The Bookstore War

by Paul Combs

Just when things seem to have calmed down at The Last Word Bookstore, all hell breaks loose. Sal, Camden, and the rest of the band of merry misfit booksellers suddenly face both a war with a nefarious rival and the possibility that a new bookseller in town is, in fact, a vampire. And you thought bookselling was boring.

Genres: Fiction

294 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 19, 2024

Reviews

[Brian Quast · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding book! His best one since the original ... and that's high praise! The Last Word series is truly a joy for bibliophiles that take delight in novels featuring all things that are bookish! Keep 'em coming, Mr. Combs! 😎👍

[Arpad Nagy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you’ve been lucky enough to find your niche in life, you’ll usually find a place that’s home to your people. In my case, I was in my late teens when fly fishing was an all-encompassing passion, and a local fly shop was my sanctuary. The shop’s proprietor and sole staff, Mike, was a large man with a large beard. He spent his nights toiling underground as a miner, drilling and blasting for ore that produced an abundance of nickel, lead and zinc. During the day, he would wake early and with hands the size of boxing gloves, he fashioned graphite rods, called ‘blanks,’ into instruments that communed with nature and, in their harmony, through water and the trout therein, conversed with God.

Upon each visit to the fly shop, while I either watched and learned, then practiced and perfected fly tying, or hung out and watched as Mike built my custom fly rod, others of our kind would come in, share stories and knowledge and commiserate with great disdain about anyone who did not know how to fly fish yet persisted in calling themselves fishermen.

In that same fashion, author Paul Combs created the family of characters in and around ‘The Last Word’ bookstore. In this fourth instalment of the series, the book’s main character, Sal Terranova, returns to form. Flanked by his English cousin Camden Templeton and the store’s band of merry book lovers, Combs has created not just a home for his cast but for all of us who love books, value reading, and feel the bond of connecting with our kind.

Soon after reading the opening pages of The Bookstore War, I felt that camaraderie returned, and I looked forward to the antics, schemes, conflicts, and resolutions to come. The gang, led by Terranova, a former wise guy and reputed thief for the mob, now gone clean, sees his beloved book domain threatened by the dark side — a big-box discount bookstore empire. It’s a David vs. Goliath premise, except in Terranova’s case, he leads a small but loyal and determined army.

Most of us who work for a living, meaning we worry about our bank accounts on a daily basis, love to root for the underdog, and The Last Word bookstore and its staff are certainly small potatoes ready to be mashed by the massive discount bookstore chain. As the characters each entered the fray, I eagerly turned pages, excited and entertained by the battle royale to come.

Then the story ventured down a dark alley, and for a brief moment, I considered closing the book, unwilling to read a single page more.

I can’t think of any genre more dross and unimaginative than vampires or zombies, and to my chagrin, Combs crossed the border to Transylvania.

In The Bookstore War, another would-be competitor arrives, this time operating under the cover of darkness, flanked by weird, pale people. Assumptions and judgements from Terranova’s group arrive in a hurry; It would seem the new folks are vampires who operate a travelling occult bookstore operation.

That is the point where I hesitated. I may have even moaned aloud. I gave Combs one chance. If the subsequent pages identified the ‘vampire’ character as French and if at any point the story setting shifted to New Orleans, I would be done and commit the sin of reshelving an unfinished book.

While I won’t reveal how all that shakes out, I will say that Combs and Terranova keep themselves from going over the cliff. Instead, Combs finds the right balance between quality and quantity with the vein of the undead. The subplot is sprinkled into the story the way salt seasons a soup — a dash here, a pinch there, enough to give a surprising flavour without souring the broth.

Those who have read the previous instalments are happy to see the usual cast members: Camden, Sal’s cousin and co-owner of The Last Word bookstore; Julia, Sal’s girlfriend; Ortiz, the local mafia boss; Jacob, the rare bookseller; and others are all present and involved in the story. In The Bookstore War, the author also brings us closer to another well-balanced player in Father Boyle, a relatable Catholic priest.

Seeking confirmation or dispelling rumours about said vampires, Terranova takes Father Boyle through the dark doors of the occult bookshop. When Terranova asks Father Boyle about vampires, the padre gives his answer: “The church is pretty much opposed to the undead on general principle.”

However, despite the father’s conviction, Combs lays a good egg of dark doubt with Boyles’ visit to the apparent vampire liar.

“Just to mess with Sal, he (Father Boyle) takes a deep breath and crosses himself before entering the bookstore. Sal is relieved when he does not, in fact, burst into flames, but there is a noticeable change in the old priest’s demeanour the moment they are inside. He has tensed up considerably and is scanning the room as if seeking out both potential threats and possible exits.”

The author expertly plants a seed of doubt in the reader’s mind.

Aside from the plot and the story’s clever and satisfying resolution, Combs also did me an honour. As a Hungarian, it is a point of pride to find mention of my heritage in any movie or book, and Combs strikes the nail twice, mentioning Hungary as the origin of vampire lore and as the source of a recently purchased book from antiquity.

I also appreciated that Combs, a Texan far removed from my Canadian borderlands, appropriately acknowledges the anomaly of hockey in lands closer to Mexico than the North Pole.

Terranova- “I do not recognize any hockey team below the Mason-Dixon line; hockey in the South is unnatural.”

A final point about the vampire track: Combs has all but sewn up the mystery of the undead competition, and neatly. However, as the great mystery and thriller writers are apt to do, Combs lays down a few final lines with just enough ambiguity to leave the reader wondering. That deft move put a smile on my face. Match point to you, Mr. Combs.

The Bookstore War is great fun. As a fan of Sal Terranova and his entourage, I say with full satisfaction that everyone showed up to play, and it is a fine game.

The Bookstore War is a solidly entertaining tale that delivers laughter and delight for folks you want to cheer for. Even more importantly, Combs’s fourth instalment in the series leaves the reader wanting at least one more.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another over the hill book shop edition

This is the fourth book in the series. I've enjoyed this one because I was in school there for several years. Fort Worth has so many old memories for me. I was there in the mid-70s I'm at my wife while I was there finished up got my masters degree and all the names of the streets and many of the areas he talks about where areas that I traveled back and forth in my old 19 67 Chevelle Malibu. Sal has got his hands full in too many things and this one almost takes it over the top. I've enjoyed the book and I enjoyed the series. You just have to have a hankering for a little vampire here or something else strange going on.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book of The Last Word series, the owners of the book store face serious competition from the evil Rick Bascomb and his Discount Book stores, which are a thinly veiled dig at Half-Price Books. Bascomb has opened a store in downtown Fort Worth, Texas near where Sal Terranova and his cousin Camden have their bookstore.
Sal decides to take action and comes up with a response that largely resemble guerrilla warfare, mostly smaller books that compete with Bascomb's various stores.
This was a fun, quick read.

[Kandace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, but needs an editor.

I've enjoyed all four books in this series, and this one was no exception. However, the unbelievable number of omitted words and errors greatly distracted from the flow and enjoyment of reading and was quite annoying. Edit/correct and then re-release. Story was a four, errors knocked one off.

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining

I like the character development and the easy pace of the story. Although, I did amuse myself by highlighting the typos.