A review by gorjessina17
Bibliomysteries: Stories of Crime in the World of Books and Bookstores by John Connolly, Anne Perry, Jeffery Deaver, Reed Farrel Coleman, Thomas H. Cook, Otto Penzler, Loren D. Estleman, C.J. Box, Nelson DeMille, Ken Bruen, Max Allan Collins, Laura Lippman
4.0
Bibliomysteries is an anthology put together by Otto Penzler, a well-known advocate of the mystery genre, and features fictional stories written by famous mystery authors which all involve books in some fashion. If you are a bibliophile and especially if you are a devotee of the mystery genre like me, you will definitely enjoy this book.
Here’s the lineup:
– Introduction by Ian Rankin
– “An Acceptable Sacrifice ” by Jeffery Deaver
– “Pronghorns of the Third Reich” by C.J. Box
– “The Book of Virtue” by Ken Bruen
– “The Book of Ghosts” by Reed Farrel Coleman
– “The Final Testament” by Peter Blauner
– “What’s In A Name?” by Thomas H. Cook
– “Book Club” by Loren D. Estleman
– “Death Leaves A Bookmark” by William Link
– “The Book Thing” by Laura Lippman
– “The Scroll” by Anne Perry
– “It’s In the Book” by Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins
– “The Long Sonata of the Dead” by Andrew Taylor
– “Rides A Stranger” by David Bell
– “The Caxton Lending Library & Book Depository” by John Connolly
– “The Book Case” by Nelson DeMille.
I don’t want to give too much away by describing each story with any more detail than they do in the description (with how short each story is, I’d end up telling the whole thing!) but I will say that each story is very unique and it was fun seeing how different writers would work out completely different tales using the same prompt.
I enjoyed all of the stories, with one exception, which is really good odds for an anthology. My favorite two stories were “The Book Thing” by Laura Lippman & “The Caxton Lending Library & Book Depository” by John Connolly (definite favorite!), with close runners up in “The Scroll” by Anne Perry & “Rides A Stranger” by David Bell.
I’d highly recommend this anthology to anyone who loves mysteries, especially if they also love books. It’s not only a fun ride, it’s also a great introduction to authors you may not have read yet. I know I’m definitely going to be adding some of these authors to my “TBR” pile!
Here’s the lineup:
– Introduction by Ian Rankin
– “An Acceptable Sacrifice ” by Jeffery Deaver
– “Pronghorns of the Third Reich” by C.J. Box
– “The Book of Virtue” by Ken Bruen
– “The Book of Ghosts” by Reed Farrel Coleman
– “The Final Testament” by Peter Blauner
– “What’s In A Name?” by Thomas H. Cook
– “Book Club” by Loren D. Estleman
– “Death Leaves A Bookmark” by William Link
– “The Book Thing” by Laura Lippman
– “The Scroll” by Anne Perry
– “It’s In the Book” by Mickey Spillane & Max Allan Collins
– “The Long Sonata of the Dead” by Andrew Taylor
– “Rides A Stranger” by David Bell
– “The Caxton Lending Library & Book Depository” by John Connolly
– “The Book Case” by Nelson DeMille.
I don’t want to give too much away by describing each story with any more detail than they do in the description (with how short each story is, I’d end up telling the whole thing!) but I will say that each story is very unique and it was fun seeing how different writers would work out completely different tales using the same prompt.
I enjoyed all of the stories, with one exception, which is really good odds for an anthology. My favorite two stories were “The Book Thing” by Laura Lippman & “The Caxton Lending Library & Book Depository” by John Connolly (definite favorite!), with close runners up in “The Scroll” by Anne Perry & “Rides A Stranger” by David Bell.
I’d highly recommend this anthology to anyone who loves mysteries, especially if they also love books. It’s not only a fun ride, it’s also a great introduction to authors you may not have read yet. I know I’m definitely going to be adding some of these authors to my “TBR” pile!