The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections

Okay, maybe only a book nerd would find this mystery engaging, and I am and I did; although, I never really came to like the protagonist, Assistant Director of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Liesl Weiss.  Author Eva Jurczyk has herself been a librarian and this is her debut novel; she has written for several publications, however, and the writing, plotting, and characterization is certainly competent. 

Liesl is suddenly called back from her sabbatical, happily writing a book on gardening, to fill in for her boss, Christopher Wolfe, who has been hospitalized with a stroke that's left him unconscious. Things immediately go awry for a number of reasons. First of all, Liesl doesn't really like the limelight and has been happy all these years doing everything to make Christopher look good to university administration and the collection's wealthy donors. Secondly, a few members of her staff are miffed about her being made acting director and aren't particularly supportive. Thirdly, she can't find the combination to the safe in Christopher's office, in which, supposedly, the department's newest acquisition, a Plantin Polyglot Bible is being kept safe until it can be evaluated for insurance purposes. And finally, when Christopher's wife shows up with the safe's combination, the Bible isn't there and the big reveal party for the main donors is just a day away. As time goes on, it's found that another of the collections prize possessions is missing, and eventually a third item is found to be a forgery. Liesl must eventually conclude that the nearly priceless items have been stolen, and that it's an inside job. When her protege, quiet and trustworthy Miriam Peters, goes missing shortly after the discoveries, suspicions immediately fall on her. Liesl is being pressured by the university president--and some of her colleagues-- to hide the fact that valuable items and a member of her staff is missing. Liesl wants to notify the police...what should she do? 

Kirkus calls the book "a valentine to librarians that doesn’t shy away from their dark sides." Publishers Weekly, somewhat more subdued in their response, concludes "Mystery readers are likely to be disappointed by the crimes and their solutions, and bibliophiles may feel that the rare books themselves are given short shrift, despite the author’s obvious research. This works best as an unflinching appraisal of the personal and professional effects of a woman’s aging into invisibility."