Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good, clever... but not as gripping as the first one!, 1 Mar 2007
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....
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Exceptional Read, 15 Jan 2003
By A Customer
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.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Weak Second Outing for Janeway, 28 Feb 2005
This second in Dunning's Cliff Janeway series picks up several months after the events of Booked To Die. Ex-cop Janeway is quietly running his used bookstore in Denver when another ex-cop walks in and offers him a very sweet deal to run up to Seattle and bring back a woman who jumped bail. Janeway balks at this bounty-hunter gig, but when it's revealed that there's a connection with a rare copy of "The Raven", he finally bites. Of course, if something sounds to good to be true... In Seattle he easily catches up with the bail-jumper, but she's a pretty young book scout, so it doesn't take him long to ditch the idea of turning her in. Turns out she's connected to The Grayson Press, a (fictional) small specialty press well-known in the collecting world. This piques Janeway's interest even more, and soon he's embroiled in a very very convoluted mystery involving collectors of Grayson books and the possible murder some forty years ago of the two brothers who were The Grayson Press. This allows Dunning to wax prosaic about the craft and artisanry of small presses and the processes employed in days of yore. I'm as big an admirer of fine bookmaking as anyone, but it gets irksome he makes blanket statements about how bookmaking a dead art. While it's true that there the vast majority of books published are given only the most rudimentary design treatment, there are plenty that have been sweated over and given loving attention to detail. Even though they're using computers instead of moveable type, there are plenty of designers paying close attention to typeface selection, kerning, binding materials, and so on. In any event, as in the first in the series, the book distinguishes itself via the immersion in the world of collectible books. The reader is given a fascinating insider's glimpse into aspects of book scouting, used book dealing, and bookmaking. This is all good stuff, but probably of much greater interest to those who already know a little about such things than the uninitiated. However, the plot itself is far too complicated and long-winded to make for a satisfying read. There are so many different threads that when everything is brought to a head and the motive for all the mayhem is revealed it's a pretty big letdown. It also doesn't help that some of the characters feel like repeats from the previous book: in each Janeway meets and befriends pretty and clever troubled young women early, there are thuggish goons he takes an instant dislike to, and he meets and beds a smart, pretty woman. Overall, a bit of sophomore slump, but hopefully the next one will be back on form.
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by John Dunning
by John Dunning
by Lee Child
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