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Book Club
Short tales about deadly books, by top mystery authors.
When a bibliophile is murdered, it takes a bookseller to solve the crime
Good Advice, New Mexico, is a sunny town with a gloomy bookshop. The store’s eerie corridors are the province of Avery Sharecross, an ex-cop who has made the transition from chasing killers to tracking rare books. One afternoon, the local sheriff interrupts his book club meeting, and Sharecross’s old career collides with his new one.
The area’s premier book collector has been found bludgeoned to death on the floor of his family library. A fifth-generation resident of Good Advice, Lloyd Fister devoted his life to books, accumulating a collection of local history that date backs to the sixteenth century. In his library, a single volume is missing: a Spanish book with a sinister past. Is the missing volume a clue, a motive, or a murder weapon? It will take a collector’s eye to decide.
When a bibliophile is murdered, it takes a bookseller to solve the crime
Good Advice, New Mexico, is a sunny town with a gloomy bookshop. The store’s eerie corridors are the province of Avery Sharecross, an ex-cop who has made the transition from chasing killers to tracking rare books. One afternoon, the local sheriff interrupts his book club meeting, and Sharecross’s old career collides with his new one.
The area’s premier book collector has been found bludgeoned to death on the floor of his family library. A fifth-generation resident of Good Advice, Lloyd Fister devoted his life to books, accumulating a collection of local history that date backs to the sixteenth century. In his library, a single volume is missing: a Spanish book with a sinister past. Is the missing volume a clue, a motive, or a murder weapon? It will take a collector’s eye to decide.
35 pages, ebook
First published May 1, 2014
43 people are currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Loren D. Estleman
314 books279 followersLoren D. Estleman is an American writer of detective and Western fiction. He writes with a manual typewriter.
Estleman is most famous for his novels about P.I. Amos Walker. Other series characters include Old West marshal Page Murdock and hitman Peter Macklin. He has also written a series of novels about the history of crime in Detroit (also the setting of his Walker books.) His non-series works include Bloody Season, a fictional recreation of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and several novels and stories featuring Sherlock Holmes.
Series:
* Amos Walker Mystery
* Valentino Mystery
* Detroit Crime Mystery
* Peter Macklin Mystery
* Page Murdock Mystery
Estleman is most famous for his novels about P.I. Amos Walker. Other series characters include Old West marshal Page Murdock and hitman Peter Macklin. He has also written a series of novels about the history of crime in Detroit (also the setting of his Walker books.) His non-series works include Bloody Season, a fictional recreation of the gunfight at the O.K. Corral, and several novels and stories featuring Sherlock Holmes.
Series:
* Amos Walker Mystery
* Valentino Mystery
* Detroit Crime Mystery
* Peter Macklin Mystery
* Page Murdock Mystery
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
July 15, 2021
A murder mystery so quick that it’s over and solved before you even have time to get excited about it. There literally was one option for a suspect. I understand it was a short story but it really could have had a bit more added in.
January 26, 2025
Two entries in Estleman's Murdock series, Cape Hell (the ninth in the series), and Book of Murdock (the eighth).
Cape Hell:
In this Heart of Darkness / Apocalypse Now homage, Deputy Marshall Murdock is sent to investigate a former Confederate officer who is now in the mountains of central Mexico harvesting opium and charcoal and building an army to take Mexico City, take control of Mexico, and then restart the American Civil War from south of the border. Most of the story is Murdock's trip riding on "the Ghost," the name of the train set up by his handler, an eccentric and duplicitous Judge, to appear as a vehicle for the Confederate officer to use in his coup attempt.
Verdict: I just don't like Estleman's prose or storytelling here. "Cape Hell" (2016) could have been a scary immersive McCarthy-style venture into some western cauldron of inhuman evil, or a sillier Boggs-style romp with quirky characters and mischievous mayhem, but instead is just tremendously boring.
Jeff's Rating: 1 / 5 (Bad)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13
The Book of Murdock:
An agnostic lawman named Page Murdock is enlisted by a Judge to infiltrate a gang of bandits that is operating in the Texas panhandle. When noting that this gang of bank-, train-, and stage-robbers can smell a lawman from a mile away, the Judge tells Murdock he has to pretend to be a preacher to gain their trust.
"The Book of Murdock" (2010) is the 8th in this series by Estleman and I've read a number of his westerns and mysteries but not one of these Murdock books. Even though this is a mid-series book, it is a stand-alone adventure and I didn't feel like I was missing any prior content, except for the inclusion of a female dalliance of his named Colleen whom he has apparently had adventures with in the past.
The plot takes some time to get going and you'll drift in and out of paying attention when Murdock is in a two-week catechism bootcamp, if you will, to learn how to pretend to be a preacher. It has a lot of the worst heavy-handed protagonist mockship of over-the-top proselytizing we get in the worst westerns.
Once the middle third starts and our protagonist is embedded in this place, he meets the main power in the region and that guy's wife (Murdock's former acquaintance Colleen). Murdock gets shot at a few times and the mystery ramps up.
Verdict: An okay western mystery.
Jeff's Rating: 2 / 5 (Okay)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13
Not really a fan of these, averaging a 1.5 rating, so I'll give the combo 2 stars.
Cape Hell:
In this Heart of Darkness / Apocalypse Now homage, Deputy Marshall Murdock is sent to investigate a former Confederate officer who is now in the mountains of central Mexico harvesting opium and charcoal and building an army to take Mexico City, take control of Mexico, and then restart the American Civil War from south of the border. Most of the story is Murdock's trip riding on "the Ghost," the name of the train set up by his handler, an eccentric and duplicitous Judge, to appear as a vehicle for the Confederate officer to use in his coup attempt.
Verdict: I just don't like Estleman's prose or storytelling here. "Cape Hell" (2016) could have been a scary immersive McCarthy-style venture into some western cauldron of inhuman evil, or a sillier Boggs-style romp with quirky characters and mischievous mayhem, but instead is just tremendously boring.
Jeff's Rating: 1 / 5 (Bad)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13
The Book of Murdock:
An agnostic lawman named Page Murdock is enlisted by a Judge to infiltrate a gang of bandits that is operating in the Texas panhandle. When noting that this gang of bank-, train-, and stage-robbers can smell a lawman from a mile away, the Judge tells Murdock he has to pretend to be a preacher to gain their trust.
"The Book of Murdock" (2010) is the 8th in this series by Estleman and I've read a number of his westerns and mysteries but not one of these Murdock books. Even though this is a mid-series book, it is a stand-alone adventure and I didn't feel like I was missing any prior content, except for the inclusion of a female dalliance of his named Colleen whom he has apparently had adventures with in the past.
The plot takes some time to get going and you'll drift in and out of paying attention when Murdock is in a two-week catechism bootcamp, if you will, to learn how to pretend to be a preacher. It has a lot of the worst heavy-handed protagonist mockship of over-the-top proselytizing we get in the worst westerns.
Once the middle third starts and our protagonist is embedded in this place, he meets the main power in the region and that guy's wife (Murdock's former acquaintance Colleen). Murdock gets shot at a few times and the mystery ramps up.
Verdict: An okay western mystery.
Jeff's Rating: 2 / 5 (Okay)
movie rating if made into a movie: PG-13
Not really a fan of these, averaging a 1.5 rating, so I'll give the combo 2 stars.
October 11, 2021
audio part of Bibliomysteries Vol 1
entertaining story given the task of developing a story centering on a book. Probably a star less if reading
entertaining story given the task of developing a story centering on a book. Probably a star less if reading
October 29, 2014
A short story about deadly books
May 5, 2017
4.5
I came across this short story when looking up Loren D. Estleman, for whom I'm currently reading my first western. It's a Bibliomystery, or Short Tales About Deadly Books. Although it was super short (35 pages), the story was still super fun. Mystery, murder, books...what could be more fun?
☆It has some fun quotes and a wonderful description of a dream library☆
*Upon discussing a John Irving book:
"It pains me to tell you that the dancing bear is just a dancing bear. There's one in nearly every book Irving's written. It's his trademark, like Poe's gloomy tarn and Ayn Rand's monologues."
*Describing a bibliophile's personal library:
"Mahogany bookshelves, intricately carved by a long dead Mexican Artisan, walled its seven hundred square feet all the way to the twelve-foot ceiling, holding several thousand volumes bound in leather, buckram, and parchment, all upright and level.... A ladder made of the same wood stood against one wall, fitted into a ceiling track that allowed it to move into position to retrieve books from upper shelves...desks of mahogany also, contained a...lamp and more books in stacks, and an armchair upholstered in maroon full-grain leather stood in each corner beside a tall reading lamp. The air smelled pleasantly of paper and leather in various stages of genteel decay."
I came across this short story when looking up Loren D. Estleman, for whom I'm currently reading my first western. It's a Bibliomystery, or Short Tales About Deadly Books. Although it was super short (35 pages), the story was still super fun. Mystery, murder, books...what could be more fun?
☆It has some fun quotes and a wonderful description of a dream library☆
*Upon discussing a John Irving book:
"It pains me to tell you that the dancing bear is just a dancing bear. There's one in nearly every book Irving's written. It's his trademark, like Poe's gloomy tarn and Ayn Rand's monologues."
*Describing a bibliophile's personal library:
"Mahogany bookshelves, intricately carved by a long dead Mexican Artisan, walled its seven hundred square feet all the way to the twelve-foot ceiling, holding several thousand volumes bound in leather, buckram, and parchment, all upright and level.... A ladder made of the same wood stood against one wall, fitted into a ceiling track that allowed it to move into position to retrieve books from upper shelves...desks of mahogany also, contained a...lamp and more books in stacks, and an armchair upholstered in maroon full-grain leather stood in each corner beside a tall reading lamp. The air smelled pleasantly of paper and leather in various stages of genteel decay."
August 6, 2021
Mysterious press put out this series a few years back, short stories, novelettes, or novellas that are mysteries about books. My library has 10 of them, and I thought while waiting for the Lansdale one to come in off hold, I'd try a couple by other authors I've never read before (which I think is the purpose of shared series/shared worlds, to get people to try new authors and perhaps become fans.)
This isn't very good, and as a result I won't be reading novels by Estleman. Of course, it's hard to write a good mystery short story (though somehow the digest mystery magazines find several by each time they go to press), but this was not very good, even accepting that difficulty. It was written with the novelist's attitude that there's time to describe setting and secondary characters and futz around, and in a story this short, there really isn't time to do any of that. There was one good line, so I'll give it an extra star for that.
This isn't very good, and as a result I won't be reading novels by Estleman. Of course, it's hard to write a good mystery short story (though somehow the digest mystery magazines find several by each time they go to press), but this was not very good, even accepting that difficulty. It was written with the novelist's attitude that there's time to describe setting and secondary characters and futz around, and in a story this short, there really isn't time to do any of that. There was one good line, so I'll give it an extra star for that.
February 18, 2024
Murder of a book collector
This short story by Loren D. Estleman starts interesting enough the murder of a local book collector
when the chief of police asks bookseller / former police Detective Avery Shawcross for help.
This could have been a great start for a series a crime solving bookseller and a police chief
the dialogue and the pace were moving great then suddenly it abruptly stops and wraps up the case way too quick
I realize it was a short story but a bit more drawn out would have been better
This short story by Loren D. Estleman starts interesting enough the murder of a local book collector
when the chief of police asks bookseller / former police Detective Avery Shawcross for help.
This could have been a great start for a series a crime solving bookseller and a police chief
the dialogue and the pace were moving great then suddenly it abruptly stops and wraps up the case way too quick
I realize it was a short story but a bit more drawn out would have been better
August 29, 2020
A reasonably entertaining Bibliomystery
Book Club is one of the briefest books in the Bibliomysteries series, but it’s a quickly and easy read. There is little suspense and nothing frightening in this murder mystery, but sometimes it’s good when a story requires minimal thought or effort to get through.
Book Club is one of the briefest books in the Bibliomysteries series, but it’s a quickly and easy read. There is little suspense and nothing frightening in this murder mystery, but sometimes it’s good when a story requires minimal thought or effort to get through.
March 30, 2023
A fun read
What tickled me the most was that the Book Club members were arguing about the merits of The World According To Garp... A book I positively hate! But the mystery was fun and a very quick read.
What tickled me the most was that the Book Club members were arguing about the merits of The World According To Garp... A book I positively hate! But the mystery was fun and a very quick read.
November 5, 2025
Delightful short story
A stolen book and a murder forms our story. A retired detective and current bookstore owner uses his knowledge of both to solve the case in quick time. An enjoyable read.
A stolen book and a murder forms our story. A retired detective and current bookstore owner uses his knowledge of both to solve the case in quick time. An enjoyable read.
May 9, 2017
Another bibliomystery - not the best.
January 24, 2019
Letto in originale: difficile..... Acquistato a New York al The Mysterious Bookshop. Ne valeva la pena in ogni caso.
June 9, 2019
I liked it. It wasn't great, but it was a good quick read.
September 25, 2019
Vivid descriptions of the setting and Avery Sharecross reminds me a little of Ellery Queen. Possible inspiration perhaps?
March 22, 2022
A fun read.
August 15, 2024
A very short and fast paced story about a murder and a very valuable and rare stolen book.
December 31, 2024
That's a lot of BS. Very disappointing.
April 16, 2025
This is a fictional short story. In this murder mystery, it takes a bookstore owner to help solve the crime. Recommended.
January 20, 2024
DNF.
Skipped this one after a few pages.
Skipped this one after a few pages.
December 10, 2015
VON JÄGERN UND SAMMLERN...
In einem kleinen Ort in New Mexico ticken die Uhren noch anders. Ereignislos und geruhsam verlaufen die Tage dort in der Regel, und das Aufregendste sind beinahe schon die Treffen der Lesekreise in der düsteren Buchhandlung von Avery Sharecross.
"Schon als das Gebäude noch leer gestanden hatte, war es dunkel gewesen und mit Moos überwuchert, anheimelnd wie eine Höhle. Doch Sharecross war es gelungen, es noch dunkler zu machen, indem er meterhohe Bücherregale aufstellte, nur ganz schmale Gänge dazwischen frei ließ und die Regale dicht mit Büchern bestückte, die zum Teil ebenso antik waren wie die Missionsstation selbst."
Doch Avery Sharecross war nicht immer der passionierte Buchhändler, als den ihn jeder in dem stillen Örtchen kennt. Eines Tages taucht Sheriff Dockerty in der Buchhandlung auf, um Sharecross um seine Unterstützung in einem Mordfall zu bitten. Denn Avery war lange Jahre ein sehr erfolgreicher Polizist. Und der Mord betrifft einen von Sharecross' Freunden, ebenso Sammler von Raritäten auf dem Büchermarkt wie dieser selbst, und eine deutliche Lücke in den Regalen voller literarischer Schätze lässt den Verdacht schnell zur Gewissheit werden: ein kostbares Buch wurde entwendet...
"Ich bin zwar Polizist, aber nicht bei der Kripo", sagte der Chief. "Das ist Ihr Spezialgebiet." --- "Ich bin schon länger Buchhändler, als ich je Kriminalpolizist war. Damals war DNA noch die Abkürzung für 'Darf nicht in den Arrest'.
Einen recht spannenden Kurzkrimi präsentiert Loren D. Estleman hier. Die Schlussfolgerungen des schon lange nicht mehr aktiven Polizisten Avery Sharecross sind bewundernswert, und seine bescheidene und unaufdringliche Art hat mir gefallen. Manche Sprünge in der Handlung waren mir ein wenig zu harsch, da hätte ich mir doch ein paar Seiten mehr gewünscht. Insgesamt aber war die Geschichte dicht und durchdacht, und die Beschreibung der Buchhandlung des ehemaligen Polizisten war sehr bildhaft - da hätte ich Spaß, einmal stöbern zu gehen...
Dies war Band 9 der Biblio-Mysteries Reihe (13 Folgen gibt es insgesamt), in der es immer um Kriminalfälle geht, die im Zusammenhang mit Büchern stehen: mit alten Büchern, seltenen Manuskripten, unschätzbaren Stücken. Und natürlich geht es auch um diejenigen, die sie unbedingt haben wollen: Buchhändler, exzentrische Sammler, Bibliothekare, Buchliebhaber - oder einfach: Leser.
Ich freue mich immer noch auf mehr!
© Parden
In einem kleinen Ort in New Mexico ticken die Uhren noch anders. Ereignislos und geruhsam verlaufen die Tage dort in der Regel, und das Aufregendste sind beinahe schon die Treffen der Lesekreise in der düsteren Buchhandlung von Avery Sharecross.
"Schon als das Gebäude noch leer gestanden hatte, war es dunkel gewesen und mit Moos überwuchert, anheimelnd wie eine Höhle. Doch Sharecross war es gelungen, es noch dunkler zu machen, indem er meterhohe Bücherregale aufstellte, nur ganz schmale Gänge dazwischen frei ließ und die Regale dicht mit Büchern bestückte, die zum Teil ebenso antik waren wie die Missionsstation selbst."
Doch Avery Sharecross war nicht immer der passionierte Buchhändler, als den ihn jeder in dem stillen Örtchen kennt. Eines Tages taucht Sheriff Dockerty in der Buchhandlung auf, um Sharecross um seine Unterstützung in einem Mordfall zu bitten. Denn Avery war lange Jahre ein sehr erfolgreicher Polizist. Und der Mord betrifft einen von Sharecross' Freunden, ebenso Sammler von Raritäten auf dem Büchermarkt wie dieser selbst, und eine deutliche Lücke in den Regalen voller literarischer Schätze lässt den Verdacht schnell zur Gewissheit werden: ein kostbares Buch wurde entwendet...
"Ich bin zwar Polizist, aber nicht bei der Kripo", sagte der Chief. "Das ist Ihr Spezialgebiet." --- "Ich bin schon länger Buchhändler, als ich je Kriminalpolizist war. Damals war DNA noch die Abkürzung für 'Darf nicht in den Arrest'.
Einen recht spannenden Kurzkrimi präsentiert Loren D. Estleman hier. Die Schlussfolgerungen des schon lange nicht mehr aktiven Polizisten Avery Sharecross sind bewundernswert, und seine bescheidene und unaufdringliche Art hat mir gefallen. Manche Sprünge in der Handlung waren mir ein wenig zu harsch, da hätte ich mir doch ein paar Seiten mehr gewünscht. Insgesamt aber war die Geschichte dicht und durchdacht, und die Beschreibung der Buchhandlung des ehemaligen Polizisten war sehr bildhaft - da hätte ich Spaß, einmal stöbern zu gehen...
Dies war Band 9 der Biblio-Mysteries Reihe (13 Folgen gibt es insgesamt), in der es immer um Kriminalfälle geht, die im Zusammenhang mit Büchern stehen: mit alten Büchern, seltenen Manuskripten, unschätzbaren Stücken. Und natürlich geht es auch um diejenigen, die sie unbedingt haben wollen: Buchhändler, exzentrische Sammler, Bibliothekare, Buchliebhaber - oder einfach: Leser.
Ich freue mich immer noch auf mehr!
© Parden
January 14, 2015
An Especially Fun Mini-mystery
These short mysteries come to us complements of Mysterious Press. Mysterious Press is the imprint associated with Mysterious Bookshop; (it bills itself as the country's oldest "mystery, crime, and suspense" bookstore). It's current digital project is the distribution of "bibliomysteries", which are short pieces, mostly written by established authors, and commissioned by Mysterious Press. There are stories by C.J. Box, R.L. Stine, Ken Bruen, Jeffrey Deaver, Mickey Spillane's estate, Laura Lippman, and so on.
This one is by Loren D. Estleman, probably best known for the Amos Walker series. This is not an Amos Walker short story, but rather a one-off story that undertakes to cram as much book-stuff as possible into the mystery. A retired cop, now a used bookstore owner, is called in to help solve the murder of a book collector and the disappearance of a rare book. It starts with the bookstore owner mediating a very funny and slyly satirical book club meeting and the book jokes keep up right to the final sentence. Estleman clearly had fun writing this, and while it observes all of the detective/mystery conventions, has interesting characters, and features some snappy dialogue, it is mostly just a fun piece of showboating. It is very entertaining and satisfying, and if you are a mystery lover who somehow hasn't heard of Estleman it should whet your appetite.
All of these bibliomysteries appear to be intended to be fun, quick samples that let you explore new and established writers through a brief, but complete, tale. I like them, and since many of the bibliomysteries are kindleunlimited freebies, I'll be trying a few more.
Please note that I found this as a kindleunlimited freebie. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
These short mysteries come to us complements of Mysterious Press. Mysterious Press is the imprint associated with Mysterious Bookshop; (it bills itself as the country's oldest "mystery, crime, and suspense" bookstore). It's current digital project is the distribution of "bibliomysteries", which are short pieces, mostly written by established authors, and commissioned by Mysterious Press. There are stories by C.J. Box, R.L. Stine, Ken Bruen, Jeffrey Deaver, Mickey Spillane's estate, Laura Lippman, and so on.
This one is by Loren D. Estleman, probably best known for the Amos Walker series. This is not an Amos Walker short story, but rather a one-off story that undertakes to cram as much book-stuff as possible into the mystery. A retired cop, now a used bookstore owner, is called in to help solve the murder of a book collector and the disappearance of a rare book. It starts with the bookstore owner mediating a very funny and slyly satirical book club meeting and the book jokes keep up right to the final sentence. Estleman clearly had fun writing this, and while it observes all of the detective/mystery conventions, has interesting characters, and features some snappy dialogue, it is mostly just a fun piece of showboating. It is very entertaining and satisfying, and if you are a mystery lover who somehow hasn't heard of Estleman it should whet your appetite.
All of these bibliomysteries appear to be intended to be fun, quick samples that let you explore new and established writers through a brief, but complete, tale. I like them, and since many of the bibliomysteries are kindleunlimited freebies, I'll be trying a few more.
Please note that I found this as a kindleunlimited freebie. I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.
September 13, 2016
I stumbled across this short story while looking for something else, and the line "Bibliomysteries: Short Tales about Deadly Books" -- and its price-- sold me. "Book Club" is a neatly crafted and swiftly moving tale that will please any book-loving sleuth. How could you not be lured in after reading one of the descriptions of the bookshop:
"Generations of children had dared one another to approach the place after dark, when the ghosts of William Shakespeare and Mark Twain prowled among the stacks (or during the day, when the proprietor did the haunting); none accepted. Even at high noon, a visitor needed a flashlight to explore the place without running into Thackeray or Gibbon and cracking a tooth."
I really enjoyed watching Sharecross spot evidence and put the clues together. Combine the little mystery with the author's obvious love of books, and this story is a winner. Moreover, like one of those late night commercials, you're going to hear me say, "But wait-- there's more!" This is only one of the short stories in the Bibliomysteries series. Others are written by talented crime fiction authors such as Anne Perry, Jeffery Deaver, Laura Lippman, C.J. Box, and Ken Bruen (plus others). I feel as though I stumbled upon a small treasure box of gems, and I fully intend to indulge myself by reading the rest.
I would recommend that you read "Book Club" (and the others) if you love books and you love crime fiction. These short stories are perfect palate cleansers between full-length novels, and they're also a wonderful way of test driving authors you've heard about but may not have read yet.
"Generations of children had dared one another to approach the place after dark, when the ghosts of William Shakespeare and Mark Twain prowled among the stacks (or during the day, when the proprietor did the haunting); none accepted. Even at high noon, a visitor needed a flashlight to explore the place without running into Thackeray or Gibbon and cracking a tooth."
I really enjoyed watching Sharecross spot evidence and put the clues together. Combine the little mystery with the author's obvious love of books, and this story is a winner. Moreover, like one of those late night commercials, you're going to hear me say, "But wait-- there's more!" This is only one of the short stories in the Bibliomysteries series. Others are written by talented crime fiction authors such as Anne Perry, Jeffery Deaver, Laura Lippman, C.J. Box, and Ken Bruen (plus others). I feel as though I stumbled upon a small treasure box of gems, and I fully intend to indulge myself by reading the rest.
I would recommend that you read "Book Club" (and the others) if you love books and you love crime fiction. These short stories are perfect palate cleansers between full-length novels, and they're also a wonderful way of test driving authors you've heard about but may not have read yet.
March 9, 2013
So it is no secret that I like the Bibliomystery series, but when looking at the stories available the author's name stood out to me. After a little digging I noticed that He has written a Sherlock Holmes pastiche. I am a big fan of Sherlock Holmes and wanted to give Mr. Estleman's writing a try before I dove into his version of Holmes. I was not disappointed, and now I am looking forward to picking up the two Sherlock Holmes novels he has written.
This is a great short story, This is about a little book club in a town called Good Advice, and in this peaceful town a murder is commented over one of the rarest books out there. Of course the Chief enlists the help of some of the members of the book club to help him solve this mystery since they would have more knowledge as to what might have happened.
I felt the story was a little to short and the ending was a bit rushed. I would have really liked to see this as more of a novella so there could have been more to it. The twist at the end was slightly predictable, but fun all the same. I did enjoy this story and I am so glad I gave it a read. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good, short mystery.
This is a great short story, This is about a little book club in a town called Good Advice, and in this peaceful town a murder is commented over one of the rarest books out there. Of course the Chief enlists the help of some of the members of the book club to help him solve this mystery since they would have more knowledge as to what might have happened.
I felt the story was a little to short and the ending was a bit rushed. I would have really liked to see this as more of a novella so there could have been more to it. The twist at the end was slightly predictable, but fun all the same. I did enjoy this story and I am so glad I gave it a read. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a good, short mystery.
January 9, 2016
Story involves a rich fella killed, and a stolen rare book. Chief police guy gets book store owner to help on the case since that owner used to be a police detective and there's this missing old book he can help with also. The action kept abruptly bouncing around and kept switching scenes without remembering to actually put a break between one scene and the next. Though I did notice at least one odd break in the same scene, one part separated by another by extra space. And one word went from often to of ten from an accidental extra space. Those things distracted me enough that I'm not really sure how I might have rated the story. In the end I gave it 3 out of 5 stars.
April 1, 2013
Set in a small New Mexico town, this tale begins when a wealthy book collector is murdered. It’s up to the town police chief, a former bookseller, to solve the crime and catch the crook. Against the backdrop of a heckling book club made up of hilarious small town characters with big personalities, Estleman delivers a delightful tale that vividly captures small town life and keeps the reader wondering about the significance of a very large and very rare book.
October 6, 2014
This is a short story, part of a series of short stories all featuring mysteries that relate to books. I checked it out on my Kindle.
It's a fun, fast mystery with characters that book lovers will enjoy, including a quirky bookstore owner that gets roped into helping solve the mystery of the death of a book collector.
If I'm in need of a clever, short mystery, I may check out another book in this series.
It's a fun, fast mystery with characters that book lovers will enjoy, including a quirky bookstore owner that gets roped into helping solve the mystery of the death of a book collector.
If I'm in need of a clever, short mystery, I may check out another book in this series.
April 21, 2013
This is a short story, which is fine but it felt like it was over before it started. I think part of the issue was that it tried to do too much character and scene description in the space given.
May 18, 2013
Just didn't capture my interest and too many other stories were calling my name.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews