Oxford Exit

Kate Ivory #2

by Veronica Stallwood

When novelist Kate Ivory is offered a special assignment by her friend at Oxford's famous Bodleian Library, she decides to accept. For the University's libraries have a serious problem: valuable books have been disappearing from their closely guarded collections. And the challenge for Kate is to find out how.
But the library staff view Kate with suspicion. And there seem to be so many ways the books could have been stolen. Then she begins to hear stories of an even more alarming disappearance of the year before—that of a young librarian subsequently found murdered. Could there be a connection...?
Meanwhile, someone else in Oxford is handing in disturbing essays for a creative writing class. Someone is about to confess, anonymously, to an appalling crime...

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction

308 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1994

About the author

Veronica Stallwood was born in London, educated abroad and now lives near Oxford. In the past she has worked at the Bodleian Library and more recently in Lincoln College library.

Reviews

[Eyejaybee · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I grow older, I find that an increasingly large proportion of my reading matter seems to be crime fiction, and I am always eagerly looking out for engaging new protagonists. Veronica Stallwood certainly seems to have delivered the goods in Kate Ivory (with a hint of metafiction, as the character is herself a novelist). The novels are set in Oxford, too, which is always a boon as far as I am concerned. That makes me all the more surprised that I hadn’t read these books, set and published in the 1990s, earlier.

I first encountered Kate Ivory in [Death and the Oxford Box], in which her participation in a scheme to help a friend recover some property from her estranged husband led to her involvement in the investigation of a brutal murder. Kate emerged from that with flying colours, and I was glad to take up with her again. In this book, she has been asked by her rather oleaginous former semi-boyfriend (the relationship is absolutely ripe for inclusion in what Facebook used to cover with, ‘It’s complicated’) to help investigate the apparent theft of valuable books from the libraries of various colleges and other august institutions around Oxford. As she sets about her explorations, she learns that an assistant employed at one of the libraries involved had been killed, with her unsolved murder deemed by one and all to have been the dreadful but random act of a lunatic. As Kate’s investigations into the book disappearances continue, she comes to suspect that the murder may be connected. This is a novel very much of its time, and the details that the writer and Kate provide about the databases being used now seem quaintly archaic. Fortunately, they do not intrude to any extent that detracts from the joy of the novel.

Stallwood writes with an enjoyably light touch, and as a character Kate is a very likeable (although a large proportion of the people whom she encounters throughout the book find it surprisingly easy to dislike her). For once in a novel set so determinedly in Oxford, academic life is largely excluded, and this is a welcome approach. From the very nature of her investigation, Kate cannot avoid some involvement with the gown, but she is very much on the side of the town.

To offer much more in the way of synopsis would be to risk strewing inadvertent spoilers, which I am reluctant to do. The plot is well devised, and advances through the medium of a journal written by the criminal. This is a familiar literary device, and can sometimes seem too contrived, but in this instance is given the twist of showing different literary styles, as its writer is attending a creative writing course, and adapts their style to reflect the steer of the latest tutorial.

[Ellen Marchessault · Rating 2 out of 5]

Apparently I first read this 8 years ago, back when I was really "into" library-related fiction/mysteries. Some people might be put off by the style of this book, with its alternating narrators, which were, truthfully, a little bit confusing. But at least Kate Ivory did survive to solve the mystery!

[Doreen Link · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anfangs fand ich die zwei Handlungsstränge verwirrend und nervig. Je mehr sich der Zusammenhang herauskristallisierte desto spannender wurde die Geschichte. Ein Stern Abzug, weil ich mich noch nicht an den recht einfachen Schreibstil gewöhnen kann.

[Roberta]

Not quite a 3 but not bad

[Bodies in the Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jo Webb mentioned this on Twitter as coming to mind when she read The Guardian article about the stolen gospel, 9 January 2019: https://twitter.com/jwebbery/status/1... Of course, I wanted to read it - a book, set in a library in which missing catalogue records were at the centre of the plot! Could not be more relevant to my interests.

The book was published in 1994, which means Stallwood was talking about the technology that was current when I started working in libraries as a cataloguer. As well as a nostalgia-fest for those old green screen machines, it brings back memories of those librarians, like Victor Southam in the book, who loathed them, and those, like Graham Kieler, who were able to make library systems a bold new career.

There are a few sly digs at librarians and cataloguers, but both Stallwood herself and her detective, Kate Ivory, worked in Oxford in those roles, so might be forgiven their somewhat cynical views. In fact, the handling of libraries as a setting and the catalogue as a crucial plot device are carried out so well and with such attention to detail that we can tell Stallwood put her former career to excellent use in her writing.

There are plenty of twists and turns, and just enough red herrings that one feels quite clever for guessing the murderer, if one does. And the characterisation and interplay between Kate Ivory and DC Paul Taylor is unsentimental enough that the budding romance doesn’t interfere with enjoying the murder mystery.

Five stars, would definitely recommend, and have still a few quotes from it to post to my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bodiesinthe...

[Joyce · Rating 1 out of 5]

I only read 50 pages and I have some biases that didn't help.

My main problem with this book (and the other I read by her) is that her characters are nearly uniformly unsympathetic, including the narrator/protagonist. And if you're going to have characters like that (Jane Haddam and Elizabeth George and Minette Walters do this well) then you need a compelling story that makes you want to see what's going on with them so that they are what they are and you continue with the story. Stallwood's characters are merely nasty.j

My bias comes in with the fact that I am a new first-time mom. I have a high sensitivity to child/baby endangerment/neglect. I cannot bear it right now. And I started to read this mystery when I was spending my first day away from my baby for an extended period (nearly 24 hours) for work, so I was already struggling with missing him terribly. The murderer (and I'm not spoiling anything here b/c he states he murdered someone right at the beginning of the book) is in a creative writing class writing presumably about his youth - and it begins with early recollections of being neglected. I couldn't bear to read it on the plane and nearly sobbed it was breaking my heart so. So I got to about page 50 and went to a newsstand and purchased a new book that had NOTHING to do with harming children.

So, you can ignore my bias if these things don't bother you, but be wary of the characters.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not yet at the end but close enough. It is excellent and I will rate it highly. In fact, anyone remotely interested in books and reading and libraries, regular or academic will thoroughly enjoy this 1994 crime tale by the clever Stallwood. Oxford Exit is a scam it turns out, a brilliant one, yes, in Oxford libraries as computers take hold of the system. It is a library scandal unfolding as books are stolen and cataloging fudged, books spirited away. Our intrepid amateur sleuth Kate Ivory, a fiction writer of historical books herself is a smart and sassy determined woman on special assignment for her library security pal Andrew to suss out the criminals. Story starts deliciously from the killers' viewpoint. Of course, there is someone dead who is somehow connected. Best of all, I found it on my own shelves and like serendipity, yet another library tale after Elizabeth Duncan's book just read!

[Richard Stueber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novelist Kate Ivory is hired in 1994 by Librarian Andrew Grove to track down why certain books are disappearing from Oxford libraries. She meets quite a number of possible local suspects and even takes a trip to California to track down some of the missing volumes.
Alternate chapters of the book are written by the chief villain of the piece Vivian Moffatt who is taking a creative writing course from a person who wants Kate Ivory to take over the course for her. Vivian is one of the individuals (under another name) Kate is looking into as part of her search. As well as Vivian, other individuals in Oxford are part of the book-stealing scheme.
A young woman named Jenna Coates had discovered what was going on and had been previously murdered by Vivian, so Kate Ivory is following up on that also.
Kate gets into a possible deadly encounter with Vivian. Do either one of them survive?

[Kirsty Darbyshire]

Christmas holiday reading.... minimal comments.

I read one of this series years back but I can barely remember it and I obviously haven't rushed to read the rest. In this one Kate Ivory, a novelist working in Oxford, is persuaded to take on some temporary work at the Bodlean and other libraries around the university to figure out who is stealing valuable books from them and how. The library side of the book is really interesting but Kate got on my nerves a bit. I've already taken another volume in the series out of the library to see whether Kate's as irritating in the other books as there was a lot I liked enough to try again here.

[Teddi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Truthfully, I found the two storylines very annoying and started only completely reading Kate's while lightly skimming the other. Definitely not a big loss to do so.
The author also takes for granted that the reader knows quite a number of frequently used British (yes, i had to look up what Radcliffe camera was) terms and acronyms used in the libraries, many of which I still have no idea about.
I'll try one more book and if it does something similar, then I'm done with this series.
On a high note, I was glad to hear that Kate might move house. I would never stand for noisy neighbors like hers.

[Lollyletsgo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very interesting if you work in a library or want to visit a time when libraries were transitioning to newer technology (some still are). The mystery itself is interesting in the way we already know how/why the murderer did it and what shaped them early on, just (and more importantly) not who the perpetrator is. Veronica Stallwood deals deftly with the psychological reasons for murder, and honestly it did leave me squirmy at the end...you’ll have to read it to understand.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate Ivory, a writer and sometime librarian, is hired to investigate some very clever book thefts from Oxford's libraries. Complicated plot, engaging protagonist, and the setting in Oxford -- no wonder I liked it.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Theft of books from Oxford libraries.
Author Kate Ivory hired as cataloger to solve mystery.
She also solves a murder and barely escapes being murdered herself.
Alternates with creative writing entries that describe crime.
Pretty good.

[Pat · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is very insulting to libraries and librarians. We are all shown to be "shy, wild animals," mousy, unfriendly, and stuffy. It is a mystery but is it necessary to paint every character with the broad brush strokes of possible guilt with no redeeming qualities? It all was pretty tedious.

[Ellen Marchessault · Rating 3 out of 5]

A must-read for all librarians! Unintentionally funny portrait of academic librarians. Kate Ivory (series amateur sleuth) poses as a cataloger to uncover the perpetrators behind the theft of rare books at the Bodleian Library.

[Windy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good episode in this amateur sleuth series which is humorous and dark at the same time

[Amber Polo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the use of retrospective cataloging as a plot issue.

[Eunira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mooched from Sy. Very interesting to learn about Oxford libraries.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. This was my introduction to Kate and the Oxford series. Fast paced, interesting and a wonderful setting for all literature lovers.

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than some of the earlier Oxford series.

[Dianne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange plot. Very hard to follow.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was very different from the first one in style and a little dark for me.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this really hard to read with the story in the story. It was dragging on, nothing happened, everything was theoretical, I just didn't get any excitement out of it and decided to put it away.