Booked to Die

A bit macho but that is of little surprise given when it was written and by whom. The insider knowledge on the world of books (primarily used books) is what sets this anachronistic series apart from others that I have tried, and abandoned, and which makes this a series to finish.

This is a really fun "hard-boiled" detective novel about a bibliophile. How can you go wrong with that premise? Cliff Janeway is a Denver detective who is extremely passionate about books. When a bookscout is murdered, Janeway is put on the case and he begins investigating the Denver antiquarian book community. Janeway ultimately ends up leaving the police force after tangling one too many times with an old enemy, and he opens a book store, though he continues to investigate the bookscout's murder. Along the way, Janeway encounters a number of fascinating characters, all of whom are involved in some way in the book trade.

At its heart, this is a hard-boiled detective story, and Janeway can be a bit of a thug at times, but that's part of show more his charm. The story is told in the first person (from Janeway's perspective, obviously), which I always enjoy. The action is pretty constant and Janeway's investigation is intelligent and doesn't insult the reader with obvious plotholes or pointless subplots. The dialogue is very natural, and often downright clever.

The cast of characters is truly outstanding and one of the greatest strengths of the book. Dunning has done a great job of crafting a Denver antiquarian book community that feels real. There are a few passages in the book describing how Janeway or one of the other characters feels about books that really hit home for me -- Dunning truly "gets it" -- he is clearly a bibliophile who understands what it is to genuinely *love* books.

This was the first John Dunning book I've read, but it certainly won't be my last. In fact, I liked "Booked to Die" so much that I've already bought the second Cliff Janeway novel. The book ends on a bit of a bittersweet note and I'm really looking forward to seeing how Janeway's new business and personal relationships progress. If you're a fan of detective stories and you love books, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up!

Review copyright 2008 J. Andrew Byers show less

between 3 and 3.5 stars. i really never tire of books where the main character is a big reader or it takes place in the book world, and this is a more unusual take, where the mystery is among the book dealers in the rare book world in denver. so that's a big plus for me. really fun to be in all the stores and to scout the books discussed. that ended up being a much bigger part of the story than i expected, and it was great.

the mystery, which was wrapped around the book stuff, was also therefore fun for me, and definitely took some unexpected turns.

the parts i liked less or am unsure about are also throughout the book. first, and this is probably me, but it didn't feel at all like 1986 to me, but more like 1966 or even earlier. this is show more likely just me thinking that 1986 wasn't really that long ago, but over and over this struck me as feeling like it was taking place long before he wrote it. it also seemed like a strange decision to give the main character political views that almost certainly would offend just about everyone. i think he was trying to make him seem like a good guy but one that people might find tough, but i feel like the way he did this was just alienating to everyone. along the same lines, i didn't really see a reason to insult all the authors that he does. he talks trash about so many modern authors and their quality of writing, and that just feels both unnecessary and kind of mean. both of these seemed a really strange choice to me, when there were other ways of saying what he wanted, without specifically naming things/people that could insult or antagonize readers. i also didn't at all like the dalliance the main character had with the book appraiser; nothing about that felt real to me (except her anger and betrayal at his lack of trust in her). and i hated the way he treated the woman who was being abused by the man he thought had committed the murders; he seemed to feel no understanding for her fear and anguish.

but, the mystery was good and being in that world was really fun for me. the writing was also good, and the pages kept turning pretty quickly every time i picked this up. somehow in spite of the faults, i still really enjoyed this. show less

The first Cliff Janeway mystery, where he transitions from police detective to book store proprietor. Good mystery (actually several tangled together, when all was said and done), interesting characters, and lots of fascinating information about book collecting. This is the first of the series I've read, and I was somewhat disappointed at the death of a particular character, because I think it would have been fun to see more of her in the later books. I had already guessed at the final piece of the puzzle when Janeway discovered it on the last page, but that's a very minor nit. Excellent start of the series. Highly recommended!

Entertaining first book in a mystery series. Since it involves books, I was interested. Cliff Janeway is a tough-talking detective who leaves the police force in a spectacular way and opens a trade bookstore in Denver. The story takes place in the mid 80s and apparently at the time, there was a thriving book business -- mostly dealing in used and rare. Pre-internet days, so the physical stores are crucial. Janeway himself is a fanatical collector so this change of occupation is the best way to indulge his passion. He was involved in the murder case of a street person Bob Westfall who did a lot of book selling to make ends meet when he throws his police career away over the thug Jackie Newton. The investigation takes the reader into the show more behind-the-scenes world of used books and created quite a few characters with interesting backstories. That part of it was fun, although there's a little too much detail in the whole venue. Like knowing/watching how sausage is made - better to stay a little ignorant of the process. Janeway is a good cop and continues his investigation off the record after his own shop is impacted in additional crime related to the first murder. He solves things clue by clue in the old gumshoe tradition and the dialogue is typical tough cop sarcasm - who really talks like that though? Some good twists and turns and the bookstore connection makes it worthwhile. Quite a few in the series, but I'll probably stop here. So many books..... show less

I love mysteries but too often dislike those written by male writers. Often they're too focused on being tough and gritty and sleazy and raunchy to be bothered to develop an actual mystery, a puzzle to be solved. Not true with this one. It's tough and gritty and sleazy and raunchy, but at its core is a true conundrum. The last line alone is worth the price of admission.

And it's about books! People killing and being killed over rare books, like something out of Chandler or Hammett. I don't believe that's an accident. Booked to Die reads like an homage to noir - though set in the 80s, the book's lurid and sometimes exotic characters could easily have been rendered forty years earlier in glorious black-and-white. All the elements are there show more - the seedy apartments, small-time hustlers, the big house on a hill, the femme fatale who may or may not be involved in shady dealings, the (sometimes ridiculously) old-fashioned character names, the protagonist who used to be a cop until he got tired of playing within the boundaries of the law. Except in this case, he didn't become a private eye like the rest of them do; he became a book dealer, and the glimpse into the rare book trade is fascinating.

This one was a winner, and I look forward to the rest of the series. show less

This is the one that started Dunning's Janeway series. I was hooked from the first page to the big-twisting end.
This detetective story is peppered with all kinds of book facts that will keep any bibliophile turning the pages. I guess it's a good detective story too. But, hands down, it's a winner just for merging detectives and books.
Half-way through, it had me Googling "book scout" and wondering if I could make a living at that myself.
Needless to say, I was smart enough not to quit my day-job, all the while wishing this book-detective tale never ended.