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The Bookman's Promise (2004)

by John Dunning

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Cliff Janeway (3)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1,4283912,839 (3.69)22
When Cliff Janeway investigates the provenance of a signed first edition of a memoir by nineteenth-century explorer Sir Richard Burton, he becomes embroiled in a mystery involving a lost library of rare Burton material.
  1. 10
    Fast Company by Harry Kurnitz (benjclark)
    benjclark: If you like John Dunning, allow me to reccomend Marco Page's Fast Company. Out of print, but that shouldn't stop you. It's in a similar vein to Dunning's Bookman series, but set in 1938. Well, it was written in 1938.
  2. 00
    The Bay Psalm Book Murder by Will Harriss (benjclark)
    benjclark: Protagonist even has the same first name!
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» See also 22 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 39 (next | show all)
I really wanted to love this series. Alas, I do not. ( )
  Kim.Sasso | Aug 27, 2023 |
OK mystery novel. Main character is a rare book dealer. ( )
  kslade | Dec 8, 2022 |
The discovery and purchase of an old Richard F Burton book triggers a series of stories that become nested mysteries. The first mystery is who was Charles Warren. Burton inscribed the book he gifted to Warren. That happened in 1860 pre US Civil war. The book is purchased by Cliff Janeway a former homicide cop who has become a book dealer and collector of rare books. He is contacted by an elderly woman who turns out to be the grand daughter of Charles Warren. We learn that Warren had a nearly complete collection of Burton’s books. They were swindled away from his daughter’s husband by a pair of shady book dealers from Baltimore.
The elderly woman dies before Janeway can learn a lot more. Then he discovers she had been befriended by a younger woman when she was living in an elder care home. That woman had a series of tapes she had made of the elderly woman speaking under anesthesia. She reveals her grandfather’s story of traveling to Charleston and Fort Sumter before the war and suggests that advice given by Burton may have lead to the opening act of the Civil war. It turns out Burton kept a notebook and diary and Janeway goes first to Baltimore and then Charleston in search of that volume. The story of that search is one of the nested mysteries. Another mystery was triggered by the smothering of a woman who had befriended the elderly woman when she came to Denver to speak with Janeway. And their is the Pulitzer Prize winning friend of a Judge friend of Janeway who is somehow mixed up with Burton’s story and his books. In the end the mysteries are unraveled thanks to a few unexpected coincidences. There is a night spent camping at Fort Sumter that involves a confrontation with a thug from Baltimore and a romance between Janeway and a young woman protégée of the Judge’s. ( )
  waldhaus1 | Jul 7, 2022 |
I did agree, but I was no expert. The man said, "So we have a mystery here as well as a valuable book " and it all began then. Its roots went back to another time, when Richard Francis Burton met his greatest admirer and then set off on a secret journey, deep into the troubled American South. Because of that trip a friend of mine died. An old woman found peace, a good man lost everything, and I rediscovered myself on my continuing journey across the timeless infinite world of books.
  taurus27 | Jun 23, 2022 |
This was the only Cliff Janeway story I hadn't read and it popped up yesterday at The Book Dispensary, while I was waiting for Laura to complete PASS exams. Couldn't put it down! ( )
  bardbooks | Nov 11, 2021 |
Showing 1-5 of 39 (next | show all)
After an eight-year hiatus, author and antiques book collector John Dunning has returned Cliff Janeway --- the tough guy, Denver ex-cop turned bookstore owner and hero of two prior novels, BOOKED TO DIE and THE BOOKMAN'S WAKE --- to his fans.

Janeway is plunged into a new mystery when Josephine Gallant, a frail and dying old woman, is brought to his shop. She had heard Janeway on a radio interview about a rare first edition he had acquired by 19th century explorer Richard Francis Burton. She contends that the book is rightfully hers and was part of a vast collection of her grandfather's. The collection mysteriously disappeared shortly after her grandfather's death, and she has always suspected that a crooked Baltimore bookstore dealer was responsible. None of the books had surfaced in almost 80 years, but she is certain Janeway's new acquisition was part of that collection.

 

» Add other authors (4 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Dunning, Johnprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Guidall, GeorgeNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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Epigraph
Dedication
To Pat McGuire,
for long friendship, timely brainstorming,
and other mysterious reasons
First words
The man said, "Welcome to Book Beat, Mr. Janeway" and this was how it began.
Quotations
I was on my best behavior, somewhere between smarmy and suave, decked out in my dark coat and tie.
Last words
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
Disambiguation notice
John Dunning (1942- ), an American writer of detective fiction
John Dunning (1942- ), an American writer of detective fiction. Do not confuse with John H. Dunning (1927- ), British writer of business and economic works.
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When Cliff Janeway investigates the provenance of a signed first edition of a memoir by nineteenth-century explorer Sir Richard Burton, he becomes embroiled in a mystery involving a lost library of rare Burton material.

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