Apparently I've been on a sequels kick this week, having also finished the second book in Ian Sansom's Mobile Library series, Mr. Dixon Disappears. Israel Armstrong's chaotic adventures in Tumdrum continue when he accidentally (but entirely predictably) gets caught up in an investigation into the disappearance of department-store magnate (and amateur magician) Mr. Dixon.

This book had less to do with the mobile library than The Case of the Missing Books did (although here we see that dilapidated old book-van put to more, eh, extra-curricular uses, including kitchen, press room, and canine maternity ward), and the mystery itself ends up being a bit of a snoozer, but Sansom's knack for telling a strange story well continues to shine here.

http://philobiblos.blogspot.com/2008/... ( )

The second book in the Mobile Library Mystery series. Rural librarian Israel Armstrong is in the process of setting up a display on the history of a local department store for the store's anniversary, and the place is robbed and the owner kidnapped. Israel is taken into custody since his fingerprints are all over the safe in the missing boss' office. Like the first book in this series, the protagonist is not extremely endearing, but it's an interesting read (light, light, light) anyway. ( )

October, 2007 ( )

Like the initial offering in this "Mobile Library Mystery" series, the story here is more about the characters than about the plot. Fortunately, the group is filled with more than enough eccentricities to entertain the reader throughout. Israel is as inept as ever and the trouble he finds himself in, though a bit farfetched, lends itself to a good bit of well-developed nonsense. I hope Sansom doesn't quit his series after just two entries. I look forward to more. ( )