Customer Reviews

The Sign of the Book

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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

Mr. Dunning broke into ranks of top detective authors with Booked to Die and followed it up with the best Cliff Janeway, a bibliophile and a detective, book, The Bookman's Wake, a masterpiece.

Since then the downward drift has been very noticeable, although the non-series book, Two O'Clock Eastern Wartime, had a very nice premise with good writing spoilt by an implausible ending. The last Bookman was just so-so but this one is worse. The question is why? Mr. Dunning is a good writer, Mr. Janeway is a good man. It is the plot. I realize for Mr. Dunning fans, deservedly many, that does not matter. All these four and five stars! It is, however, dreadful. And the characters are corny and unconvincing. That's what kills the book ultimately. The ending is predictable but the hokey, soapy way it is presented makes it totally repulsive. Mr. Janeway's girl friends have . . just bad luck.

The story itself has nothing of note. A faint surprise from a Bibliophilic point of view, not much; so you learn signatures add to the value of books. Anyone surfing ebay or abebooks, knows that. There is a quality of derivation in the book, don't get me wrong, most American mysteries still follow in Hammett/Chandler footsteps; but it is done as if the author were writing in a trance, nothing clearly emerges. The atmosphere is flat and the people predictably inane, so that one is hard pressed to read on. . . at least with pleasure. Mr. Dunning's writing, not top-notch anymore, is high grade, and that keeps the reluctant fingers exercising.

Deputy Walsh is so badly drawn that it makes one cringe, especially what happens in the court room, later in the book. A Sgt. Holcomb gone insane.

Every scene is unconvincing; every situation is stretched, every person in the book is confused. We still love you but like the early season of the Yankees, deeply distressed at the level of play. Take a long break and come up with something fresher, which you are capable of doing.

THE SIGN OF THE BOOK about the former cop-turned used book dealer Mr. Cliff Janeway clearly is Mr. Dunning's best novel yet in this series. One would gather from this great thriller that once a cop, always a cop or something like that. Mr. Janeway gets right onto solving the strange murder of his silent partner/erstwhile sleeping companion's ex-boy friend who has become a collector of signed first editions. Mr. Janeway hasn't lost any of his temper, detective skills or his nose for smelling out a liar or has he?

The story progresses with much ease for the reader and goes down as nicely as a fine French pastry. Unlike some mysteries, you don't get a glimpse of the least bit of scaffolding here. There are of course tidbits about rare books and their prices that Mr. Dunning's fans anxiously await with each new volume. Janeway prices signed first editions of Capote's IN COLD BLOOD, Frost's IN THE CLEARING, Larry McMurtry's THE DESERT ROSE, just to name a few. These references blend right in with the story line, never becoming just literary trivia for trivia's sake. There is also quite a poignant reference to A FAREWELL TO ARMS near the end of the book.

Mr. Dunning also gives a very accurate description of the different kinds of judges-- the good, the bad, the ugly-- as well as good commentary about book fairs.

Given the nature of what Mr. Dunning writes about here, it is appropriate that he signed the dust jacket of this book-- or is that his signature? I'm sure I speak for his other fans when I say that we are all ready for him to sign all our first editions of his Janeway stories-- to increase their resell value of course but only in the estate sales!

Former Denver police officer Cliff Janeway has known his Twice Told Books bookstore partner, attorney Erin D'Angelo for two years so that he is capable of telling when she has something bothering her. He remains patient until Erin explains she needs Cliff to do her a favor. Laura Marshall is accused of killing her spouse and wants Erin to defend her. However, Erin informs Cliff she will never forgive Laura for stealing her lover who became her husband, but still the ethical side of her needs to know if Laura's confession that she killed Bobby is legal and true.

Cliff would do anything for Erin so he journeys to Paradise to learn the truth and offer some assistance to Laura's lawyer Parley McNamara struggling to overcome the confession. In the Western Colorado town, Cliff aggravates the arresting officer, battles with bibliophiles who behave more like mob goons than book lovers, and begins to wonder if one of the three Marshall kids killed their father as Laura never seems to fully cooperate with her defense.

THE SIGN OF THE BOOK is an excellent cleverly designed mystery filled with red herrings, and numerous twists and turns, but fans will still compare this to the already classic last year's THE BOOKMAN'S PROMISE, which few works can compare with. The story line is fantastic as readers go down a path thinking they know what will happen only to find a sudden yet logical detour that works quite well and is totally believable. The sidebars involving rare books are always a bonus, but that might be this reviewer's personal bias. The Bookman is terrific in this fine investigative tale.

Harriet Klausner

This one is well-written but ends up being ludicrous with too many plot devices and unanswered questions. POSSIBLE SPOILERS: how come it takes Janeway 14 hours to get to a mountain location and 14 minutes to get back to town? how does the killer manage to to get to the same mountain location and back without raising an eyebrow from her very close circle of friends? how does Janeway shoot the killer when his arm etc. are numbed by having been shot? how does rescue arrive so quickly to a mountain-top in a raging blizzard which shut down the town? how does the rescue team get the seriously injured to the hospital so fast in that storm?

Up to that climactic point, the book was a worthy read, but the relentless and dubious actions described above put a clinker in my enjoyment of the book.

This was my first Cliff Janeway book and I came away reasonably impressed by the plotting and the character development. Using the ex-cop turned rare book dealer concept is quite a literary twist. Certainly there aren't many hard-boiled bookmen around. It reminded me of the scene in "The Big Sleep" where Bogey feigned "bookishness" when using the bookstore as a source of information. Perhaps Janeway is a modern day Phillip Marlow.

However, I had one major complaint about the story. As I mentioned, this was my first Janeway novel and I knew nothing about the back story. I also assumed that unless otherwise noted, a book published in 2005 would be one of a contemporary nature. Therefore, I continually was wondering why Janeway had to use payphones instead of a cell phone. I rationalized this since the story was set in a small town in the Colorado Rockies, and maybe there wasn't good celular coverage. Then, almost three quarters of the way through the story, we get a hint that the story takes place in the late 1980s, ergo, no cell phones. It wouldn't have hurt to point out the timeframe earlier in the story.

Some years back, my local librarian alerted me to John Dunning and his Cliff Janeway series. I liked them a lot, but unfortunately he doesn't write often. Somehow the 2005 The Sign Of The Book got past me, and I picked it up. Very good read...

Cliff Janeway is a book dealer in Denver who retired from the police force to pursue his passion. His partner, Erin D'Angelo, is a practicing lawyer and his partner in the store. She asks him to do her a favor... A former best friend of hers is accused of murdering her husband in a small Colorado town called Paradise. Her and the friend had a falling out over the affair and subsequent marriage to Erin's flame years ago. The friend wants Erin to represent her, but Erin's not sure she can get over the affair (nor does she even know if she wants to). She sends Janeway up to sniff around and get a feel for the situation. It doesn't hurt that the dead husband had a large collection of books, and Janeway discovers that they are all signed copies worth considerably more than one might think. At first, the woman is claiming she shot the husband, but it looks really suspicious. Turns out she's covering up for the mute son they adopted. She says that Jerry, the son, shot the husband, and she wanted to protect him. Both Janeway and D'Angelo work with a local detective to investigate the case and turn up a large amount of local corruption and shadowy activity by the dead guy. But just when it looks like justice was served and all is well, the case gets completely flipped on its ear...

Taking out the book angle of the series, I'd still like the story and writing. Janeway is an ace cop who listens to his gut, takes no flack from anyone, and isn't afraid to play outside the lines. But as a book lover, the whole book dealer element adds a lot of attraction. And since the author really *is* a bookseller, there's a ring of authenticity that you normally don't get with this type of series. A fast, enjoyable read, and a series I'd recommend to anyone looking for a good crime mystery...

In an inventive, imaginative plot, John Dunning successfully combines elements from 20th century literary and film history into a tale of deceit and psychological manipulation. Each of the players in this intricate plot of murder is lying - but about who, about what? Cliff Janeway tackles the conundrum in his usual style - intelligent, canny, suspicious, and sometimes over-emotional - and nearly comes to grief himself. What makes him such an appealing kind of guy is his need to act on his principles, regardless of risk. An intriguing backstory, twisty subplot, and surprise ending make Sign of the Book another page-turner.