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Βιβλιομυστήρια: Εγκλήματα Στον Κόσμο Των Βιβλίων Και Των Βιβλιοπωλείων

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Ήταν ιδέα του Όττο Πένσλερ μια σειρά με "βιβλιομυστήρια" - ιστορίες συγκεκριμένης έκτασης, στις οποίες τα βιβλία παίζουν καθοριστικό ρόλο. Ως οπαδός του είδους, η ιδέα του φαινόταν συναρπαστική και ακαταμάχητη, και όταν άρχισε να έρχεται σε επαφή με συγγραφείς, εκείνοι συμφώνησαν. Τα βιβλία έπιαζαν συχνά σημαντικό ή περιφερειακό ρόλο σε ιστορίες μυστηρίου και περιπέτειας - η προσφορά του Όττο αποδείχθηκε θελκτική σε τόσο πολλούς συγγραφείς που μοιράζονται το ίδιο πάθος για τον κόσμο της γραφής σε όλες τις μορφές του.

Εξού και αυτή η δίτομη συλλογή.

Και τι αποτέλεσμα! Όταν διάβασα τα αφηγήματα, αυτό που με εξέπληξε ήταν η ποικιλία τους. Ο Reed Farrel Coleman μας οδηγεί στην περιοχή της ιστορίας: ένα βιβλίο που περισώθηκε από τα στρατόπεδα συγκέντρωσης καθορίζει τη ζωή ενός ανθρώπου. Η Anne Perry ξαναδουλεύει το "Γεράκι της Μάλτας", αλλά προσθέτει θεολογικά και υπερφυσικά στοιχεία, με πονηρή αυτοπεποίθηση. Ο Jeffery Deaver εστιάζει σε δύο μυστικούς πράκτορες στο Μεξικό που προσπαθούν να εκτελέσουν ένα βιβλιόφιλο ναρκέμπορο. Ο Thomas H. Cook, στο μεταξύ, μας προσφέρει μια εξαιρετική εναλλακτική ιστορία, για ένα διάσημο βιβλίο - και δεν λέω περισσότερα.

Κι όλα αυτά αγαπητέ αναγνώστη, είναι μόνο το ορεκτικό.

Είναι συναρπαστικό να βλέπει κανείς πως διαφορετικοί συγγραφείς προσεγγίζουν το θέμα. Υπάρχουν πραγματικά και φανταστικά βιβλία, ιστορίες που συμβαίνουν στο παρελθόν, στο παρόν και στο μέλλον. Σε μερικές σου σηκώνεται οι τρίχες, σε άλλες χαμογελάς. Εκτιμάς ένα ταχυδακτυλουργικό τρυκ κουνώντας επαινετικά το κεφάλι σου, ενω ανεβάζεις σφυγμούς περιμένοντας την έκρηξη μιας βόμβας. Μερικές ιστορίες κλείνουν με ωραίες ανατροπές, ενω άλλες σε αφήνουν να σκεφτείς αρκετά το τέλος τους. Όλες όμως δείχνουν πως οι συγγραφείς τους είναι έξπερ του είδους και πως δέχθηκαν με ενθουσιασμό την πρόκληση του Όττο Πένσλερ να γράψουν και να εξυφάνουν πλοκές.

Συνεχίστε λοιπόν, ακάθεκτοι το διάβασμα
Ian Rankin

272 pages, Paperback

First published August 7, 2018

5 people are currently reading
1190 people want to read

About the author

Otto Penzler

374 books532 followers
Otto Penzler is an editor of mystery fiction in the United States, and proprietor of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City, where he lives.

Otto Penzler founded The Mysteriour Press in 1975 and was the publisher of The Armchair Detective, the Edgar-winning quarterly journal devoted to the study of mystery and suspense fiction, for seventeen years.

Penzler has won two Edgar Awards, for The Encyclopedia of Mystery and Detection in 1977, and The Lineup in 2010. The Mystery Writers of America awarded him the prestigious Ellery Queen Award in 1994, and the Raven--the group's highest non-writing award--in 2003.

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5 stars
27 (20%)
4 stars
60 (45%)
3 stars
31 (23%)
2 stars
12 (9%)
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2 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
Profile Image for Ahtims.
1,673 reviews124 followers
January 22, 2023
Was a boring set of stories, some barely making it to 4 stars , most 2 to 2.5 stars ..and quite a few had almost the same theme. The audiobook narrators too weren't much enhancing the experience.
Profile Image for Benjamin Thomas.
2,002 reviews371 followers
July 18, 2020
Otto Penzler, famed editor, publisher, anthologist, and owner of The Mysterious Bookshop in New York City has assembled the second volume of Bibliomysteries. If you are unaware, the Mysterious Bookshop publishes new Bibliomysteries every year. According to their website, “each story features books and/or those who write them, buy them, read them, collect them, sell them or are in some way involved with them. All are written exclusively for the store and are not available anywhere else until sometime after our publication.” You can purchase them online or subscribe so you’ll get them when they come out. For those of you who are patient, like I am, you can wait until they are published in these large single volume anthologies.

Once again, this volume includes an impressive collection of these stories from such noted authors as Peter Lovesey, F. Paul Wilson (of Repairman Jack fame), Lyndsey Faye, Joyce Carol Oates, Megan Abbott, Stephen Hunter, Elizabeth George, Ian Rankin, Thomas Perry, and many more. I count some of my favorite authors among these names and by and large, I was pleased with the results. However, it did seem like this volume catered a bit more toward the “literary” style of writing rather than more straight-forward mystery genre writing and so, on the whole, I enjoyed it a little less than volume one. Nevertheless, I am hopeful for a third volume. It’s hard for voracious readers not to enjoy stories about books, bookstores, libraries, etc.
Profile Image for Barbara Nutting.
3,205 reviews164 followers
October 6, 2019
15 semi short stories of which 12 were great. Like a Whitman’s Sampler, you can pick and choose what you like and pass on the others. This gives you a chance to read stories by authors you may not be familiar with.

Note to Mr. Penzler, who edited the book - in Carolyn Hart’s story, ”From the Queen”, she twice refers to the dusK jacket on a first edition Agatha Christie. Of course it is a dusT jacket to keep it dusT-free not to keep it warm from the coming evening! Shame!
Profile Image for Marty Troyer.
Author 2 books7 followers
August 2, 2021
This collection is a joy and treat.
It's a wonderful book about books.
The audio version was perfect for a summer road trip.
Profile Image for Lynn.
1,608 reviews55 followers
October 22, 2019
I picked this up for the Megan Abbott short story but found a lot of great authors to enjoy in the collection. Thomas Perry had a good story, but Elizabeth George stole the show with hers.
Profile Image for Marina Maidou.
494 reviews27 followers
November 18, 2019
Ο δεύτερος τόμος αστυνομικών ιστοριών με φόντο βιβλία, περιλαμβάνει λιγότερα μεν αλλά μεγαλύτερης έκτασης. Ο Όττο Πρένσλερ, ο επιμελητής της σειράς δίνει ρέστα στην επιλογή και μου έδωσε την ευκαιρία να προσεγγίσω άγνωστους για μένα και πολύ ενδιαφέροντες συγγραφείς. Η έκδοση συνεχίζει να είναι προσεγμένη, όπως πάντα είναι της Άγρας σ' αυτή τη σειρά εκδόσεων του Public και καταφέρνει να δώσει μια χροιά αστυνομικού μυστηρίου σε ένα αθώο πρασινωπό γκρι εξώφυλλο με βιβλιοθήκη. Από τις ιστορίες αυτές μου άφησαν ιδιαίτερες εντυπώσεις οι παρακάτω:
Είναι στο βιβλίο - Μ. Σπιλέιν & Μ.Α. Κόλινς Με ρωμαλέα γραφή παρουσιάζεται η αναζήτηση ενός βιβλίου που ανήκε σε έναν μακαρίτη νονό της μαφίας και στο κυνήγι μπλέκονται ιδιωτικοί ντετέκτιβ, διεφθαρμένοι αστυνομικοί, πολιτικοί έρμαια δωροδοκιών και σκανδάλων και αυτό που ίσως φαίνεται συνηθισμένο καταλήγει στο πιο απροσδόκητο τέλος!
Η δανειστική βιβλιοθήκη Κάξτον - Τ. Κόννολι Ο βαρετός κύριος Μπέργκερ σε έναν από τους συνηθισμένους του περιπάτους κοντά στις γραμμές μιας αμαξοστοιχίας γίνεται μάρτυρας ενός τραγικού συμβάντος, που αδυνατεί να αποτρέψει. Κι ενώ προσπαθεί να ανταπεξέλθει με τον χρόνο στο σοκ ... το συμβάν επαναλαμβάνεται. Προσπαθώντας να λύσει το μυστήριο έρχεται κοντά σε ένα ξεχασμένο κτίριο και μαθαίνει ότι λέγεται Δανειστική Βιβλιοθήκη Κάξτον. Και το μυστήριο ανατρέπεται για εκείνον ακόμα περισσότερο.
Η Βιβλιοθήκη - Ν. Ντεμίλ Κλασική περίπτωση εγκλήματος, μια βιβλιοθήκη πέφτει και σκοτώνει τον ιδιοκτήτη ενός μίζερου βιβλιοπωλείου (παρόμοια ιστορία έχει και στον πρώτο τόμο της συλλογής αυτής, όπου μεγαλουργεί ο επιθεωρητής Κολόμπο). Αλλά το απολαυστικό στην ιστορία αυτή είναι ο σπαρταριστός και αυτοσαρκαστικός τρόπος γραφής του Ντεμίλ, που παρουσιάζει τον αφηγητή του να μιλά με όλους τους λάθος τρόπους για έναν συγγραφέα με περιττές και υπερβολικές λεπτομέρειες, δείχνοντας ταυτόχρονα και μια πολύ ειρωνική ματιά στους συγγραφείς ευπώλητων, στους οποίους ανήκει και ο ίδιος ο συγγραφέας. Μία ιστορία που έκλεισε με τον πιο χιουμοριστικό τρόπο αυτή τη συλλογή νουάρ. Σίγουρα θα ήθελα να διαβάσω κι άλλες τέτοιες ενδιαφέρουσες συλλογές ιστοριών του κ. Πρένσλερ.
1,784 reviews34 followers
September 10, 2018
The premise of this book is if you love mysteries and books you will love this short story collection. While it was good I am not a big fan of short stories, thus the rating.
If you like mysteries and you like books, what could be better than combining both worlds, with mysteries set against a background involving books?


This collection of crime for bibliophiles includes stories about rare books, bookshops, libraries, manuscripts, magical books, collectors—in short, the wonderful universe that makes this precious object we all love so important and priceless. Ian Rankin sets his tale of the lost original manuscript of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in the legendary Paris bookshop Shakespeare Co., while F. Paul Wilson offers a book with remarkable powers. Joyce Carol Oates portrays an overly ambitious dealer in mystery fiction, while James Grady has the “Condor” working in the Library of Congress. Ste- phen Hunter tells a previously unknown story of Alan Turing set during World War I—involving a book that could change the history of the world—and Peter Lovesey writes about a box full of Agatha Christie titles that just may be priceless. Carolyn Hart’s story is about an astonishing inscription in a book, while Megan Abbott and Denise Mina add their Edgar-nominated stories to this stellar collection.


Whether your taste is for the traditional mystery, something a little more hard-boiled, or the bizarre and humorous tale, you will find exactly your cup of tea in this outstanding collection of fifteen stories by the most distinguished mystery writers working today.

Including stories by: Peter Lovesey, F. Paul Wilson, Lyndsay Faye, Bradford Morrow, R. L. Stine, Joyce Carol Oates, Thomas Perry, Elizabeth George, Carolyn Hart, Megan Abbott, Stephen Hunter, Denise Mina, James Grady, Ian Rankin, and James W. Hall.
Profile Image for Greg.
809 reviews61 followers
June 4, 2019
I liked the stories in this volume even more than I did those in the first.

There is a definite art to successfully writing a short story, and the authors collected here by Otto Penzler are masters at it.

If you love mysteries -- and books, libraries, and all associated with them -- you will likely thoroughly enjoy this collection!
505 reviews3 followers
May 5, 2019
The second volume of mysteries written by various authors dealing with books, libraries, bookstores and the like. As with the first volume many well known authors F. Paul Wilson, Ian Rankin, Jeffrey Deaver among others.
Great stuff.
361 reviews1 follower
June 15, 2023
Remaindered by Peter Lovesey
I listened to this story and it was exceptionally well done. The plot is well written, the characters well drawn and the ending was wonderful

The Compendium of Srem
Excellent story with an excellent and surprising ending.

The Gospel of Sheba
Could not get into this.

The Nature of My Inheritance
A great story, one of the best in this volume. The portrayal of the main character is so well done, his discovery of things, his willingness, initially, to do questionable things, and then the twist at the end when he attempts to make a clean break of it.

The Sequel
The outline of the story borrows (or maybe was borrowed) heavily from other writers (think of Stephen King's short story The Secret Garden) but the author does an excellent job of taking the story and giving it a new perspective. As with many of the other stories, the ending is a delightful twist.

Mystery Inc.
A great story with a less than great ending. The scenes of the bookstore owner and the person intending to kill him are exceptionally well done and the inner monologue of the person seeking to kill the bookstore owner is quite well done.

The Book of the Lion
So far the best story in the collection. I listened to this and the reader did a great job of giving voice to the different characters. And the ending is masterly.

The Mysterious Disappearance of the Reluctant Book Fairy
Too long. The story is great, the characters wonderful, but it just went on and on.

From the Queen
A story told well but a story that didn't seem new in any respect

The Little Men
A great story with a wonderful plot and great characters and a perfect ending. Megan Abbott is a great writer.

Citadel
I couldn't get into this one, too long, a character that I couldn't connect with.

Every Seven Years
A masterpiece. A well focused plot, well drawn characters, a story that gets to the main point in an interesting and concise fashion and an ending that is stunning.

The Traveling Companion
Such an exceptionally done story in which the author does such a good job of portraying the descent into madness of the main character. As with other similar plots, the main character does not regard what he is doing as reprehensible but rather can justify all of his actions.

The Haze
An excellent story that told the story and then knew when to wrap up the story. I listened to the audio version and it was exceptionally well done as an older man tries to come to terms with his memories and what is real and what he read in the stories.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
194 reviews
June 14, 2021
I seriously enjoyed all but one story in this collection. So many great authors were included in this anthology, and lucky for me some were new to me and others I had enjoyed reading before and want to revisit...so my wishlist of books to read continues to grow. The introductions to each author's were superb, detailing their "greatest hits" and awards and enough detail to pique my interest.
Profile Image for Suzanne Richardson.
664 reviews8 followers
July 22, 2021
Really probably a 3.5 I have picked up many books this summer, then put them down because I just couldn't finish them

Came across this volume, and realized it had been some time since I read short stories. This collection was quite good, and gave me a break from committing to a novel.

Out of the 15 stories, 11 were great, 3 were so so, and 1 dnf.
Profile Image for Kostis Vangelatos.
7 reviews
November 23, 2020
Ο δεύτερος τόμος ήταν λίγο καλύτερος από τον πρώτο, που προσωπικά βρήκα τα διηγήματά του κακογραμμένα.
Προσοχή στο διήγημα του John Connolly, έχει πολλά και σημαντικά σπόιλερ από κλασικά μυθιστορήματα.
3,156 reviews20 followers
April 17, 2025
When I read mystery collections I am always looking for new authors. I did not find anyone that wowed me or that I was not already reading. Some stories were excellent - some painfully bad. Kristi & Abby Tabby Childless Cat Lady
Profile Image for Dawn.
513 reviews
December 2, 2019
I enjoyed the first collection much, much better. Was disappointed that several of these just didn't capture - let alone hold - my interest.
Profile Image for BookBec.
466 reviews
March 20, 2020
I liked this better than volume 1; most stories were satisfying. But the quality of editing in these anthologies remains poor.
1,698 reviews4 followers
July 24, 2021
mixed bag..some were far longer than enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews

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