The Bookwoman's Last Fling: A Cliff Janeway Novel

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About The Bookwoman's Last Fling: A Cliff Janeway Novel

Product Description In another enthralling bestseller by "master yarn spinner" John Dunning, rare book dealer and relentless private eye Cliff Janeway unravels a deadly plot marked by stolen classics and stable secrets. When wealthy horse trainer H. R. Geiger dies, Denver bookman Cliff Janeway encounters the legacy of the man's wife, Candice, a true bookwoman who left behind an assortment of rare first-edition children's books. Sent to assess the collection, Janeway soon finds that several titles are missing, replaced by cheap reprints -- while other hugely expensive pieces remain. Why would a thief take one priceless book and leave an equally valuable volume on the shelf? Suspecting foul play, Janeway follows the trail of Candice's shadowy past to California's Golden Gate and Santa Anita racetracks, where he signs on as a racehorse hot walker. Eavesdropping on the chatter among the hands, he doesn't like what he hears. And when he goes to the house where Candice died to look for answers, Janeway finds much more than he bargained for. From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Bestseller Dunning scores another triumph with his fifth mystery (after 2005's The Sign of the Book) to feature Cliff Janeway, a former homicide detective who has found a second career as an antiquarian book dealer but who hasn't quite lost his taste for police work. Janeway receives an invitation from wealthy horse trainer H.R. Geiger to come to Idaho to appraise his book collection, but by the time Janeway arrives, his host is dead. He winds up tracking down some rare volumes that have vanished and probing the decades-old death of Geiger's wife, a wealthy heiress who collected valuable juvenile fiction. When a fresh body turns up and Janeway himself almost falls victim to a killer, the bibliophile detective finds that his decision to pursue the truth puts him at odds with his longstanding significant other. Dunning's exceptional gifts at plotting and characterization should help win him many new readers, while the horse-racing angle is sure to lure Dick Francis fans. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From Bookmarks Magazine John Dunning knows the horse and book worlds well. Before writing his first book, he worked for horse trainers in Denver, Idaho, and California, and he ran the Old Algonquin Bookstore in Denver. The Bookman's Last Fling offers a smart, authentic look into both worlds. Janeway, agreeably misanthropic as always, complements a cast of complex, fascinating characters, local color, and solid dialogue. Critics noted, however, an awkward plot mired by unoriginal details, which diminishes the force of the mystery. While equestrian fans will enjoy this thriller, Dunning's regular bibliophile base may want to wait for the next ride. Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. From AudioFile George Guidall gives his usual polished performance in this installment of the Cliff Janeway mystery series. The cop-turned-bookman is hired to appraise the book collection of the newly dead widow of a deceased horse trainer. Murder soon occurs, and we follow Janeway into the world of Idaho horse breeding and California racetracks. Guidall shines in his characterizations of hysterical women, old drunks, irate rich people, and all the other denizens of the horse world, who prove to be an interesting and untrustworthy lot. His voicing of Janeway--Guidall has read four previous books in the series--is bemused, intelligent, and intriguingly world-weary. And his pacing, as ever, is superb. R.E.K. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine About the Author John Dunning has revealed some of book collecting’s most shocking secrets in his bestselling series of crime novels featuring Cliff Janeway: Booked to Die, which won the prestigious Nero Wolfe award; The Bookman’s Wake, a New York Times Notable Book; and the New