Customer Reviews

Untitled: A Booklover's Mystery (Booklover's Mysteries)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

All right, I admit that I bought this book for the "Booklover" premise, being a true bibliophile myself. However, I read over 75 novels each year, many of them mysteries and so I have learned never to judge a book by its cover (or the printed endorsements on the back). So it was with some trepidation that I began reading.

In short, I was astounded! I found the main character to be quite entertaining, bringing a common man's attitudes to an unusual life situation. Not only does he know the Prime Minister by his first name, and is able to carry on an overseas romance successfully, we find out even more interesting aspects of his ancestors in this volume. The other characters are all intersting as well.

I always admire authors who can mix genres together and come up with a great novel. This book is a perfect example. Not only are all of the classic mystery elements here, but she also mixes in a fair amount of thriller action ala James Bond or Dirk Pitt. Our hero is even reported to be a mirror image of Pierce Brosnan. I admit that some of the action sequences are a little far fetched, but somehow, that just adds to the enjoyment of the roller coaster ride. Contrary to another review below, I did not see any strings left untied, except for the cliffhanger ending, which is sort of like the Lady or the Tiger variety.

All in all, mystery readers, thriller readers, book lovers, and just about everybody else will enjoy this installment of the "Un-books"

I read Kaewert's first in this Booklover's Mystery series and hoped that subsequent stories would show improvement. (Incidentally, the first one is Unsolicited, originally published in 1994, then reprinted by Bantam in 2000. Bantam would have you believe this is a new addition to the series when in fact it's a reprint of the first.) Untitled, the fourth in the series, is indeed much improved over the first. It is not slow in getting rolling and it has quite a complicated plot with twists and turns that leave you guessing. Just when you think you have things figured out, something is revealed which changes the picture again. The setting, with most characters and scenes revolving around the annual weekend gathering of an exclusive, high society British antique book collectors club at Castle Trefoyle, is definitely reminiscent of an Agatha Christie setting.

There is still too little in the way of British expressions and terminology used by her characters for them to be totally realistic, and one of the main characters, the protagonist's brother Max Plumtree, has an unbelievable character overhaul from book one. Also, a minor writing problem appears later in the story when the plot is disjointed in a couple of places. The ending doesn't explain or resolve everything, but this is obviously intentional and gives one the impression of being at least a partial lead-in to the next book in the series (Unsigned, which came out in January of 2001). The most unlikely, but still interesting, aspect of this story's plot is the tenuous nature of the relationship between the West, particularly England, and Iraq over the content of an antique book.

All in all, this is a good read, pretty much leaving you guessing to the end. Kaewert's series is better for this one and I will read more. I recommend it to British mystery fans, although it helps to have been introduced to the characters in a previous book of the series.

I enjoyed reading this book on the surface. In other words, it's a good, fast read - enjoyable prose and an interesting premise.

However, even though I enjoyed the story overall, found some of the historical information fascinating, and was very entertained by the plot and characters, at the end of the book, I was hopping mad because certain loose ends weren't explained, questions weren't answered, and odd situations weren't explored.

I went back and reread some sections FIVE times to try and find what I must have missed, but the answers just weren't there.

I thoroughly enjoyed Julie Kaewert's fourth book "Untitled." I too couldn't wait to finish the book - because I wanted to see how it turned out! I thought she did an excellent job weaving all the twists and turns of the book into an easy to follow and exciting story.

What constantly amazes me about Ms. Kaewert's stories is her ability to educate and entertain at the same time. You learn more about the "book world" and are entranced by a great mystery. How many book lovers wouldn't love to be in Alex's place and have a great old library full of unfound treasures? Okay, so getting thrown out of a yacht and out of a helicopter could have its draw backs... But the excitement of finding not only a special book, but also unknown history of your family is wonderful.

My only complaint of the whole book is ... NOW I WANT THE NEXT ONE! While I like outdoor activities, CLIFF HANGING is NOT one of them! Julie, if you read this. Please, please, please, drink some expresso and get writing! While, I'm waiting, I'll just have to have another look around this old house of mine. Hello, what's this behind my bookcase? Is it? Could it be? Drat! Just another book of the month . . . "It takes a village ..." I think we'll just leave this one hidden, the worlds got enough problems.

Buy it, read it, enjoy!

In this third outing for Alex Plumtree, the owner of the Plumtree Press, he is invited to join the Dibdin Club just after finding a 15th century book hidden in his estate's library. But the book is stolen before he can enjoy it and the hunt is on.

While Kaewert writes well, there was just too much to this book. Too many subplots, too many characters, too many agendas, too many attempted murders, too many coincidences, etc. Kaewert did well in keeping everything straight, but all that detracted from the mystery and the ending was too pat.

I'll try the next in the series as well, but if the author continues to overwrite her books, I'll move on to another series with an author who can tell a good story in terser language.

Plausible - no. Entertaining - yes. It's not great literature, or even a great mystery, but Untitled is a fun romp full of adventure and incredible near misses. Think Indiana Jones in spirit, although Alex Plumtree is definitely no Indiana Jones. Enough plot twists and red herrings to keep you guessing. If you approach it from that angle, you'll have a good time; Kaewert is a literate writer, unlike many in the genre. Enjoy the ride!

As a fan of "books about books", I was excited to discover the existence of Kaewert's series. "Untitled" is jam-packed with literary allusions and plot twists, making it eminently readable. Be forewarned that it crams a slightly excessive number of plot twists into its pages--it may be difficult to figure out the motivations behind all the characters' actions.

A helpful hint: Buy the sequel once you start getting near the end of this one. I sincerely hope that it resolves the cliff-hanger ending of this title!

The author has a good idea going in the "Un-" series, but she needs to give Alex Plumtree, the main character, a bit of a backbone. It's hard to beleive his motivation a lot of the time, especially when things are going tragically wrong. She seems to want to make him both highly ethical and verrrrrry sensitive (viz. his relationship with and oft repeated desire to marry Sarah) but enough angst already! In the Saint mysteries by Leslie Charteris, a female character outsmarts the bad guys by refusing to get in a cab (sent by the baddies) but allegedly from Simon Templar. To move the story ahead, Julie always has Alex always get in the cab.

Kaewert's protagonist Alex Plumtree negiotiates between two worlds--the aristocracy and the modern day world of book publishing. Alex and his brother discover a rare old book in their private library, which leads them into an exciting adventure of thieves, would-be murders and an exclusive elitist bookclub. Kaewert writes a mystery that cannot be put down. The author's knowledge of book publishing and rare books provides an educational as well as believable text. Reading this book left me desperate to read her next book.

A mystery involving secret passages, secret societies, and secret legacies--plus a cast of sarcastic, voracious bibliophiles--would seem to make for an excellent read in any sub-genre, whether as a traditional cozy or a suspenseful thriller. This book, however, veers, none too successfully, from scenes of social farce to moments of (would-be) nailbiting action, as though the author weren't sure which book she wished to write and decided, with her deadline approaching, to lump the two texts together.

The hero, unfortunately, isn't nearly as imperfect as the book, complicating one's ability to simply get lost in the plot. Not only does Alex Plumtree love his job-- managing his family's publishing firm-- he also manages to maintain a passionate transatlantic romance with his fiancee, Sarah (an investment banker), enjoys a first-names relationship with the prime minister, and was once an amateur skiing gold medalist. The half-British, half-American Ivy League graduate even bears a striking resemblance to Pierce Brosnan. And though Alex, who narrates "Untitled," continually draws attention to his refusal to become immodest, this device becomes irritating rather than endearing, especially once he sets out to save the free world (luckily, the Iraqi negotiator who shows up towards the end of the book is an old university chum).

The drama plays itself out on the grounds of a beautiful estate in Cornwall among a cast of English aristocrats as imagined, perhaps, by Danielle Steel. As a publisher, Alex just barely escapes the stigma of being "in trade," but his presence among the blue blood characters is as close to diversity as this ostensibly modern novel gets: the Britain seen here would scarcely be recognizable to Ruth Rendell, or even Elizabeth George and Martha Grimes. Eventually, the plot somehow manages to embrace Muslim fundamentalists, a U.N. Secretary General whose first name is Dofi, sinister helicopters, a hidden globe collection, and a Renaissance-era version of the secret decoder ring. By the time Alex has landed on a TV talk show to explain the "Order of the Bedchamber"'s effect on his private life, one can't help wondering if there isn't a particularly pernicious conspiracy at work, for it was about then that I found myself compelled to finish "Untitled" as quickly as possible in order to get it over with.

These problems are regrettable because, detached from the overwrought espionage story, certain elements of the plot--particularly the recurring motif of Bocaccio's Decameron, as well as its revelations about the lore of incunabula--would have made for a more entertaining story. Alex's reaction to the melancholy events that conclude "Untitled" is strikingly unemotional, but the last bits of plotting indicate that, if nothing else, the author has the ability to counterpoint farce with tragedy. Perhaps this tension will be more fully developed in her next work.