The Sign of the Book: A Cliff Janeway Bookman Novel [Unabridged] [Audio CD]

John Dunning (Author), George Guidall (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2005

From New York Times bestselling author John Dunning comes a riveting new Cliff Janeway Bookman novel, combining captivating book lore with page-turning suspense.

Denver bookman and ex-cop Cliff Janeway is enjoying the good life, buying and selling the books he adores as he ekes out a living in his store on seedy East Colfax. And it doesn't hurt that superstar lawyer Erin D'Angelo has joined him as a partner in both business and love.

Erin is a special lady, so it's hard for Janeway to refuse her when she asks a favor. Will he travel to the little mountain town of Paradise, Colorado, to check on one of Erin's girlhood friends who's in deep trouble? Laura Marshall sits in the county jail, accused of murdering her husband, Bobby.

The situation is delicate because Bobby and Erin were a couple before he married Laura. In fact, it was Laura's affair with Bobby that ended Erin's relationship with each of them, and the women have been estranged ever since. Now Laura has called on Erin for help, but Erin's not sure she even wants to see her onetime best friend, let alone get involved in her case. Could Janeway visit Laura on Erin's behalf and try to find out what happened the night Bobby died?

The clincher for Janeway: Bobby Marshall was a book collector, and Janeway can't resist a house full of books any more than he can resist Erin's uncharacteristic request. His normally self-sufficient girlfriend is clearly at loose ends. He drives to Paradise the next day.

Janeway soon discovers that neither he nor Erin is likely to be able to save Laura Marshall. The young wife and mother is terrified of something and has already admitted to the arresting officer -- a smarmy local deputy with a huge chip on his shoulder -- that she shot her husband and then tried to dispose of the bloody evidence.

But did everything really happen as Laura claims? And what about the books? Bobby had a vast library, but at a casual glance, the titles seem ordinary, even to a seasoned bookman like Janeway. Could they possibly be a motive for murder?

Janeway, Erin, and local attorney Parley McNamara discover that the case against Laura Marshall is far more complicated than it seems. Professionally, Erin must decide whether to represent Laura; and personally, whether a decades-old friendship can be resurrected. Janeway wants to know the significance of Bobby's book collection. He senses their importance, and under his careful scrutiny, the rows of unremarkable volumes could reveal a killer's motive.

Rich with the intricacies of book collecting that only an expert like John Dunning can offer, The Sign of the Book is a beautifully crafted, enthralling novel of suspense from the consummate bookman himself.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As an antiquarian book dealer and sometime private investigator, Cliff Janeway is unique in contemporary crime fiction, and no doubt that accounts for a good part of his popularity among the book community. But it's the sure hand with which Dunning renders him (and a large cast of other characters) that makes the Bookman novels so compulsively readable. In this fine fourth volume in the series (after 2004's The Bookman's Promise), Janeway is sent, by his lover and partner, criminal defense attorney Erin D'Angelo, to the mountain town of Paradise, Colo., to look into the murder of Robert Marshall, a mysterious figure with a massive collection of signed first editions. But the connection to Erin extends well beyond Marshall's library: the victim was Erin's first real love, and his wife, Laura (who confessed to the crime when she was found at the scene, covered in blood), was her former best friend. Naturally, the antiquarian book world serves both as background and plot element, and Janeway combines his experience as an ex-cop and knowledgeable dealer to unravel the mystery. The book-related plot is somewhat arbitrarily grafted onto the main narrative, but Dunning writes with such confidence and assurance the reader cannot help being drawn into this compelling whodunit.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Bookmarks Magazine

In 2004’s The Bookman’s Promise, Janeway searched for a valuable book-and a killer. Here, Janeway explores the murder of a man with a valuable library. Dunning, also an antiquarian bookseller (www.oldalgonquin.com), is a bibliophile whose Bookman novels rise above the standard crime fare. This fourth installment updates readers on Janeway’s personal life and fills in gaps from the previous volume. The elaborate plot, convincing red herrings, and pitch-perfect dialogue eclipse the book’s few stock characters and unbelievable dream scene. Critics disagree on the role of books in the novel-one wanted more; another thought the rare-book dealing theme superficial. Either way, you’re in for a smart literary surprise.

Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Recorded Books (April 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1419338579
• ISBN-13: 978-1419338571
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 5.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #658,406 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Although I have been writing fiction since childhood (and publishing novels since 1975), it was BOOKED TO DIE (1992) that gave me the freedom to write full time. I have always written out of my own life. My Bookman novels came from my ongoing experience in the used and rare book trade, coupled with my life as a Denver Post police reporter in the 1970s. I have written five novels about my book detective, Cliff Janeway, including THE BOOKWOMAN'S LAST FLING, to be published by Scribner in May 2006.

We have lived in Denver, it seems, forever, though I am a refugee from Charleston, SC. I have also been a glass cutter, a groom at Santa Anita and other racetracks, a publicist for political candidates (which is the same general thing)and did a radio show for more than 20 years.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dunning's Fastest Moving - and Best, January 28, 2006

By 

Richard A. Mitchell "Rick Mitchell" (candia, new hampshire United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sign of the Book (Hardcover)

For those who have never read a book in this series (and this one stands alone just fine), the main character, Cliff Janeway, is a retired (for disciplinary reasons) Denver policeman who is now making his career book sales. In every novel, Janeway gets involved in crimes that include rare books. There are frequent references not only to particular books, but also the state of the industry (Dunning obviously hates the internet).

This book has all of Dunning's best traits at their best. The book and book-selling references are captivating. Cliff Janeway, his very human hero, has moments of hero and goat. The way that Dunning melds the bookseller's knowledge of books into the plot is terrific. The supporting cast is completely fleshed out. There are no cardboard characters here. The country lawyer is a loveable, easy to underestimate compatriot.

The plot has plenty of twists and turns. Although one of the plot's central "mysteries" is obvious, it does not detract from the overall plot for reasons that can not be told in a review for fear of ruining the book for readers.

What separates this book from Dunning's other Janeway novels is its pace. The book builds almost to "thriller" status while still retaining the cerebral nature of the good mystery.

Highly recommended whether you've read all or none of the Janeway series.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Book Lover's Mystery, September 25, 2005

By 

Gary Griffiths (Los Altos Hills, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Sign of the Book (Hardcover)

Authors have chosen some unusual backgrounds for their private investigator protagonists. But with the possible exception of Tim Cocky's undertaker-investigator, John Dunning's sometimes PI Cliff Janeway, who also happens to be a bookseller, is certainly unique.

"The Sign of the Book" is the fourth Janeway novel. Cliff Janeway, proprietor of a small used book shop in Denver, is called upon by girlfriend/lawyer Erin D'Angelo to help out her childhood friend, Laura Marshall, accused of murder. To complicate matters, the victim is Laura's husband but also Erin's former lover, before he was stolen away by Laura. Notwithstanding their personal rift, Laura would like the still-embittered Erin to represent her in the trial, so Cliff is asked to check out the circumstances before Erin decides if she even wants to see Laura again. Kind of like "Desperate Housewives of the Rocky Mountains." But thanks to Dunning's easy style and compelling dialogue, it works. While Laura has confessed to the crime, there are some obvious discrepancies between her story and the crime scene. And an unusual and very valuable collection of signed books in the Marshall home seems incongruous with husband Bobby's lifestyle.

It didn't take long to get thoroughly engrossed in this classic whodunit, while at the same time being educated in the rather obscure but interesting rare book trade. Close inspection of the plot may raise some eyebrows, but that is a very minor distraction to a tightly wound mystery with likeable characters balanced with sufficient action and suspense. All things considered, top-notch entertainment and a highly recommended read.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I really, really love Cliff Janeways' books. The ultimate in smart mysteries...., November 14, 2006

By 

K. L Sadler "Dr. Karen L. Sadler" (Freedom, Pa. USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Sign of the Book: A Cliff Janeway "Bookman" Novel (Cliff Janeway Novels) (Paperback)

Janeway has opened an entire new world to me. As an avid reader who has a book in almost every room in the house including the garage, bathroom, and who reads during ironing, doing homework, or waiting for sugar to boil for making English Toffee, I can almost assuredly recognize not only genres but also the various nuances within the genres. JUst as women in this day and age tend to head towards tough broads who can fend for themselves in a man's world, Janeway brings in a cop whose adoration of written materal causes him to leave his probably more steady job as a policemen, to enter the world of rare books. An occasional job will bring in enough money to support his chosen lifestyle for a while, but more than that, his introduction into the interesting and secretive world of bibliophiles. These books not only whet my appetite for this world, but also introduces me to both real people and real books that helped to shape our world from behind the scenes.

Janeway's current flame has an old friend (who also delved into books) killed, and she wants him to find out who did it an what t he motive was. In doing so he ends up becoming involved in his lover's old friends and flames, so of which should be left undisturbed. But Janeway never is one to back down from a fight over 'rights and wrongs', and he doesnt' do that in this book either. I get the feeling when I read other reviews that the readers want something less complicated than what Janeway provides. If uncomplicated is what the readers want then they should go to other books, becasue there are times in Janeway's books that you just have to go back and understand why certain things are said or done in a true historical background and reality.

I wish Janeway could write fast than he does, because I thoroughly enjoy these very educated mysteries, but then, if he did write that way Janeway would not be as enjoyable as he is.

Karen L. Sadler