Unbound (Booklover's Mysteries) [Mass Market Paperback]

Julie Kaewert (Author), Julie Wallin Kaewert (Author)

Book Description

Series: Booklover's Mysteries | Publication Date: November 3, 1997

England's prestigious Plumtree Press is about to release a shocking book that exposes coded messages in a famous novel--codes alleged to be printer's errors. The messages are so treacherous, that if discovered at the original time of publication, the author would have been hung for treason. Now, with someone ruthlessly trying to keep this revealing expose out of stores, Alex Plumtree must protect his star author and family's legacy before the phrase "publish or perish" becomes all too real! Ads in "Mostly Murder". Online promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Alex Plumtree, a rare book collector, runs the family publishing business in London (see Unsolicited, St. Martin's, 1994). His firm's newest fiction title, based by author Angela Mayfield on her dissertation, claims that Bloomsbury writer Marcus Stonecypher coded treasonous messages in his works. Once word of the book leaks out, disturbing events occur: threats, thefts, surveillance, sabotage, and attempted murder. Alex and Angela suspect an elite group of book collectors but cannot figure out why they feel threatened by the Stonecypher code. Kaewert's finely crafted prose creates a heady mix of suspense, romance, and mystery?all within a rarefied world of book collecting and restoration. Although published only in paper, this belongs in all fiction collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 444 pages
• Publisher: Crimeline; Reprint edition (November 3, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553577158
• ISBN-13: 978-0553577150
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #681,901 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievably fun!, November 30, 1999

By 

Karen Bierman Hirsh (Greenwich, CT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unbound (Booklover's Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

If you are a fan of bibliomysteries as I am - then read this fabulous mystery - even if you simply enjoy a good read you will enjoy Julie Kaewert's series featuring Alex Plumtree.

While some of his expolits are admittedly over the top -they are still fun and well written. This books plot is fabulous - weaving history (real and fictional), legend and laughter together for an unforgetable ride!

Enjoy all of the twists and turns in this and her other Alex Plumtree books - Unprintable and Untitled (Unsolicited is going to be reissued). Also, if you are a fan of

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unquestionably a best-seller, hard to put down!, March 9, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Colorado) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unbound (Booklover's Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

I am an avid reader of mysteries and have nothing but praise for Kaewert's second book. "Unbound" is written on a much higher level than most mysteries. There is plenty in "Unbound" that is educational as well as recreational. The reader learns about book publishing and book collecting, while at the same time enjoying a classic page-turner mystery. Additionally, "Unbound" has received nothing but great reviews from numerous friends of mine. Several enjoyed it so much that they were determined to track down Kaewert's first book "Unsolicited" in order to enjoy this series from the beginning. "Unbound" is a great read; I hope Alex and Plumtree Press are around for a long time to come. Both "Unbound" and its predecessor "Unsolicited" are Unforgettable and it would be most Unfortunate if you miss them.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More than a mystery, August 14, 2001

By 

ctdak (Alaska USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unbound (Booklover's Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

Unbound is the second in Julie Kaewerts Un series of mysteries in a British publishing and rare book collecting milieu. Ive read 4 of the 5 now (albeit out of order), and have finally come to realize that this series needs to be critiqued almost more as one of drama and adventure, not just mystery (not to mention a fairly strong romantic element involving the main character, which could be nicely omitted without being missed). Neither are these simply who-dun-it mysteries.

As a drama or adventure story, Unbound gets pretty high marks, but the mystery element gets less attention than I would prefer. The story begins with protagonist Alex Plumtree being invited onto the board of the Folio B society, a society for the preservation of publically-owned rare British books, but from the beginning theres something remiss about being given this honor. A secret society, the Bibliati, which turns out to be mostly a subgroup of Folio B, consists of an unscrupulous lot who will stop at nothing to steal and/or fabricate rare books, then sell them for ill-gotten gain. The Bibliati also has a political agenda which revolves around doing away with the monarchy, and to this end they promote revisionist history to make royalty look bad.

Another main aspect of the plot involves a new author about to be published by Plumtree Press for her first novel, a fictional but fact-based account of the life of Marcus Stonecypher, a British writer of great fame. She has discovered that four of Stonecyphers early 19th century books contain purposeful misprints, which when strung together spell out a radical political philosophy. Someone doesnt want her book published. An attempt is made on her life, and soon thereafter Alexs life is almost ended more than once as well. The really ironic thing is that Unbound itself has at least a dozen obvious misprints of its own! This book was poorly proof-read before it went to press. And, no, I dont think they would form a sentence if these misprints were strung together! (This is all the more ironic since this is the only book in the Un series that contains numerous misprints.)

In this book, more than the others in the series, the reader is taught a lot about the world of rare books. Kaewert has obviously done considerable research in this area, and in the historical context for this story. In spite of the misprints, some extraneous non-mystery elements, and a somewhat protracted story line, I still find this story (and the others in the Un series) to be worth the read. British mystery fans and bibliophile types should enjoy it.