"Some dealers and collectors have no conscience whatever..Do you know, Sergeant, there are men and ever women who would cheerfully kill me to get what I have found today!"

A peek into the second hand book market and the lengths at which book sellers will go to get their hands on rare publications.

After walking a drunken Michael Fisk home, Sergeant Wigan begins a friendship with Fisk and learns about the collecting and selling of rare books. When Fisk is found murdered in his home, Wigan is determined to help find the true killer and avoid an innocent man from being hanged.

This book was originally published in 1956 and I think it's important to get yourself in that mindset before picking up this book. It reads like a classic, whodunnit murder mystery. If you're a fan of modern thrillers, but not fond of the classics, this book might not be for you.

I enjoyed many parts of this book, but not all. I'm going to break my review into sections.

The beginning: I really enjoyed the pacing and content in the beginning. It kept me turning the page and wanting to know what was going to happen next.

The middle: I found the middle to be very slow and repetitive. It was during this point that I almost considered putting a pin in it and coming back to finish at another time. I found myself rereading paragraphs because my mind was wandering. In truth, at this point I was a bit bored and ready for the ending.

The end: In the end, the pacing picked back up. And the ending was final and wrapped up everything nicely.

I can't say that I liked any of the characters, but that is true for most classic murder mysteries. You're not going to get a ton of character development that you see in modern reads.

Death of a Bookseller
by Bernard J. Farmer
A mystery from 1956 . Well, there you have it. I just sadly, very sadly could not get into what the book was saying in UK English. Not the book's fault mostly. It was a true hot mess for me.

I had such a hard time getting into this book that it took me a couple days to finish it. I started liking it halfway through so thankfully finished faster then I started. It wasn't a bad story it just went what I would say "off the rails" a bit. There were parts that would have been better left out. For the seventy-five percent of it that I did enjoy, I thought the characters were the most interesting. The main character was hard to like at first but by the end you realize you have been cheering him on for a while. The information in the book about book dealers was very interesting! I don't know that I would read it again, but I am glad I pushed through to the end.

Perfect choice for the 100th book in the British Library Crime Classics! If you love books about books, witty banter between characters, and a great who-dunnit, then you will love this book. The characters in this book were intriguing and likeable even with their individual quirks and flaws. I especially felt sympathy for the volatile prisoner with anger issues that Sergeant Jack Wigan is risking his career to prove innocent. Red herrings and plot twists kept my interest up until the big reveal at the end. The epilogue to the story gave it a feeling of completion that some books do not have. It's been a while since I've finished a book in two nights, but Death of a Bookseller was too good to put down!

This is a re-release of a British Library Crime Classic book from Poisoned Pen Press, first published in 1956. The story is set in 1950’s London in the world of rare book dealers. I always enjoy reading anything set in London and have recently become interested in the rare book buying trade so I had high hopes for this mystery.

Unfortunately, the story fell flat for me. It was difficult to get into and tended to drag on. While the book was a bit dry and confusing at times and I had considered not finishing it, I’m glad I did. The story picked up towards the end. I loved Sergeant Jack Wigan for following his instinct regarding a man’s innocence and his tenacity to fight for justice.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adore Sergeant Jack Wigan! How thankful I am that Poisoned Pen Press has reissued this gem, which was first published in 1956. English author Bernard J. Farmer wrote an entire series with the resolute, conscientious Wigan, of which Death of a Bookseller is the second. (Fear not! I came to this book cold, and I enjoyed it just fine.) In it, Wigan befriends an isolated, idiosyncratic bookseller and becomes interested in bookselling himself. When the bookseller is knifed to death, Wigan gets involved.

With such a wonderful novel, I truly hope that publisher Poisoned Pen Press will publish the entire series. Please, please, please!

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press in exchange for an honest review.

This story delves into the realm of rare book sellers and collectors, and the lengths to which many will go to get their hands on rare finds. I thought it was perfectly fitting as the 100th book in the British Library Crime Classics—a series that has made many hard-to-find classics accessible to everyone.

Aside from the general setting, this had everything I love in a classic murder mystery—lovable and complex characters, plot twists and red herrings, real suspense, and criminals dressing up in actual costumes. Wigan was a great lead, a down-to-earth policeman with a truly good heart. I also really liked the character of Fred. He was easy to root for because his temper was shown to be a direct result of his poorly-managed anxiety. Charlie was another likable character, and even Ruth and her rich American fellow were kind of charmingly evil.

My only complaint is this ran a bit longer than I thought was necessary. There was some filler toward the end that was frustrating when I really just wanted to find out the answer to the mystery. But overall, a really enjoyable read and one of my favorites so far from the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is an interesting book which sits in between the golden age era and today's modern style of crime. Written in the 1950's it seems to draw from procedural, and steady solving skills.. It is a hard book to get involved with, but if you like a good mystery it is worth the investment. Especially if you like discovering books from a different era, it certainly tells a good mystery. . Thanks you NetGalley and the publishers for the DRC

I really appreciated the extensive historical detail in this book about the book trade in the 1950s. It gave me a sense of being transported back in time. The book covers a wide range of topics, including the realities of the time period, police procedures, religion, literature, and even demonology. The murder mystery plot was well-developed and the characters were interesting and engaging. However, my only issue with the book was that the storytelling felt dry and somewhat tedious, which made it take longer to read than I would have liked. Despite this, I did enjoy the main character, who was a good person above all else. Overall, it was a solid read.

An "odd" book in the best sense of the word. A combination of various genres... police procedural, which is not my favorite genre....give me an amateur detective that keeps tripping over bodies any day...but surprise, surprise, we get two amateur detectives helping out...gothic...I love a good gothic and there are occult books being collected that "may" be the root of the murder,... and some interesting background on used book dealers and their unsavory practices...(who knew that the good old Book Nook is a front for devious shenanigans? Remind me to pack heat the next time I go...) There is also an interesting take on the criminal justice system at the the time, as the race is on to save a innocent man from a death sentence.

A good puzzle and a nice short read and any book with a ruthless female book dealer who will stop at nothing (even murder???) to achieve her goals is worth the time...but it makes me question if those people behind the counter at Half Priced Books are up to no good!

Interesting mystery from 1956 has great insight into the world of second-hand and rare bookselling through the eyes of a police sergeant who is a book collector.

When a bookseller is murdered, the sergeant is seconded to the detective division because of his knowledge. Ultimately he works to solve the crime with the help of other booksellers.

The cues throughout the book did not unhappily, lead to a solution, which was disappointing

Death of a Bookseller was unimpressive. I had high hopes for it, but it read as though it had been plotted and written by a committee of teenagers, who just came up with plot points at random. The world-building through the story attempted to depict the community and culture of rare book buyers and sellers but it was completely unelievable. The plot consists of a police sergeant trying to prove the innocence of a man convicted of murder, before he hangs. The convicted man is in no way sympathetic and the policeman's motivation is supposed to arise from him being "religious" in not wanting to see a innocent man hung, which I thought was not very well portrayed. He was only "religious" as needed, and this was contradicted by his befriending a book collector who dabbled in Satanism. In fact, the sergeant has become a book collector himself though there is absolutely no evidence that this was an appropriate hobby for him, and all the other book dealers in the story have to constantly explain everything to him. I wish this book had been better. There was nothing wrong with the language although the style was curiously flat. Instead of planting clues or red herrings earlier than related events the writer just wrote them in at the time. I don't think I can give this book more than 2 stars. I resented having to finish it, which I did just in case it redeemed itself but it didn't. I am now cured of assuming that everything put out by British Library Crime Classics is going to be a quality read.

This was a phenomenal read. From the beginning, to the end it brought to mind the great classics of the mystery story. Memorable, flawed characters and excellent storytelling marry to make an incredibly enchanting novel.

This book is a mess. Honestly, there's not much to go into here - the writing is passable, the plot is a fever dream, and the characters are astoundingly opaque, unrealistic (save us all from the Golden Age British author attempting American English), and thoroughly through the looking glass. I have no words except, "huh?".

Mystery set among books made for an appealing premise. However, ultimately I found the book difficult to read and did not hold my interest. The book is from the British classic crime series during the Golden Age of crime

I loved the idea of this book, a mystery set amongst rare book dealers, but it wasn't as engaging as I had hoped.

Michael Fisk is found dead, and when one of his rivals, the bad tempered Fred Hampton, tried to sell a book that has clearly come from his collection, he is arrested and tried for his murder. PC Wigan, who was a friend of Fisk's, and his heir, doesn't think they have the right man and sets out to find the real murderer, which he must do before Hampton is hanged, so it becomes a race against time.

*Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for a review copy in exchange for an honest opinion.*

I wish I had more to say other than "what an oddly boring book, with the utmost simplistic writing that feels so horrible to read through." Quite sad to say this, honestly, but it had such a great premise that failed through and through. I'm terribly unsure if why it's sought after as the introduction exclaims. Maybe someone else would find this enjoyable, but I would not recommend it to anyone.

At the end of a long shift,Sergeant Wigan escorts a drunk man home. Mike Fisk, a trader in rare books, invites Wigan in to see his collection rare books. A friendship develops between the two, leading Wigan into beginning his own book collection. But then Mike is found murdered, and one of his extremely rare books is missing. Because of his knowledge of the book trade Wigan is seconded to C.I.D. to assist in the investigation into Fisk’s death. Wigan finds himself delving deep into the rare book trade “where avid agents will gladly cut you for a first edition and then offer you a lift home afterwards.” The evidence he finds points to another collector, one not well liked in the trade. Detective Inspector J. Saggs is convinced they have found their murderer and succeeds in getting a conviction. But Wigan has his doubts.

“Wigan, are you counsel for the defence?”

“No, sir, I’m only interested in justice being done.”

“It will be done. It’s my duty to screw the chap down and I will screw him down.”

Farmer’s plot is an unusual mashup of police procedural, thriller, and gothic horror story. What starts out by following Wigan and the murder investigation, turns into a race to save a man from being falsely convicted and hung, the takes a long diversion into the occult. Wigan, is a very likable character. A hard-working beat policeman with a strong sense of justice, kindhearted and honest to a fault. He’s also very down-to earth. Farmer spends a large part of the plot focusing not only on the collecting of rare occult books, but discussion on raising demons as well. It’s a thread that runs throughout the remainder of the story, and is a bit jarring at points. Wigan, a likable hard-working beat policeman with a strong sense of justice, is also very down-to earth. His prosaic sentiments did not mesh at all with the occult theme. At times it also became difficult to tease the police and the supernatural investigations apart. It all just resulted in a rather odd narrative

Farmer’s writing style was also a bit off, in that it felt extremely simplistic, and at times flat in tone. This made it a bit difficult at the beginning to actually get into the story. I found myself stopping and putting the book aside many times times. But I did pick it back up and ultimately I’m glad that I persevered.

Death of a Bookseller is not the best thing I’ve read from the BLCC. To be perfectly honest this is definitely not a great mystery novel in terms of plotting or writing. But it does have an appealing character in the form of Wigan. And the peek into the world of the rare book trade made for an interesting diversion.

England, antiquarian-books, bibliomystery, 1954, bookseller, law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation, wrongful-conviction, trial, paranormal, framed, personal-mission, lawyers*****

The copper and the bookseller.
The bookseller gets murdered, the police detective takes the easy out with the assailant, yet Wigan is promoted to assist with the investigation because of his knowledge of the book trade. Remember, it is set in 1954, original issue in 1956, so it is historical to us but contemporary for the writer. Despite the most meticulous diligence both before and after sentencing, it looks grim. The copper also becomes a bookseller on the side. The basics are intriguing, but it's the ingenious plot twists and diabolical red herrings that make this an exceptional Classic!
I requested and received an EARC from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. I am thankful, but I did find it in audio and gave my eyes a break.
Nick Rawlinson is an excellent voice actor.

1954 One evening in Sun, Middlesex, Sergeant Jack Wigan looks after a drunk whereupon they become friends. When bookseller Michael Fisk is killed Wigan is seconded to the detective division to aid in the case because of his knowledge of the book trade learnt from Fisk.
An interesting mystery which took its time to become an enjoyable one.
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.