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Rating: 
Summary: A couple of great books about books
Review: There has been a lot of talk among bibliophiles about these books and their subject matter. Rare books and their values are instrumental in their plots. What those people usually leave out in their recommendations, however, is that these are two excellent mysteries. In Booked to Die, Cliff Janeway is a cop with a problem. He knows who is pulling a string of derelict murders--his old nemesis Jackie Newton--but he can't pin the crimes on him. Up comes a new victim, a local bookscout that Janeway recognized from the street, and Janeway thinks he has Newton cold--except that Newton has an alibi in one Barbara Crowell, who was with him from 3:00 the previous afternoon. The Bookman's Wake focuses on a long-thought-lost special printing of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven, which Janeway is hired to find. Along the way he meets a woman named Eleanor Rigby and things just get more confusing from there. To say more would give too much away. But these are definitely two mysteries worth reading. All the information on the book world is simply a bonus for bibliophiles. Janeway is a very interesting character--a cop, then a detective, and a book lover. Author John Dunning also owned a book shop for ten years and still runs a first-edition-only business from his home. I recommend these books to people interested in books as a commodity, but also to anyone who likes a good mystery. For once (well, twice), I was satisfied with an ending.
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