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A review by stw07
Death of a Bookseller by Bernard J. Farmer
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
Being a little generous with this rating because I thought this book was so fitting as the 100th book in the British Library Crime Classics—a series that has focused on making many hard-to-find classics accessible again. This story delves into the realm of rare book sellers and collectors, and the lengths to which many will go to get their hands on rare finds.
Aside from the general setting, this just had everything I love in a classic murder mystery—lovable and complex characters, plot twists and red herrings, real suspense, and criminals dressing up in actual costumes. Wigan was a great lead, a down-to-earth policeman with a truly good heart. I also really liked the character of Fred. He was easy to root for because his temper was shown to be a direct result of his poorly-managed anxiety. Charlie was another likable character, and even Ruth and her rich American fellow were kind of charmingly evil.
My only complaint is this ran a bit longer than I thought was necessary. There was some filler toward the end that was frustrating when I really just wanted to find out the answer to the mystery. But overall, a really enjoyable read and one of my favorites so far from the series.
Aside from the general setting, this just had everything I love in a classic murder mystery—lovable and complex characters, plot twists and red herrings, real suspense, and criminals dressing up in actual costumes. Wigan was a great lead, a down-to-earth policeman with a truly good heart. I also really liked the character of Fred. He was easy to root for because his temper was shown to be a direct result of his poorly-managed anxiety. Charlie was another likable character, and even Ruth and her rich American fellow were kind of charmingly evil.
My only complaint is this ran a bit longer than I thought was necessary. There was some filler toward the end that was frustrating when I really just wanted to find out the answer to the mystery. But overall, a really enjoyable read and one of my favorites so far from the series.