Carlos Ruiz Zafon, author of Shadow of the Wind, recently put a list together of his favorite novels about books and posted it on Goodreads (You can find it here). This inspired me to put together my own list of my favorite crime novels that involve books.
Here are the top three:
1) The Tuesday Next series by Jasper Fforde - This series involves characters that can hop in and out of books as they solve crime and try to protect the book world. A combination of fantasy and mystery, this series are great fun and anyone who doesn't have a sense of humor should not pick them up. The first three books of this series are the best, so I recommend starting with The Eyre Affair where Tuesday tries to protect massive plot deviations for Jane and Mr. Rochester that could have lasting ramifications.
2) The Cliff Janeway books by John Dunning - Janeway, a former cop who can't quite leave this old job behind, becomes a seller of rare books in Denver. His quest for books always leads him into trouble. Simon and Schuster has recently announced that the first two Janeway books - Booked to Die and Bookman's Wake will be available in e-books in late August of 2012.
3) The Cotton Malone books by Steve Barry - More thriller than mystery, ex-Justice Department operative Cotton Malone, like Janeway tries to hang out stress free as an antiquarian book dealer in Copenhagen, but he can't quite manage it. These fast paced books take Cotton on the search for valuable historical information and works, like the Library of Alexandria or the clues in Charlemagne's tomb that can alter the course of mankind.
What are your favorites?
I love the Cotton Malone series. I've been meaning to try John Dunning, partly because I live in Denver, but haven't gotten around to it yet. I have The Eyre Affair on my night stand to start.
ReplyDeleteOh Kerry - I think you'll love both Eyre Affair and the John Dunning. Both are great fun!
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