Books To Die For

Books To Die For

The thing everybody's dying

for is a small press reprint of Poe's "The Raven."

Reviewed by Jamie Agnew

Owner of Aunt Agatha's, a mystery and true-crime book store

BOOKED TO DIE

By John Dunning

Avon, 321 pages

   I'd better start this review off with a warning - one of my independent bookselling colleagues exposed a solid citizen with sober habits (let's call him Mr. X) to John Dunning's "Booked to Die" and BAM, he got the book bug. He now joins me and the desperate few at the 8 am PTO sales, the cutthroat library bag days, and the mildewed garage serums in search of the one thing we probably have too much of - books. U's hard on your marriage, your wallet and your storage space, but the hunt for used books is also addictive and fun as hell.

   Dunning wrote some mysteries that went nowhere, settled down as a bookseller, then returned to writing, finally finding success when he followed the oldest writing rule of all - write about what you know. The fine and-collectible book biz is the hook in Dunning's "Booked to Die" and its new sequel "The Bookman's Wake," and it's a hook that's easy to swallow.

   "Booked to Die" was an immediate hit in the relatively small book world - naturally no one in it objected to being presented as a glamorous, romantic white knight in search of the modern grail - the last good retailer in America. From the artificial intelligence overseers and keyboard pokers at the big chain book-marts to the ever humble Independent Mystery Booksellers Association members, everyone loved and hand-sold the book. Somewhat ironically the hardback first edition quickly became a highly prized and value-inflated collectible - the kind of thing Dunning's protagonist Cliff Janeway, the homicide cop turned book dealer, is always finding on the shelves of the less astute, priced at 25c.

   But beneath all the hype is a pretty good mystery, compulsive reading somewhat along the lines of Aaron Elkins, with Elkins' occasionally uneasy mixture of an absorbing profession, good action and cloying romantic dialogue. (Worst sentence? "She touched my face and said, 'Love me again,' and I couldn't, couldn't say no.") The mystery of the murdered book scout leads Janeway and the reader on a humming, deftly plotted ride, and when it's all over you've learned a lot about collectible books, been thoroughly entertained and, yes, even satisfied.

   Mystery writers are not immune to the dreaded cliché sophomore slump, and I wondered if Dunning's shtick would wear as well in his second act. Even though the advance buzz has been that it isn't as good, "The Bookman's Wake" comes through with an even better performance, in my opinion, than "Booked to Die."

   This time Janeway's lured back into the muscle racket by a former police colleague turned P.I., and the thing everybody's dying for is a small press reprint of Poe's "The Raven," which may or may not exist. Janeway follows the bloody wake of a brilliant printer who seems to have spelled death lo a lot of people around him. As usual the women can't resist Cliff and the men can't stand up to his mighty fists, and we race with him through pools of ink and blood, sheets of paper and linen, to another satisfying conclusion. I admit I wasn't really sure who had killed who even after the explanations, but that happens in Chandler, too, so I can't quibble.

   I do wish this authorial alter ego wouldn't win all the women and all the fights - I find Janeway much more believable as a bookman than a hard guy. Readers seeking a more refined bibliophile might be ad vised to check out Elizabeth Daly's marvelous Henry Gamage. All in all, however, Dunning's produced a series that promises a future of good reading. But remember Mr. X - his collection is at a hundred hot modern firsts and climbing and he's finding to his dismay that not many of us have Dunning's knack of making big bucks from book collecting.

BOOKED TO DIE By John Dunning Avon, 321 pages. THE BOOKMAN'S WAKE By John Dunning Scribner, 351 pages.