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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A welcome addition to the Plumtree series, June 26, 2002
This review is from: Uncatalogued (Booklover's Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)
Once again Julie Kaewert brings us back to the world of Bibliomysteries and to the world of publisher Alex Plumtree. Readers of the series who have followed Alex's rise in the world of publishing as well as his blossoming love affair with Sarah will be delighted to see both his career and his personal life on the rise. Uncatalogued begins with Alex and Sarah deciding to elope and get married in America right before their college reunion at Dartmouth. To make things more interesting, Alex's college sweetheart calls to ask him for some advice on some historical papers she may have found in the newly acquired archives. For Alex, the invitation to look for lost and possibly found papers written by Samuel Pepys, 17th-century diarist and friend of the royal family, is too good to pass up as he is one of a select few Pepys scholars. He is also asked by the publishing society he belongs to in England to get these possibly incriminating papers back as they are rumored to contain some not-so-nice royal gossip that could do serious harm to England if it came to light. Fans of this series will not be surprised to read all of the twists and turns that this book contains - Alex and Sarah's near death experiences as well as the fun, historical references - even if the action is somewhat over the top - readers will find it all in good fun. If you pick this or any of Julie Kaewert's "Plumtree" books up and you won't be disappointed, more likely you will be hooked. Alex Plumtree is a bibliophile's dream come true. This is the sixth book in her series and I certainly hope there are many more to come.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Somewhat disappointing, March 9, 2002
This review is from: Uncatalogued (Booklover's Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)
Julie Kaewert's Booklover's Mystery series (the "Un" series) is fun reading on the whole, especially for those who are into British bibliophile mysteries and plots which are adventurous though quite unlike real life. Uncatalogued, number six and the latest in the series, is somewhat of a disappointment, definitely not the best yet. For one thing, the setting is almost entirely in the United States instead of England, which is fine in itself but is not in keeping with the charm and uniqueness of the series. For another, the plot unfolds very slowly. Also, the author's pattern of making modern day events in the protagonist's life mirror the contents of a rare book involved in the mystery is overdone this time as every chapter has multiple unlikely comparisons between the ancient writing and current happenings. And finally, the explanation of the mystery as it unravels seems to be very labored, some aspects of the explanation being repeated (unless I missed some subtleties along the way). The diary of the 17th century Samuel Pepys, whose writings Alex Plumtree did post-graduate work on, is rumored to have a missing section which may contain a story scandalizing the British monarchy. While Alex and Sarah are at Dartmouth College for their college reunion, they end up locating what could be this very document in some uncatalogued materials recently donated to the college library. They do what they have to in order to secure these papers for safekeeping since someone (with a British accent) has been willing to murder to obtain them. Back in England the queen has an accident and seems on the verge of death, some feel Prince Charles should not be her successor, and there are terrorist bombs and fires all over London, just like in the days of Pepys as recorded in his diary. Alex's life is endangered multiple times, once even being left for dead on an impossibly narrow ledge on the side of a mountain. Somehow, he and Sarah must find a way for the newly discovered Pepys diary pages to be saved for posterity without harming the reputation of the monarchy? I would not recommend reading this one as an introduction to the series. The main characters have been developed in earlier mysteries which means you miss a lot if you start with this one. I still find Untitled to be the most intriguing and fast paced of the series, and if a person were to read only one Untitled should be it. Uncatalogued, however, like the others, has both entertaining and educational elements, the latter due to the research and knowledge of the author in the realms of publishing and rare books.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Missed the Jubilee, January 26, 2002
By A Customer
This review is from: Uncatalogued (Booklover's Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)
Kaewert is usually convincing in making the reader believe she is a British writer writing from Britain, but this time she blew her cover. She sets the story in the summer of 2002, with the Royal family, and especially the Queen essential to the plot. Unfortunately, the hijinks she assigns to the Windsors would/could never take place at that time, it is the Queen's Golden Jubilee, with a myriad of celebrations and festivities promoting her Majesty and her family. It's too bad Kaewert doesn't pay closer attention to her supposed site. The Jubilee would have been a perfect vehicle for moving her plot, much more believable than the one she concocts. If this author intends to set her tales in a specific time, I hope in the future she'll check and see what's going on that might impact her plot, or that her chracters would reasonably be expected to know about and comment upon. That said, its a fair tale, but the weakest of the "Un" mysteries so far. Plumtree was more endearing as a bumbling loner than he is married to a spy.
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