Israel Armstrong is a passionate
soul, lured to Ireland by the promise of an exciting new career. Alas, the job
that awaits him is not quite what he has in mind. Still, Israel is not one to
dwell on disappointment, as he prepares to drive a mobile library around a
small, damp Irish town. After all, the scenery is lovely, the people are
charming--but where are the books? The rolling library's 15,000 volumes have
mysteriously gone missing, and it's up to Israel to discover who would steal
them...and why. And perhaps, after that, he will tackle other bizarre and
perplexing local mysteries--like, where does one go to find a proper cappuccino
and a decent newspaper?
The Case of the Missing Books is
less the beginning of a mystery series and more a collection of (sometimes)
funny tropes about small town life and your typical fish out of water hero. I
didn’t particularly like the book (got it at a library for a buck and came across
the second book as well, so I’ll read it next), though I don’t hate it as well.
The locals are a bit rough, mean, and hellish and Israel could use a spine from
time to time dealing with them; and while the “mystery” aspect is not much of a
mystery per se, I still felt compelled to think how 15,000 copies of a local
library could vanish.
Sansom does try to explore this
theme a bit (though the explanation is rather unique), but he clearly rather deal with oddball characters that he creates
here. Still, the book does have some funny parts, some clever dialogue, but everyone
could use with a bit of softening around the edges. It's not that original, but that did not really bother me. I just wished it was something more than it was -though I would be remiss to put my finger on why exactly I was expecting. Still, these days I'm reading what interests me, and at this moment, this is a fine way to pass what's left of my life.
Then again, I would not
mind to be “paid to drive around beautiful, rural, coastal Irish community,
with a van full of books.”
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