Cover Image: The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

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Member Reviews

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I was drawn in by the title, hoping for a bibliophile chick-lit, but this was not what I expected. This was convoluted confusing with characters I could care less about. So unenjoyable and difficult to get through.

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I love books about books. This debut novel was a good one. It takes place in a library, so that is a plus. It features a female main character, another plus. There is a missing book, so that is a plus too. But it is about so much more than that. I loved the setting--a rare books department at a university library. This added another element of people the main character worked under. Not only was she a librarian, but the head librarian was sick and in the hospital. So she had to take over. The majority of the people in her life were men. This was a well thought out and added element to the book that allowed the book to go to a deeper level in terms of the topic and themes of men and women in powerful work positions. It really made you think. Plus, I wanted to know who stole the book! I am rounding this book up to 3.5 stars.

Thanks so much to Net Galley and Poisoned Pen Press for an e-copy and a physical copy of this book!

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When Christopher Wolfe, director of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, goes into a coma after having a stroke, Liesl is pulled in to temporarily take his place. Liesl walks into a mess. She can't get into the safe because the combination was changed, an important document was misplaced, and another important piece is missing. Will Liesl be able to find the missing documents and find out why they missing?

I wanted to love this book, but I just couldn't get into it. The characters weren't that interesting, the storyline was very slow-moving, and there wasn't much "meat" to the story. The other problem was that it unnecessarily jumped back and forth between the past and present.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

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Thrust into a leadership position in her library due to sudden illness of her past supervisor and then a rare book that is supposed to be revealed to important supporters of the library can't be accessed due to a lost combination....this is just the beginning of the problems for our main character. Interesting, compelling, emotional, with a touch of who-done-it. A worthwhile read!

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As a librarian, obviously I liked reading a story where we're a main character and not an afterthought. The plot didn't grip me, and it was hard to root for any of the characters. This wasn't a favorite.

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I wanted to love this mystery about a missing book, but it dragged and dragged. I ended up skipping the middle and going right to the end to learn what happened. This one is not for me.

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This is the story of Liesl, who works in the rare books and special collections division of a university library. She is nearing retirement age, and is on sabbatical to write a book when she is called back to head the department when her boss Christopher has a stroke. She quickly discovers that a rare Bible acquired by the university is missing. Then a long time staff member goes missing as well. Are the two connected?

This book has so many elements that I normally enjoy, book about books, a mystery, and academia. But this one missed the mark for me. I just couldn't get into the story. I didn't really identify with the main character and all and I felt the pacing was a bit too slow. The writing is very good and I think some people will really like it because it brings up important current issues such as mental health.

Thanks @netgalley for the ARC!

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Thank you Poisoned Pen Press for the gifted book I got through Sourcebooks Early Reads.

Whomp whomp. What a nothing burger of a book. Liesl is left in charge of the department of rare books and special collections when her boss has a stroke and soon discovers the most prized piece of work in the collection is missing! And that's where the intrigue stopped for me. I guessed the culprit very early on and found Liesl and her colleagues to be highly unlikable. This book is more of a character study of workplace relationships than the mystery it was billed as. Did not live up to my expectations. But it has ended up on some lauded lists so I probably am in the minority here. Conclusion: if you like character driven books it might be for you, if you like plot driven books, steer clear!

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I absolutely loved this book! I found it hard to put down. I highly recommend reading it! You won’t be disappointed.

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This story was nothing like what I was expecting. I was expecting a much lighter read and this novel dealt with some intense themes such as mental illness, infidelity, as well as sexism in academia. Unfortunately, for me, the plot fell flat and I found the characters unlikeable. This is very much a personal preference, as I like to be able to root for the characters in the books I read. Overall, it was not for me, but I can appreciate that many readers would enjoy the book and it’s flawed characters.

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Liesl has been working in the rare books department of a large university for thirty years when her boss has a stroke. As she's left to run things, she discovers that the library's most prized manuscript is missing. This is more a book about the library and the people who work there, and less about the mystery of the missing book. I enjoyed that the main character was an intelligent older woman, who overcomes some of her insecurities caused by years of living in the shadow. It's a nice story, not a nail biter, but a good book for the lovers of all books.

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Really enjoyed reading a book based in a library at my university and in my city - Toronto. The literary mysteries and deaths were carefully plotted and teased out throughout the book with several very credible suspects before the real one emerges.. Library and university politics nicely described. It was great watching Liesl, an older librarian placed suddenly in a position of power, gradually come to realize how to take the power and run with it after chapters full of male passive aggressive undermining. In fact, I was getting a bit annoyed at how long she allowed them to make her feel/think less of herself and her possible decisions. An underlying theme in this book is that of mental illness and how it is managed or not managed by family members which I found quite insightful .

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I need a little bit of a half star here. I find the plot very interesting, but lacked the oomph I was really looking for. Overall, it’s a solid book with a good premise and good characters. It reminds me a lot of The Lost Apothecary which had a similar feeling and also left me feeling in this kind of mediocre world of fascination and desire to continue reading more books of this nature.

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I found this book to be an interesting read. The characters were an assortment of love them or not love them types. The plot flowed along and held my interest for the most part.

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I will read almost and book with any form of literary word in the title. I’m also very intrigued by rare book collections. So this title sounded right up my alley. Unfortunately it was just okay. The mystery surrounding the rare book that goes missing had potential but the reveal was lacking any element of surprise.

The reading experience was fine, it just could have used a little bit more sparkle in some of the plot points.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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As someone who loves history and learning about books, the premise of this book is really intriguing and immediately drew me in. I found many aspects of learning about rare books really interesting, and plan to do more research on my own as well. I like the idea of a book about books, and a mystery surrounding them too.

However, with that said, on a personal level, this book, unfortunately, just wasn't for me. I often found it very difficult to connect with the characters, and felt that certain heavier topics were not handled with as much care as they could have been. I also felt that the time-jumps back in time were sometimes confusing, and I wasn't always clear on when the plot was back in the present tense.

I hope that others will take the opportunity to read this book if the plot sounds like something they would be intrigued by, but, it just was not the right fit for me.

Thank you so much to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book, all opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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A fabulous read about the rare collections of books kept at universities.

How do you keep up with the things no one looks at and few know of their existence? If some go missing, how long would it take you to discover the loss? Is it misplaced? Was it borrowed? Was it stolen?

All of these questions come into play when the newest addition to the collection of rare books is due to be inspected at a gala reception. And yet it can't be found.

This book takes you in and out of the various aspects of rare and special books and what becomes of them after acquisition by various universities. A fun and educational read taking you into areas unfamiliar yet intriguing.

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Liesl Weiss has worked for years as second in “command” at the university library of rare books and special collections. Planning now on a retirement in the not distant future, she has taken a sabbatical to write a book on horticulture, one of her major interests. Her entire plan is disrupted by the sudden illness of her boss, Christopher, the library director. Now she is back in the library waiting for Christopher’s recovery when shoes begin to drop in the rare book department: the most recent acquisition is not where it should be and, of course, Christopher can’t answer questions. He's had a stroke, apparently.

And so the novel, that is partially a mystery, begins. I say partially because it’s also about Oldboy networking, campus politics, the place of women in certain groups—especially middle-aged women. And marriage and family. And the difficulties of friendship with men and women for a middle aged woman.

Liesl begins what investigation she can muster, with very limited assistance so no word of the potential major problem will leak out to deans or donors, etc, all the while wondering about her retirement, her husband's art future, their daughter, the police who are searching for a missing co-worker. Life isn't dull though it is out of her control.

The story does inevitably tackle and resolve the problems of the library and Liesl is integral in that process. She is an interesting woman for what she is not: not loud or showy. Not the "type" to lead a novel perhaps one might say. I say she did a great job considering who she had to work with!
I recommend this book to those who enjoy quiet novels about books, libraries, academe, and managing in the old boy network.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

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This novel was very well written. The author knows books, especially rare ones, with great adequacy. For me, personally, this book was really hard to get into. It took me a long time to read. I enjoyed the characters and the storyline, it was just a little slow.

I would definitely be willing to read more books by this author!

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I just found this to be okay. I loooove special collections and rare books (it's what I got my library degree in) so I really enjoyed the setting and concept of this. However, the narratives and mysteries weren't enough to wow me. They were fine and I don't regret reading it. Plus, I know a ton of patrons I can very easily recommend this to who will love it.

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