Cliff Janeway, a book dealer, agrees to collect a woman who has skipped bail in Seattle. But when he arrives, he realizes he's been employed to find a rare edition of "The Raven". He also learns that those who are known to have owned copies of the book have met untimely deaths.
The Bookman's Wake (Cliff Janeway Novels)
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First Sentence
Slater wasn't my kind of cop. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Slater wasn't my kind of cop. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By S. Barnes
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is the second novel in John Dunning's "Cliff Janeway" series of crime novels, following the superb "Booked to Die".
This novel had a lot to live up to from the start, following the excellent debut "Booked to Die". Incidentally, you really need the background from the first book in the series, before you even think about reading this one, so I recommend you read "Booked to Die" first.
It's good. If you are a "book person" and interested in the collectable nature of books, as well as reading them, then you should enjoy this. The plot is very clever, but it is intricate, and there is less variety than in book one. There is just a single thread running through this one so you do need to concentrate, and to keep a handle on what's going on you really need to read it over a relatively short space of time.
Good, but without the shining quality of book one. However, I'm still looking forward to reading the next one....
This novel had a lot to live up to from the start, following the excellent debut "Booked to Die". Incidentally, you really need the background from the first book in the series, before you even think about reading this one, so I recommend you read "Booked to Die" first.
It's good. If you are a "book person" and interested in the collectable nature of books, as well as reading them, then you should enjoy this. The plot is very clever, but it is intricate, and there is less variety than in book one. There is just a single thread running through this one so you do need to concentrate, and to keep a handle on what's going on you really need to read it over a relatively short space of time.
Good, but without the shining quality of book one. However, I'm still looking forward to reading the next one....
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
If your one of those people like me that loves the smell of a new book, are picky about what you read, and find yourself organizing your books with your own little system, here is something special for you. Like Walter Mosley and Ross MacDonald, John Dunning's work is much more than a mere detective novel.It is a novel of intrigue and murder amidst the book world, or more to the point, those who love books and spend much of their time looking for that first edition copy of....
Cliff Janeway is the Denver bookman and part time detective who gets involved looking for a girl who may have in her possession a rare, and unheard of, Grayson Press edition of Poe's "The Raven", a book worth a fortune. Things are not always what they seem and as Janeway tries to help the young and frightened Eleanor the story becomes more complex and dangerous. This mystery is exiting and compelling, peppered with insights and observations about books from a writer who loves and respects them as much as we do.
This is a book you will love and respect after finishing it. It is a wonderful and exiting read and Cliff Janeway can stand side by side with Easy Rawlins and Lew Archer in American detective fiction. We are treated to keen observations about humanity during this twisty tale of books and murder. Dunning uses the rain in Seattle and the snow in Denver for atmosphere and there is almost a wistful feel to the ending.
Written in '95 this was the second Cliff Janeway novel. "Booked to Die" was the first and is also highly recommended. We can only hope Dunning will give us a third one day. This is a smart read that will be enjoyed by anyone who loves books. If you like an intelligent mystery with sharply drawn characters, and observations on our society as well, then this book is a must have for your library. A treasured find.
By Cloggie Downunder
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
The Bookman's Wake is the second in John Dunning's Cliff Janeway series. Cliff is approached by a former colleague from the Denver PD to bring back a skip from Seattle. The only reason he agrees is that he'll be paid $5000 and there's a book angle: the skip, Eleanor Rigby, has stolen a rare edition of Poe's The Raven, published by the famous and now deceased Darryl Grayson. Of course, nothing is as it seems: Eleanor is being stalked by a dark figure and Cliff soon realises he is really meant to find the elusive book. After he manages to "lose" Eleanor on his way to the airport, he joins forces with Trish Aandahl, the journalist who chronicled the life if the Grayson brothers after their deaths in a printery fire, which seemed suspicious at the time, to try to track down Eleanor and solve the mystery surrounding the Graysons and their books. Filled with fascinating tidbits about book publishing, book scouting, book binding and what makes a book rare and valuable, this novel has a great plot with plenty of twists, as well as some interesting characters and realistic dialogue. This was a great read and I look forward to the next in the series, The Bookman's Promise.
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