Rating: 
Summary: A wakeful tale!
Review: "The Bookman's Wake" is an interestingly good follow-up to "Booked To Die" by John Dunning. Mr. Dunning's character, Cliff Janeway is a wondrerful sleuth that we learn more about in this outing, set in the beautiful state of Washington. We also learn more about the fabulous world of literature and the book business as well. At times, the plot gets complex when a rare copy of Poe's The Raven is up for grabs and anyone who has a copy of it, gets murdered. I felt that most of the characters were well portrayed and are quite memorable. Without giving the ending away, I felt that the loose-ends at the end of the story, could of been resolved a little better. However, a good story leaves a question or two unanswered to make way for the sequel, (if one is indeed in the works.) Also, life is full of mysteries and anyone who claims to have all the answers is either a charleton or a fool or both. The plot and characters return to me in different ways and continues to ask the never ending question; what makes complicated people do certain things? Some reviewers either loved this story or hated it. Either, or; this book makes you think twice about book the industry and the people who make books happen.
Rating: 
Summary: A must for book lovers and mystery buffs.
Review: A great read for anyone who loves books and enjoys a good mystery. The protagonist is multi-dimensional: tough, literary, ex-cop. If you like Greenleaf and Ross MacDonald, this is your kind of mystery
Rating: 
Summary: What a disappointment after "Booked to Die"
Review: As good as "Booked to Die" is, that's how lifeless this second volume in the Janeway series is. The characters are flat and poorly developed; the prose is fat and unrewarding. (Chapter 42, for instance, is a 15-page summary of what a secondary character discovered in her travels--despite the fact that the book is from Janeway's first-person point of view.) Much too tedious for my taste. Had to force myself to finish it and even then I felt as though perhaps I shouldn't have bothered...Mr. Dunning, please give us a Janeway closer to the first version next time around--a Janeway who is an interesting fellow.
Rating:
Summary: Janeway Is Back!
Review: Book-collectors and lovers of cerebral mysteries have reason to rejoice. Ex-Denver cop and now bookstore owner Cliff Janeway is back and involved in an intrigue that gets more byzantine by the page. Mr. Dunning is even more ambitious in this novel than his first with a plot that twists and turns as Janeway sets out to pick up a young fugitive in Seattle. But that is just the beginning of a mystery that takes him back in time as he uncovers murder after murder in some way connected to a 1969 edition of Poe's "The Raven."At one point in the novel the character Huggins describes the writing skills of another character Trish Aandahl: "The woman is just a sorceress when it comes to words. There's a seductive quality to her writing that hooks you by the neck and just drags you through it. Just wait till you get started reading her book-- you won't be able to leave it alone." That could be a perfect description of the better part of this well-plotted book where only at rare times do you see Mr. Dunning's scaffolding. Of course there's Mr. Dunning's opinions about the book business that I completely agree with, for example, the "anal-obsessive who defaces books: "You find a grand copy of an old Ross Macdonald and open it to see that some fool has written all over it, destroying half its value and all of its factory-fresh desirability. Why is a book the only gift that the giver feels free and often compelled to deface before giving?" "Even worse than the scribblers. . . were the name embossers." Finally, Dunning takes aim at "the remainder goons at the Viking Press." I have never understood why people in the book business insist on those awful remainder marks either. I get the feeling they would be just as happy retailing toilet tissue if the profit margin were greater.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but...
Review: Booked to Die, Dunning's first Janeway novel, was an absolute treat. It had books and it had Colorado (always fun to read a book and know where everything is....). I really missed the Colorado element in this effort which is set in the Puget Sound area. Also, while the bookman's insight remains fascinating, the plot of this book is bit too far-fetched to ring true, particularly the ending. Still, above average writing gives this four stars.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting but...
Review: Booked to Die, Dunning's first Janeway novel, was an absolute treat. It had books and it had Colorado (always fun to read a book and know where everything is....). I really missed the Colorado element in this effort which is set in the Puget Sound area. Also, while the bookman's insight remains fascinating, the plot of this book is bit too far-fetched to ring true, particularly the ending. Still, above average writing gives this four stars.
Rating:
Summary: Well plotted, entertaining mystery
Review: Cliff Janeway is an ex-cop and current used bookstore owner. When one of his old cronys from the Denver PD offer him a quick $5000 for picking up a bail jumper in Seattle Cliff takes the job, mainly because it also involves a rare copy of Poe's "The Raven." But all is not as it seems as Cliff gets drawn deeper and deeper into a forty year old mystery that finds him being hunted by the Seattle police for murder. John Dunning is a good writer. His characters are excellently drawn, his dialogue is crisp, and the plotting is tight. Cliff Janeway has a good "voice" and the book moves along well, never dull or boring. This is the first Bookman mystery I've read but I'll be looking for the others. This book stands way above the average run-of-the-mill books that pass for mysteries these days. I recommend it highly.
Rating:
Summary: Books among the bodies
Review: Cliff Janeway, narrator and protagonist, is a former Denver cop turned book dealer. After a tantalizing prologue describing a series of 20-year-old unsolved murders featuring book collectors, the story begins with Janeway accepting a job to trace a woman who skipped bail. It's not the sort of job Janeway would ordinarily take, but this woman has been accused of, among other things - like shooting - stealing a rare book. A book that doesn't, in fact, exist. Jetting to Seattle, Janeway captures the young woman easily. But instead of dragging her to justice, Janeway, charmed by her knowledge of rare books and intrigued by certain puzzles in the case, allows her to visit her family. The girl disappears and people start getting murdered. Meanwhile, a number of collectors seem eager to get their hands on this non-existent book, an elegant edition of Poe's The Raven, supposedly done in the same year its small and specialized publisher died in a fire. The plot grows complex but never incomprehensible. Janeway is a tough but tender sort who drops plenty of fascinating book lore among the bodies and chase scenes.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping Tale
Review: Dunning's writing flows smoothly. His plot moves steadily with enough twists ant turns to to keep the reader from wanting to leave the story long enought to do the most necessary things. Enjoyed it form beginning to end.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best ever written.
Review: Fascinating look into the rare book world and a great mystery, too. Don't miss this one. Should have won the Edgar, the Shamus, the Anthony and all the rest.
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