John Dunning's Cliff Janeway series ranks among my top favorites in mystery/detective series. When I think of Dunning an inevitable comparison takes place in my little grey cells: if you like Dick Francis you will love John Dunning. Why the comparison? What I often find delightful in fiction is not just the story itself; what delights is the acquisition of knowledge on a particular subject. Dick Francis in addition to handing his readers a well crafted mystery delights his readers with his thorough examination of the horse racing world. There is no doubt that when one thinks of horse racing, one thinks of Dick Francis. John Dunning accomplishes the same by delivering to his readers a thorough insider's knowledge of the art of collecting books. When one thinks of antiquarian books; when one thinks of book scouts; when one thinks of avid book collectors, book scams, and book shops across this great nation: one thinks of John Dunning.When one stumbles across a writer who not only delivers a great story but also infuses one with knowledge than this writer has the power to influence one's life personally. For example: it was due to Ayn Rand's novels that my philosophical perspective on the world and my life in it changed. In the case of John Dunning I became engrossed in book collecting: how can one forget an author when my glass encased book cases, filled with signed first editions of my favorite authors, are filled to the brim as a direct result of reading Booked To Die.John Dunning is not a man of the computer age. His is a world of typewriters. He says: "Unlike a computer, a great old manual typewriter was an honest machine. You did your work, it did its work." Is it any wonder than that his sentences are among the best crafted? No room for mistakes. Syntax, clauses, and style fuse together in a Dunning book with absolute clarity. Dunning is a writer that appeals to the intellect while simultaneously attracting mystery lovers with his behind-the-scenes look at the world of books: the moral and ethical circumstances that drive any great mystery, including death. Cliff Janeway, our hero, is in many ways a reflection of the writer. Here the comparison with Dick Francis continues. Where Francis writes about the Queen's sport (horse racing) as a result of having spent a good deal of his life as a jockey himself, Dunning writes about books as a result of having owned his own book store in Denver. Where Francis writes about the racing world in England where he spent his jockey years, Dunning's protagonist Cliff Janeway, a former cop, owns a book store in Denver as well. The adage that one write "about what one knows" is never more true with these two writers. Francis's heroes are a reflection of the writer himself: in the case of Francis we empathize with a thoroughly honorable, ethical and objective human being and in the case of Dunning we face our own conflicts through a conflicted hero not averse to violence but compelled by a proper moral ethic that guides the hero through his various delimmas. As with Dunning who struggled with ADD, being a poor student, and taking the hard road to his own calling, so does Janeway struggle with authority, with finding his true calling as one reads about a cop turned book collector in the Cliff Janeway novels.And finally I have to wonder about the formula in play here. Did Dunning stumble upon the perfect subject inadvertently or did it come about as a reflection of his own life? Let's face it, what more compelling subject matter for a mystery/detective series could have been chosen than to appeal to the reader himself: it is our love of reading, our love of books that draws us to these pages. And in the case of Dunning, our satisfaction is doubled because what we are reading about is the very thing from which we draw our pleasure: the world of books.As with all my series reviews, if you've read this review of the Cliff Janeway series, you've read 'em all.
What more can you want? Yes, I am hooked on this series, and this one is a masterpiece. Engrossing characters from the very beginning, a book hunt over several states, a plot involving flashbacks to the life of the 19th century adventurer and explorer, Richard Burton, and a resolution of the plot that makes complete sense. Concisely written.It sent me to the library to find Fawn Brodie's biography of Richard Burton. Several unforgettable "secondary" characters remain in my mind - Denise and Mike Ralston, Josephine Gallant, and Koko Bujak. But as always with Dunning, every character is vivid and every scene is beautifully imagined.Civil War buffs will find this one especially interesting. Its pictures of a journey through the wilds of the South in the 1860s is accurate and unforgettable. Favorite imaginary quote from Burton: "There were many ultrasecessionists on hand...Charlie, these fools are having the time of their lives. Strutting like cocks in a barnyard...They have no idea how quickly the world is turning against state-sponsored slavery, and how difficult it will soon be for them to function with that as their calling card. They can't imagine how many of their boys will die for their foolish pride."Those who follow Victorian adventurers and know who Burton is - well, you have to read it. Bibliophiles will appreciate the comparison of the book world in 1987 to the internet-dominated book world of today...not always to the advantage of the latter. Favorite quote: "A book is a mirror. If an ass peers into it, you can't expect an apostle to look out." - Lichtenberg, quoted by Dunning.Also - "You can't talk logic to madmen and you can't prevent a war if only one side is interested in doing that."
What do You think about The Bookman's Promise (2005)?
I liked this book. That said, it is not as compelling a read as books 1 and 2 in this series. Admittedly, I was ill while reading the book, but it took me way longer than usual. All that aside, it does have Dunning's usual twisty plot line. And, once again, I didn't know the real villain until the reveal. After the fact, I could see the clues, but I was so focused on the character as a good guy that it never even rang a bell.There was less about the arcane world of book collecting and the people that service the need. The obsessional world of the collector and Richard Burton's works (the explorer, not the actor!) were the whole focus of this book. Don't get me wrong, it is well worth reading, especially as a part of the series and the continuing development of Cliff's character.
—Katherine
Like its predecessors, Booked to Die and The Bookman s Wake, The Bookman s Promise follows the exploits of bookstore owner and one-time police detective Cliff Janeway. Janeway can’t seem to keep investigative work out of his life, despite his efforts to focus on being a fulltime bookman.In this installment, Janeway has become an admirer of Richard Burton, a multi-talented nineteenth-century English explorer. Using a pile of cash received in his last outing, Janeway has purchased at auction a rare Burton travelogue. A chance bit of publicity surrounding that purchase puts him in contact with a mysterious elderly widow with what she claims are family ties to Burton—ties that include previously undiscovered writings by and photographs of Burton.One thing leads to another, and Janeway soon departs his Denver home for the eastern seaboard on the trail of what could be bookman’s bonanza of undiscovered material.In the middle of Janeway’s adventures, Dunning includes a 50-page historical remembrance of Burton’s 1860 travels to the United States by a travel partner mentioned in none of Burton’s extant works. The unknown partner happens to be the grandfather of the mysterious widow; the trick is to discover the extent to which the account might be true.It’s been a few years since I read the earlier Janeway books, but I remember liking them quite a bit. In this installment, Dunning offers a mixed bag. He’s great when he’s describing the bookseller’s world. His descriptions of Charleston, past and present, are a delight. The characters in Janeway’s world are well drawn, as attractive and frustrating as folks you meet everyday.I was far less enchanted when Janeway becomes the tough guy. His machismo seems forced, perhaps because the story’s violence seems oddly stiched to the rest of the account.Nonetheless, this is a rewarding book. Its intersection of fiction and history is rich in character, evocations of times past, and the press of the past on the present. Dunning knows how to romanticize his hard-boiled stories on a par with the greats like Chandler. Janeway remains one of my favorite private detectives, even if he’d flinch at anyone applying that label to him.
—Paul
Former cop turned bookman Janeway is drawn into a mystery by an old woman whose appearance at his store sets the story in motion. Dunnings novels are semi-hardboiled, and bad things happen to good people (and some bad people) along the way. The principal thread involves the explorer Richard Burton, and I am not qualified to say to what extent it draws on actual history. I felt the story within the story about Burton's visit to Charleston, SC, a kind of meandering interlude in what was otherwise a fast-paced story. The ending was a bit of a surprise.
—Harry Lane
