Book Review - The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
I received this galley in exchange for an honest review.
Author: Eva Jurczyk
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Publish Date: January 11, 2022
Format: eBook
★★★☆☆
This book is perfect for those that like: Libraries, Rare Books, Women Who Stand Up for Themselves, or Peeking Into the Inner Workings of Academia
You might not like this book if you aren’t into: Ambiguous Story Threads, Poor Treatment of Mental Health Issues, or Mentions of Suicide
Favorite Line: "John didn't love the idea of her, he loved the reality of her."
Purchase: Bookshop / Barnes & Noble / Amazon
Summary: Liesl Weiss long ago learned to be content working behind the scenes in the distinguished rare books department of a large university, managing details and working behind the scenes to make the head of the department look good. But when her boss has a stroke and she's left to run things, she discovers that the library's most prized manuscript is missing.
Liesl tries to sound the alarm and inform the police about the missing priceless book, but is told repeatedly to keep quiet, to keep the doors open and the donors happy. But then a librarian unexpectedly stops showing up to work. Liesl must investigate both disappearances, unspooling her colleagues' pasts like the threads of a rare bookbinding as it becomes clear that someone in the department must be responsible for the theft. What Liesl discovers about the dusty manuscripts she has worked among for so long—and about the people who care for and revere them—shakes the very foundation on which she has built her life.
Liesl, on the surface, was a woman who looked like she had it together but in reality, was someone with secrets who didn’t make great decisions in both her career and in her personal life. Don’t get me wrong, I love a messy heroine, but she was a bit too aloof for me. Her pragmatism made sense given her job and responsibilities as head of the library, but I wanted more moments of feeling from her - something that would give me a reason to root for her. More times than not, she swallowed her instincts and opinions and for the first two-thirds of the book, I found her to be frustratingly numb to everything. In the end, I only wanted her to win because the powerful men who kept second-guessing her are terrible people who aren’t used to losing.
One of the aspects of the book I did very much enjoy though, was the B story of Liesl working with a colleague by the name of Rhonda Washington to introduce some much-needed modernization to the library. The ideas Professor Washington offers are met with resistance from the Old Guard at the university, which could be seen as typical workplace politics, but in this case, Professor Washington is Black and the author held nothing back in highlighting the microaggressions that Black people often face, especially in academia. Her entire story was fascinating and I would have loved a bit more focus on this part of the book in the telling of the mystery, as she does play a large part in it.
Honestly, while I do love mysteries involving books or libraries, I mainly was drawn to this one because it deals with rare books specifically. As someone who is married to a rare book dealer, I thought it would be fun to be in his “world” for a while. And it was fun - at times. Reading about the characters' reactions to these rare books used in the story was very reminiscent of my husband's reactions in his own work, which I found charming, but, as a non-rare book dealer myself, there still was quite a bit of the vernacular that would only be suited to a small number of people. If you are someone with no interest in rare books or the inner workings of a university library, then parts of this story might feel like a slog to you.
Overall, the mystery itself was enough to keep me guessing and engaged throughout despite the uneven pacing. There were a couple of times when I thought I had it figured out only to have the next chapter, or in some case paragraph, change everything and leave me at square one. It would make for a nice weekend read when it's a bit grey outside and you're in the mood for something a bit more somber, but still want the challenge of a good mystery.