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A splendid debut . . ., November 22, 2000
Have you made the acquaintance of Dido Hoare? If not, I highly recommend you do so straightaway. You won't regret it. Dido is a modern young woman, newly divorced, daughter of a former academic at Oxford (who seems to have had other assorted former careers, as well) who now owns an antiquarian bookshop in London's Islington area.
Coming home late at night after having purchased a privately-owned library some eighty miles from her home, she is menaced by a white car. Eventually, however, the other driver loses interest, and Dido arrives home, nerve-wracked but otherwise unharmed.
The next day, her father, Barnabas, recovering from serious heart surgery, receives an anonymous letter, and from then on, the pace never lets up. We meet several of London's other antiquarian book dealers, plus Dido's former husband Davey. Briefly, that is, for in just a few days time, Davey and the white car fall victim to a bomb.
The police officer assigned to the bombing, Paul Grant, bids fair to becoming an important part of Dido's life, if only she can figure out why Davey had to die. What does she have that she doesn't realize she has? Neither Davey's new friend, Ilona, nor his mother, Sally, are much help either.
One clue is a book about a possible forger. Or has the forger been forged? This is a wonderfully well-written book that works on several levels. I cannot recommend it highly enough to those who enjoy truly intelligent books. How can you not love a book that includes this line "She continued to watch her drink as closely as though she were waiting for it to change colour and play the National Anthem." You won't regret the acquaintance, I promise.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Death's Autograph, October 31, 2000
This first Dido Hoare mystery is the most complex of the four so far; but just as interesting and intriguing.
This novel starts when a mysterious white car follows Dido on her way back home from a book buying trip, late at night through the deserted M40 highway. Soon after Barnabas, her father, receives a mysterious postcard alluding to the incident. Next, Dido's ne'er-do-well ex-husband, Davy, turns up and tries to persuade her that she needs his help to maintain the bookstore. Then her store is burglarised. Barnabas is sure that Davy is somehow responsible for all these events but Dido refuses to consider that possibility. And then Davy's car is blown up with him in it. The police seemed stumped and cannot quite see the connection between all these events. However Dido comes to the reluctant conclusion that Davy was involved in some way. But how? And what can all this possibly mean?
This book is intriguing and complex and I think that if you have the patience to follow all twists and turns of the plot you will be more than amply rewarded. An amazing first installment of an equally amazing series.
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