The Library Paradox

Cambridge Mysteries #3

by Catherine Shaw

When three somber scholars knock on the door of her family home, Vanessa is presented with perhaps her most puzzling case yet.Professor Gerard Ralston, Head of the History Department at King's College, London, has been shot dead in his study. As the only suspect left the building a matter of seconds before the shot was heard, and with witnesses testifying that no one left the building after the shot rang out, all are perplexed as to how the killer could have escaped. Vanessa must use all her logic and intuition in order to solve the paradox of a seemingly impossible murder.

Genres: Mystery, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, 19th Century, Crime, Victorian

384 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2006

About the author

CATHERINE SHAW is a pseudonym used by Leila Schneps. She is a mathematician and academic and writer of murder mysteries. She lives in Paris, France.

After taking an undergraduate degree in pure mathematics at Harvard University, Leila Schneps moved to France definitively in 1983, where shortly after obtaining her Ph.D., she was hired by the French National Scienctific Research Centre as a researcher in mathematics. Over twenty years of doing maths, teaching, and mentoring graduate students, her interests have widened far beyond the horizons of pure algebra to aspects of mathematics - such as probability and statistics- that play a more visible role in the world around us, and to the way in which people absorb, reject or react to mathematics.

At the same time, a lifelong passion for mystery stories led Leila to try her hand at writing one herself, eventually leading to a series of "Cambridge Mysteries" published by Allison & Busby.

Reviews

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 stars - English Ebook

Cambridge, 1896. Motherhood and private detecting don't easily go hand in hand, but even with two small children Vanessa Weatherburn still manages to indulge her passion for solving mysteries. When three sombre scholars knock on the door of her family home, Vanessa is presented with perhaps her most puzzling case yet.

Professor Gerard Ralston, Head of the History Department at King's College, London, has been shot dead in his study. As the only suspect left the building a matter of seconds before the shot was heard, and with witnesses testifying that no one left the building after the shot rang out, all are perplexed as to how the killer could have escaped.

Vanessa must use all her logic and intuition in order to solve the paradox of a seemingly impossible murder.

This book is set in London in the late 1800's. It focuses on a amateur female detective, Vanessa Duncan, now married with 2 small children.

I didn't realize when I got it that it was part of a series, and is actually the third book. Nonetheless, it was easy to follow the actual mystery. A professor, who lived in an apartment above the library, was murdered in his study.

Witnesses outside heard a struggle and the shot, but found no one inside. Vanessa must find out who might have murdered the man, who was an ardent anti-Semitic. Was it the mysterious elderly Hasidic man, or someone else.

Vanessa is aided by a former pupil and her friends, who are Jewish and give her an inside look into the London Jewish community.

The Library Paradox is presented which was an actual logical puzzle proposed by Bertrand Russell. In the end, I figured out the outcome, but the reasoning behind it was interesting.

I did go back and get the earlier books in the series.

[Jeanine · Rating 3 out of 5]

https://watleestjeanine.wordpress.com...

[Betty · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is interesting in that it is a work of fictional mathematical mystery. That said, it is a murder mystery with a substantial history of the Jewish community, particularly in East London, in the 19th century. Catherine Shaw has done a great deal of research into this time period. Here we have a heroine very much ahead of her time, Vanessa Weatherburn, a young mother of two toddlers who is also an amateur detective. Fans of Anne Perry’s Charlotte Pitt series will relate to this character who has an ability to mix and mingle while collecting information.

The Library Paradox is not just the title of the book, it is an actual mathematical paradox concerning a catalogue of catalogues. In this case, the book title also represents the fact that the murder took place in a library and paradoxically no one could have done the crime. The murder victim is a fiercely, almost insanely anti-Semitic professor of high standing. With no witnesses to the actual murder but 3 witnesses to the aftermath and one person on the walkway heading the other direction when the shot was heard, no amount of tests of timing could put any of them on the spot at the exact moment of the shooting. The professor himself had an exceptional number of enemies, and therein lies the dilemma of discovering a suspect.

In the course of events, many real crimes against Jews are mentioned, including the Dreyfus Affair, famous in French history, and it is soon discovered that the professor had a hand in the conviction of two Jews in the "ritual" murder of an 11 year old boy, James Wilson. There are several seemingly unrelated issues throughout the book, but it holds itself together. The segments pertaining to tracking down an elderly rabbi, or rebbe as the Hasidic community refers to him, is quite entertaining in an odd way. Did I like the book? Yes, I enjoyed it enough that I would read another of Catherine Shaw’s books, but I personally felt it was a little dragged out in spots, particularly at the beginning, but it took all my attention once the actual drama began. Still, I recommend it for its adventures into a time and place we do not often hear about, and for a sound and satisfying mystery.

[Deanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Preferred this method of recounting the story as opposed to the use of letters from Vanessa to Dora.
This time Vanessa is in London, trying to track down the killer of a professor, a deeply unpleasant man. There are problems to solve, witnesses to find and suspects to discount.

[KL Caley · Rating 3 out of 5]

📖 In Cambridge 1896, a professor is shot dead in his study. The only suspect was seen leaving the building a number of seconds before the shot was fired, and the witnesses testify no one else left the building after the shot. How could the killer have escaped? Venessa Weatherburn is asked to look into the case.

✍️ Firstly, I had not realised this was book 3 in a series so perhaps may have enjoyed it a little more being armed with that info. The book intrigued me from the offset. A historical murder mystery with the detective not being a middle-aged man (or older widow) but a young married mother with two young children of her own. It seemed intriguing. The reality of the story is she drops the kids off at her sister's and then pretty much forgets about them.

🗣 I often think it’s useful to see an extract of a book to get an idea of the writing style. Here is a brief extract so that you can see a sample of the writing yourself:

‘I don’t know, though,’ he said. ‘People tell stories around here all the time, and Peretz’s latest can always be counted upon to get a lot of appreciation. Peretz is one of our great Yiddish authors,’ he added, turning to me. Reaching up to a shelf, which held a pile of papers and well-thumbed tomes, he took down some old newspapers and glanced through them. I looked eagerly over his shoulder, but found myself confronted with Hebrew characters, as illegible to me as if I were staring at a blank wall.
‘You won’t be able to read this,’ he said, smiling. ‘Anyway, I don’t think I have the story here, as it only just came out. Listen, I’ll find it and translate it for you, and send one of my brothers to bring it over to you tomorrow. I don’t know what conclusions you’ll be able to draw from it; probably none.’
‘I would very much like to read the story, nevertheless,’ I said.

👓 The story is all told from Vanessa’s viewpoint (written as a memoir/diary style) and whilst at times she is an interesting character, strong-willed, questioning but approachable, the book tends to drift off into large amounts of mathematical theory. Some of which is relevant to the story but the majority just seemed to be page fillers and I found myself glossing over to try to get to the next part of the book that contained actual story content.

👫 Quite early in the book we find out that the murdered professor was an anti-Semite, who made no secret of his views and had a clear stance on the famous Dreyfus affair in France. Vanessa slowly ends up in the Jewish community in London. This then meant the book went on to explain a lot about the Hassidic sect of Judaism. Some of this was interesting ( I did enjoy learning about the families and the customs within the Jewish community and the comparisons made by the Christian Vanessa). However, again the author seemed to put in every possible bit of information about Jewish culture from that time and for me, it really began to detract from the story.
🗺 I enjoyed the historic setting and the descriptions of the buildings in and around Cambridge and sections of London were very visual.

💔 Any Negatives: The story itself, for me, had real potential a murdered professor and a real puzzle of how a murderer could get in and out unseen – brilliant stuff. However, I found myself enjoying the book less and less as the author repeatedly went into more and more mathematical theories. I also feel a lot of the religious elements were unnecessary and again slowed the book and story down. There were also a few too many characters I felt, I understand Jewish communities are large, and also scholarly circles at the university, but the number of new character introductions felt too much for a fiction novel.

💭 Overall View: The setting, the mystery and the main character were all great. However, the book was too focused on mathematics, Jewish religion, and antisemitism which ultimately detracted from the story. A bit of knowledge is very interesting but the author went too far.

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[Ogden Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid modern entry in the Sherlock Holmes genre. Set in London in 1896 - the Holmes era. In fact, at one point the female investigator (Vanessa Weatherburn) asks the person hiring her why he didn't go to Holmes. He says that would lead to too much publicity because Watson publishes the cases in Strand magazine. Pretty funny.

The puzzle is fairly simple. I got it about three quarters of the way through. The author works in stuff about the Dreyfuss Affair and also about how Hassidic Jews were living in the London ghettos. And she also works in a real math/logic problem in set theory called the "library paradox".

[E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting to get a historical perspective on anti-Semitism in 19th century London. It made for a difficult read. The murder victim was a genuinely awful and prejudiced person. Unpacking his prejudices to describe them and having to read them was rough. I’m not sure if the solution of the mystery was put together well enough to be a justifiable payoff for reading all the hate. Still, I know it’s important to acknowledge that hatred and prejudice aren’t modern inventions, but that they can color history.

[Veronica Freeney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed The Library Paradox. It was the first time I had read one of Catherine Shaw's mysteries featuring her private detective Vanessa Weatherburn but I will certainly read another one. I enjoyed reading how Vanessa manoeuvred hee way through the social rules women of the late 1800's were forced to follow. I was fascinated reading about the Orthodox Jews who lived in London and overall it was an entertaining read.

[Teresa Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very well written and informative book that invites the reader to explore the struggles experienced by the Jewish community at the end of the 19th Century. The only down side being I didn't actually think the main mystery was that mysterious (and I worked it out pretty quickly). It was enjoyable though and I felt I learnt something from reading it.

[Beth Levitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Going to push this up to 3.5 rating. Good locked room mystery and I found the details about Jewish life and persecution compelling. I guessed the solution - which I never do - but that wasn’t a drawback to me and perhaps won’t be as clear to other folks. I have the next in the series and beginning it now!

[Linda Gaines · Rating 5 out of 5]

A different kind of woman detective story, Vanessa studies people who are Jewish and one who is Anti-Semitic. She learns a lot about the religion and the people and finally the mystery is solved. I will have to find some other mysteries in this series.

[Ice Bear · Rating 3 out of 5]

We go to London, and France and Eastern European history come to us. The paradox is less mathematical than in previous tales but some insight into Victorian England's foibles is revealed.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light read. Not memorable, but enjoyable.

[Brian G · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring, flat writing.
Intriguing mystery but fizzled out until I didn't care. Very unsatisfying
1 star. Skimmed the final third.

[Helen Marsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

an excellent mystery though I did work it out about half way, though not why. Good history on the defamation of the Jews.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vanessa Weatherburn, wife, mother and amateur detective, is hired to solve the death of Professor Gerald Ralston. He was found shot in his study, which is part of his library. He was a virulent anti-Semite. He was not well liked and the list of suspects is long. The library has only one entry from the outside. The study can be entered from the library and also from the Professor's apartment. The door to his apartment was locked and the key was in the Professor's pocket. So how did the murderer get out without being seen? It is 1896 and the Dreyfus Affair is very much in the news. One of the first people on the scene is a young Jewish man who claims to have seen an elderly Hassidic man leaving the library as he approached. The police logically come to the conclusion that he made this Hassidic man up and is in fact the killer. Vanessa must go deep into the Hassidic community. She struggles to understand the culture and customs of the community to find a way to solve the mystery.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is set in London in the late 1800's. It focuses on a amateur female detective, Vanessa Duncan, now married with 2 small children. I didn't realize when I got it that it was part of a series, and is actually the third book. Nonetheless, it was easy to follow the actual mystery. A professor, who lived in an apartment above the library, was murdered in his study. Witnesses outside heard a struggle and the shot, but found no one inside. Vanessa must find out who might have murdered the man, who was an ardent anti-Semitic. Was it the mysterious elderly Hasidic man, or someone else. Vanessa is aided by a former pupil and her friends, who are Jewish and give her an inside look into the London Jewish community. The Library Paradox is presented which was an actual logical puzzle proposed by Bertrand Russell. In the end, I figured out the outcome, but the reasoning behind it was interesting. I may go back and get the earlier books in the series.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my effort to read more mysteries with the word "Library" in the title, I came upon this novel. The author gives us a detective who is not the brilliant, know-everything detective of much recent fiction, but a typical wife and mother in 1896 England. The story brings in elements of the Dreyfus affair, anti-Semitism, a murder in a library, and the uncomfortable world of Hassidic Jews in London's East End at the turn of the last century. The comparison of treatment by the police and courts of non-Jews vs. Jews is well presented and explored. I liked this novel more than I thought I would, even though the answer to the mystery was apparent and foreshadowed long before it was discovered by the main characters. The novel is well-written, moves quickly, and gives us an unusual heroine and story. Recommended for historical mystery lovers.

[Diana Sandberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good. It’s the 3rd in a series, read because it was the suggested monthly read for on online reading group I belong to. I found the author’s commitment to the device of the narrative in the form of journal entries wavered early on and pretty much disappeared not long after that. Other than chapter headings in the form of dates, there was nothing about the narration that was distinct from any other first-person telling. Otherwise, the tale was enjoyable and intriguing. I liked the theme and setting; the main puzzle was not terribly puzzling, but that’s ok, the details were interesting enough. I particularly liked the way that the heroine frequently thought about her babies, with a sweet urgency that I found very evocative. Charming.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like historical fiction and this little mystery takes place in Victorian England. The plot includes historical events like the Dreyfuss affair which I knew little of. I found the anti-semitism of the time disturbing yet revealing. There were parallels to this same topic in another recent read of mine, The paths between the seas by McCullough. Mathematics and logic are other themes of interest in this book. All in all a satisfactory read. I know who I want to hand it to next...

[Theo Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

On LibraryThing I wrote: 'A bluestocking Victorian wife and mother chafing gently under the social constraints of Cambridge is invited to investigate the suspicious death of a London academic. Leaving her children with relatives she comes to Kings College and mingles with academics and Jewry to solve an ingenious mystery in a Victorian London redolent with authenticity. With its clear style and rigourous fair play, this is a rewarding puzzle and and a satisfying resolution.'

[Rebecca Huston · Rating 3 out of 5]

A variation on the 'locked room' genre of mysteries. I found this one to be very annoying and a great waste of my time and money. Evidently it is part of a series, but I do not intend to read anything else by this author if this is an example of her work. Feh!

For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Cather...

[Edith · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author has done a lot of research for this book, and I really appreciate it, but at the same, I felt she tried to include EVERYTHING she had learnt whether relevant to the plot or not, and it started to annoy me very quickly.

Other than that.. the mystery was alright I guess, quite predictable, and I don't quite understand why they took so long to come to some of the conclusions.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

A far better read than the first two books in the series (the letters to the narrator's sister replaced by her diary).
Very well researched but that research was not woven into the story in a subtle way.
Mystery seems a bit obvious to me. Still can't understand why it took so long to solve!
Still not a bad way to wind away a long journey

[Adam Thomas · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a disappointing read, which I couldn't get to the end of. The mystery moved forward much too slowly, and I lost interest in the solution. There are also few situations in which I read crime fiction for the discussions of mathematical paradoxes (although, to be fair, mathematics was not central to the plot).

[Kata]

If you like historical mystery set during the Victorian era in England (All you Sherlock Holmes fans out there!) then this book is for you. For me, it was predictable and over-wrought, and I doubt that I will pick up another novel by Catherine Shaw in the future.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anti-Semitism existed long before Hitler. Shaw explores it from the standpoint of a somewhat genteel woman in 1896 who has never contemplated it. But Vanessa is willing to step outside her experience and learn about the Jewish community in London. Her discussion with the rabbi is really well done.

[Laura Hannaway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent! A good mystery that kept me guessing until the end. I found the information about the anti-Semitic movement in Europe at that time to be especially interesting as I had never really been aware of any of the details before.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

neat mystery about libraries set in Victorian Times when Libraries were serious business.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far it's quite interesting. Set in the late 1800's. I enjoyed it. Different as it was a bit historical, but that's what I enjoyed about. Totally different story line.