Note: I received a digital review copy from the publisher through NetGalley. ( )

A re-issue of a 1940's mystery written by Ruthven Todd; I have to say that in general, I did not like this book. It probably deserves 2.5 stars but the bookshop setting and plot surrounding books keeps me from doing it. This is an instance when I know I'm being too kind though, because the writing had me skimming from just about the mid-way point.

The book (and series) is hyped to be witty and humorous and in the forward Peter Main mentions that Ruthven Todd wrote these only in order to make money; he felt that they were vastly inferior to his poetry. I put these two disparate ideas together because I can only think that what is considered funny to others is what I felt was a complete lack of respect for the genre. Of the three main characters, one is a constantly fatigued Scotland Yard detective, another is a corpulent Scotsman, and the third, our narrator, a botanist and assistant to said corpulent Scotsman, who does not hide his complete disdain for both from the reader. It's a disdain attached to grudging affection and respect, and I suspect it is supposed to be read as acerbic wit, but it just sounded petulant to me.

Never thought I'd say this but: there's such a thing as too much Scottish vernacular.

The plot was ok, but too strung out and would have benefited from an editor with fascist work habits. Dover says upfront that the text is from the original published manuscript as it was printed, so fair enough to them, but that just means the original had many flaws, including a niece that becomes a sister and is then demoted back to niece in the span of 2 pages.

Dover have reissued a few others of his work, but I won't be searching them out. ( )

Decent, but not great. The author clearly likes to turn a fancy phrase...and while much of it was clever, it took away from just following the story to some extent. Almost like a person writing their first book and trying too hard. As I say with every mystery...no Agatha Christie. ( )

A classic bibliomystery in the truest sense: the crime occurs in a bookshop and there are nefarious biblio-dealings at the heart of it all! A quick read, and the main characters are a little ridiculous, but if you're a fan of this type of book, don't miss this one. ( )

"Bodies in a Bookshop" is a well-paced, old-fashioned British mystery. With its book collecting backdrop, this is a great read for bibliophiles. The author flashes sly wit throughout, and plants some good red herrings to keep things interesting to the end. ( )