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The Sign of the Book
The Sign of the Book
The Sign of the Book
Audiobook10 hours

The Sign of the Book

Written by John Dunning

Narrated by George Guidall

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

Ex-policeman and rare books dealer Cliff Janeway travels to remote Paradise , Colorado , where cops and crooks alike are as infernal as the weather. Janeway has agreed to help Laura Marshall, a friend of his bookstore partner, who's accused of murdering her husband. While Janeway tries to gather the facts, he pulls long shifts standing watch over the Marshall home, filled with books signed by their celebrity authors. When a shifty pair of alleged book dealers turns up, and Janeway begins to suspect that Laura's son is hiding critical information, the case becomes a maze of clues and increasing danger.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJan 16, 2009
ISBN9781440702839
The Sign of the Book
Author

John Dunning

John Dunning (1942–2023) revealed 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 York Times bestsellers The Bookman’s Promise, The Sign of the Book, and The Bookwoman’s Last Fling. He also wrote the Edgar Award–nominated Deadline, The Holland Suggestions, and Two O’Clock, Eastern Wartime. An expert on rare and collectible books, he owned the Old Algonquin Bookstore in Denver for many years. 

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Reviews for The Sign of the Book

Rating: 4.333333333333333 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

12 ratings9 reviews

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A very quick read. It did pick up toward the end, and was very hard to put down. Not as much book lore as some of the previous installments in the Cliff Janeway "Bookman" series, but enjoyable nonetheless. I will pass my copy on to a fellow bibliophile.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Entertaining light reading.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Laura and Erin were as close as two friends could be, until Laura broke the code of friendship and had an affair with Erin's lover. Now, 10 years later, Laura is accused of killing that same man, (who is now her husband and father of her children) and has asked for Erin's help, even though they haven't spoken to one another for all those years. Will Erin help her? Erin sends her new lover to check on the case, and eventually decides to help. So is Laura guilty or not?I was very pleased with this book. I haven't read any of the other books in this series, but I will have to go back and catch up now. This is also my first John Dunning book, but definitely won't be my last. I love his writing style. It is easy to read and hard to put down. His characters are well developed and witty. I am glad I bought this book, and I will be glad to recommend it and pass it along.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Cliff Janeway, an ex-cop, now a rare book dealer sets out to help his friend Erin, a lawyer, solve a murder. When Erin's former friend Laura, asks her to represent her, Erin hesitates. Laura is charged with the murder of her husband, the same man she stole from Erin when they were younger. Laura convinces everyone that she did not kill her husband, but that she only said she did to protect her adopted son Jerry, who is an autistic savant. Cliff also has to figure out the mystery of the dead man's books, all of which are autographed copies. It turns out that they were all forged autographs and Cliff has to figure out how all of these things are related to the murder.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A solid mystery, and one I enjoyed. I was a bit disappointed that the book angle -- the primary draw for me to this series -- proved to be a complete deadend in this title. Still, the sections in which that Dunning probes the market of signed volumes and book fairs were greatly rewarding.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A solid, entertaining mystery - this is the first in the Cliff Janeaway series I have read. I like Cliff - an ex cop who has become a bookdealer and who now almost accidently combines the two skill sets. He is his own man, guided by his own ethics with a great sense of humour. Erin seems a good partner and I liked Parley as a minor character. All the characters are grounded well.I do think the plot was pretty transparent in regards to whom shot whom and why but I couldn't quite figure out where the plot thread regarding the Preacher would end up (which was no where in particular.) I also enjoyed learning a bit about the book trade.I liked it enough that I'll happily read others in the series.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Sign of the Book by John Dunning is a Cliff Janeway mystery. Janeway finds himself hip-deep in murder and books in remote Paradise, Colorado when a woman confesses to killing her husband.Turns out that the woman is the former best friend of Janeway's girlfriend, Erin. The friendship ended when Erin's friend slept with and married Erin's fiancé. After some very uncomfortable meetings, Erin is enlisted to defend the woman along with the help of local attorney, Parley McNamera. They all believe that Laura confessed to the murder of her husband to protect the real killer, her autistic adopted son. Even though Janeway is itching to get at the huge collection of signed first editions in the deceased's library, he knows that he's got to find the real killer first. What he doesn't know is that the books and the murder are linked.Dunning's Janeway mysteries are among my very favorites. I've been diligently sampling new mystery series for the past three years, and this is one of the few that I've kept current on, which should tell you something. I love mysteries that combine two of my addictions: puzzles and books. An added bonus with Dunning is that his character of Cliff Janeway vaguely reminds me of another favorite literary character, Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Someone from Erin's past is in trouble and Cliff gets recruited to help investigate. There's a real twist in the tail, and along the way some interesting red herrings. One nice thing about Mr. Dunning's mysteries is that they are all unique - the kinds of mysteries, the motives, and the settings. Makes each one a great stand-alone read.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Very quick potboiler bibliomysteries, but well worth reading.