Missing rare books... a missing colleague..... a mystery that's left to the acting head of The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Liesl Weiss. I found this book to be a fascinating look into issues of power, friendship, marriage, and the realm of rare books. I was dismayed by the line early on that a male character wouldn't have been handsome even if he weren't fat (paraphrased, not quoted). This kind of fat-shaming should have been caught by an editor.

One thing I can tell you about Eva Jurczyk: she knows about library work. I really enjoyed the first part of the book because it gives you an irresistible story: A very expensive and important book went missing and Liesl, the librarian in this story, is involved in solving this problem, although with her fair amount of obstacles: a horrible boss, violent coworkers, pretentious donors, and an academic allie.

Now, Liel’s relationships throughout the years didn’t quite land. At first, I thought that they will be developing as the story progresses but I don’t know. They felt a little off. I think they needed to be more developed otherwise they are just shallow.

I felt that the mystery was solved in a weird and sudden way. There were some moments where I got lost and felt like there was much information getting to nowhere and then everything was solved. So, that was that. It started great and then It was just developed.

What I really liked was the sense of being a woman and our relationships with men as authorities, which I felt was amazingly portrayed. In how men get all this attention and respect and women have to endure, to earn, to solve, and to be in a shadow, to feel like they aren’t enough, they don’t have support, that they need to be calm when things aren’t OK. To be criticized and judged and no one stands for us and when we do, crazy alert.

I liked the book, but I don’t know if it was a mystery or it was a critic or something else. I got caught in the middle.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC

This book is filled with love and hopeful criticism for the literary and library worlds. Eva Jurczyk’s prose captured my attention and her contrasting characters truly brought to life this suspenseful tale. However, I often found myself struggling to fully engage with the plot as many key elements occurring off-page. This forced the reader to assign a large amount of trust to Leisel, the main character, and believe what she tells her colleagues is in fact true.

Some of the relationships between the characters puzzled me, as meaning seemed to be hinted at in places where there was none. The select few chapters which brought the reader back to several different points in the past seemed a bit unnecessary, and focused on rather minor elements in the story. Some of the characters, like Max and Miriam, for example, seemed to be missing the full potential of their characters and seemed to only exist as scapegoats for the conflict of the story.

I did enjoy the overall theme of this book, that academic institutions are often deeply rooted in patriarchal traditions, that those in power often fail to see the fault in change. Leisel is able to represent a generation who strives for change, but also is able to empower those who will come after her, ensuring that the past does not overtake the future.

This book was not exactly what I expected, but truly delightful. I was anticipating something more mystery/thriller, when the book felt more literary fiction about a mystery. Lots of gorgeous character work, fabulous sense of atmosphere, brilliant writing.

At times I had trouble picking it up again, because a chapter would start in such a viscerally real description of an uncomfortable situation. But that’s my problem, and once I got started it was always a lovely read.

Ok so i am going to start with the fact that I picked this book because of its fantastic title. You cant go wrong giving a book nerd a book on books, and I loved this book about book lovers and the romance of a library.. A great mystery set in Canada.

Thank you NetGalley. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this book. I have always enjoyed libraries and the mysteries they hold. This book presented both. Liesl has taken over for her boss and has discovered that some rare books are missing. When she tries to report the theft she is met with resistance from the University’s President Garber. She not only has to solved the mystery of these missing books but also keep the library running smoothly. While solving the mystery she is discovering herself again and what she wants to be happy again.

This was a thoughtful mystery--more intersting than the mystery itself were the inner thoughts of the main character who was stuck in multiple difficult positions. As a librarian, the setting was described accurately and well.

The premise of the story had promise, but I couldn't get into it. I didn't like any of the characters.

A book about books, which will be enjoyed by readers. Liesel finds her sabbatical interrupted when her boss has a stroke and she's called on to step in and take his place. She immediately finds that the library's most recent rare book acquisition is missing. The staff all have different opinions on what happened and what to do, and her efforts to engage the police are stopped. Then one of the other librarians go missing, as well as another rare book. I enjoyed reading about the rare books and some of the small details shared about acquiring these works, as well as further research conducted on them.

As a lover of books, I especially enjoy reading about bookshops and libraries, and others that find pleasure in the presence of the written word. Unfortunately, this one just sort of slogged along for me. In a nutshell, the main character returns from sabbatical to run the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections while her boss is incapacitated. First, valuable books turn up missing, then another is discovered to be a replica. So this is really a mystery, which I also really enjoy, so it should have been a great fit for me. I'm not sure why I didn't completely click with this one...perhaps it was the university politics, perhaps it was valuing a book based on its age and rarity rather than on it's content and what it has to offer the world. I'm not sure, but I was not drawn to it and had to convince my self to keep going with it. On a positive note, it is well written, the main character has a wry sense of humor that is enjoyable, and all of the characters are realistically drawn with flaws and foibles. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood to read this at the moment I chose---it happens. Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

This is a love letter to libraries and books so I couldn't pass this one up on Netgalley. I am a sucker for novels about libraries, archives and museums and the people who inhabit those spaces. Librarians, archivists, curators, restorationists and all supporting that maintain, protect and preserve. I thought it began strongly but lagged from about 20 to 55% and then picked up and turned on all the charm until the end.

Liesl was an unusual protagonist as she's on the cusp of retirement and I just don't come across very many modern books with older women as main characters. There's a mystery of stolen books and a missing person here but it wasn't the main point of the book (that is what partially drew me in, however). The main point seemed to be Liesl's journey to finding her place and what she really wanted professionally and personally. I found some aspects of this journey more interesting than others but I could very clearly see the relevance even when I wasn't drawn in. The supporting characters were well enough done that I had strong feelings about them good and bad, so that was appreciated. When you completely root for a character to be slapped for dipping into someone's lunch without asking and remain aggravated pages later that they weren't taken to task, the author's done their job eliciting reader response. There was some very trenchant wit deployed (mostly unsaid by Lisel) and I did laugh.

There was a good insight on academia, the ever-important funding and the donor frottage that follows and also a very grating boy's club ethos. I enjoyed watching how all that played out and resolved and I also enjoyed Liesl's daughter Hannah's insights on the trajectory or lack thereof of Liesl's career. Overall a well-balanced and charming read. This story does have chapters that happened in the past and sometimes that could feel a bit unmoored from the main story but I didn't find it too disruptive of the flow.

Points for the story being set in Toronto! Also points for the descriptions of the rare books and the processes of procurement, cataloging and preservation. Beautifully done. And finally, there are so many instances of people eating big steaming bowls of spicy noodles in this story that I wanted noodles in the evening as I read this in bed. Be warned. Honestly, the baklava references were pretty enticing too. I can't site my favourite passages but know I have some and that's always a good thing.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the Advance Reader's Copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and found it hard to put down. What's not to like: rare books, mysterious disappearance of same, pompous entitled men and a competent and moral woman at the center. You don't have to be a bibliophile to enjoy this. The author pays homage to book, libraries and those who care for them.

When Liesl Weiss's boss in the department of rare books has a stroke, Liesl is suddenly in charge and no longer behind the scenes. Her life is further upended when the prized manuscript goes missing. Liesl is now charged with the task of finding the book, while not letting the news of its disappearance reach the public. Her task is muddied by the various other members of her department who all have their own opinions. When one of those members goes missing, Liesl is left unraveling the mysterious disappearance of the books and the colleague. As the mystery unravels, it becomes clear that one of the members of the department is responsible for the books disappearance and everyone's secrets start to come out.
Liesl is a woman who has lost herself to the shadows of the library. Throughout the book she must come to terms with who she is and who she wants to be. This book is about the secrets people keep, the relationships people neglect, and the choices people make. I didn't love this book, as I was hoping for a little more intrigue and excitement, but others will likely enjoy the story.

I studied a lot of courses in college that went over the laws and moral reasoning behind keeping expensive collections of things such as artifacts, numismatics, and books hidden away so this book was right up my alley. I loved the sort of cut throat atmosphere the author created, and the main character. I think that the world that this author created was so interesting, and I truly couldn't as for a better book... than a one on books as a reader. I loved the way the author handled the sort of red herrings in this story and thought that it was super well done. There were so many different moving parts in the story that I think separately and together made this to be a super fun and suspenseful read and mystery. I cannot imagine the stress of being left in charge of an opening that does not go the way it is supposed to as the stars of the show aka the books... have seemingly disappeared. I just thought this was fun read and I truly cannot wait for others to be able to read the story so I can vicariously live through them as they read it for the first time. I adored this book.

Great Character Study, so-so Mystery

There are lots of books around that are framed by some sort of skullduggery in an art museum. The best ones use the theft or vandalism of a priceless piece as the plot device that keeps the wheels turning. Lots to learn about how museums work and about what sorts of people work in museums as we pretend to be interested in the mystery.

Well, now the rare books and special collections department of a large university gets that sort of treatment, and the result is fine indeed. Our heroine, Liesl, has a problem with being the diffident but highly competent female who is overshadowed by loud, entitled men, but that isn't really the main theme. This is more along the lines of "Lord, what fools these mortals be", and where the book shines is in Liesl's bracing, edgy, pithy, and often withering observations regarding those around her. Liesl also develops into something of a mensch by the end, so this isn't just funny muttered asides from a sidelines observer; Liesl's a player and nobody's fool.

The upshot is that I really and truly didn't care who the malefactor was. The whole mystery could have been solved by some anonymous detective in the background, with the solution just being announced at the end of the book, and that would have been fine by me. The entertainment here was the fashion in which Liesl navigated the annoying, pompous, devious, thin skinned, damaged, and deceptive people around her. I suspect that most departments of rare books and special collections aren't populated by quite such a wide array of damaged and unscrupulous people, but maybe they are. If so, someone should write a book about it. Oh wait - they did. This one. It's cracking and literate entertainment of a high order.

(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

"The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections" is a cute little book that offers more than what it seems at first sight.

And what it seems at first sight is a mystery novel, a non-traditional one, but still a mystery novel: a very rare and expensive manuscript has disappeared from the university's library after the university paid an astronomical price for it. Liesl, who is filling for her boss, who has had a stroke, will try to find the book and, if it was stolen, the one who took it.

However, even if the mystery is... well, mysterious enough, Jurczyk doesn't seem to care so much about it as about the characters, their relationships and the world they live in. Liesl, her husband John, her former flame, Francis... There are an array of very interesting and easy to be with characters and they have a well developed inner world and easy to understand motivations. Because of that the novel becomes a charming little piece that is easy to enjoy and it never overstays its welcome. It is also a book that, well, people in love with books and libraries will enjoy a lot, with all the setting, the little explanations, and the depiction of a fascinating world (power structures, human relationships, etc...).

Nevertheless, even if, overall, I found the book entertaining, interesting and a fun read (one of those I recommend for a rainy afternoon) there was nothing that made me think it is a, sorry, rare and special book, one that stays with the reader after the last page. It might be because the development of the relationships is a little bit uneven and some characters (like the 'police officer') seem to be there just to create 'explanatory moments', which in a tongue-in-cheek manner might have worked, but here doesn't. Or it might be that the ending is stretched thin to give closure to so many little plot points. But there is, for me, something lacking to bring it to a higher level. But you won't regret reading it.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

An interesting mystery woven into the world of libraries and higher education. An expensive, rare manuscript goes missing, librarian Liesel is pulled back from her leave to manage the Rare Books dept. of a university and finds herself in the middle of a mystery.

I found this book to be a little of a slow start. The mystery does pick up and the book ended up being an interesting whirlwind. Anyone interested in the world of academia or libraries will enjoy the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book because I work in a library archives department. It is an intricately woven mystery, with a plot that would terrify anyone who loves rare books. I have recommended this book to my colleagues in the industry. However, I felt that many of the references were highly academic and perhaps too elevated for the majority of readers to understand, which may interfere with their ability to connect with this storyline. The plot moved slowly at times and at breakneck speed other times. The characters could have used a bit more depth--sometimes I found myself wondering why they were acting a certain way. I particularly struggled with Liesl's character because even while she had the depth I hoped for, I wanted her to be stronger and more clear-headed--instead she seemed a weak protagonist.

Rare books? A library setting? I was already on board. I was impressed by the accuracy of the descriptions of life in academia- the politics, the personalities, the egos. Liesel was a fantastic character and not just “nondescript plucky heroine who takes it upon herself to solve a mystery and outsmarts all the professionals for no clear reason.” This wasn’t quite “dark academia” but I feel confident dating fans of that genre are likely to thoroughly enjoy this.

I was really excited for this book and it lived up to expectations. The author does an excellent job making you feel like Liesl going through the story. You share in her struggles and grief while she is trying her best to keep her head above water. There are many different elements to the story that continually had me asking questions and wanting to read more.