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tracey_stewart's review
3.0
Part of a series of longish short stories which center on marvelous books, which is a great idea. (Thank you to the publisher, from whom, via Netgalley, I received this for an honest review.) This was nicely done: a twisty story of suspense – especially if you’re of the target audience, a capital-B Booklover whose heart hurts at the idea of the destruction of a rare and wonderful book. It felt like it should have Alfred Hitchcock coming out to say "Good evening" and do a clever intro. Very nice indeed.
usbsticky's review
5.0
Spoilers below.
I did not know it was a short story but it was a pretty interesting plot. A noted Chaucer scholar (Hallkyn) was informed by phone that a lost Chaucer book had been found. After delivering photo evidence that this lost book was real, Hallkyn talked to a sponsor to try and raise money to buy this book. However the "blackmailer" told Hallkyn that he had to give him $5M just so he doesn't destroy the book and then they would decide what to do after that.
The sponsor agrees to give Hallkyn $5M to preserve the book and puts transponder devices with the money and sets up a team of security men to follow Hallkyn at the dropoff point to try and identify the blackmailer. Hallkyn meets with the blackmailer but the latter discovers the transponder devices and burns them. A few days later the blackmailer calls up Hallkyn angrily and accuses him of cheating. He then sends a video of the book being burned. Twist follows.
A fast and quick story. Too bad, I think Perry could have stretched it into a full book.
I did not know it was a short story but it was a pretty interesting plot. A noted Chaucer scholar (Hallkyn) was informed by phone that a lost Chaucer book had been found. After delivering photo evidence that this lost book was real, Hallkyn talked to a sponsor to try and raise money to buy this book. However the "blackmailer" told Hallkyn that he had to give him $5M just so he doesn't destroy the book and then they would decide what to do after that.
The sponsor agrees to give Hallkyn $5M to preserve the book and puts transponder devices with the money and sets up a team of security men to follow Hallkyn at the dropoff point to try and identify the blackmailer. Hallkyn meets with the blackmailer but the latter discovers the transponder devices and burns them. A few days later the blackmailer calls up Hallkyn angrily and accuses him of cheating. He then sends a video of the book being burned. Twist follows.
A fast and quick story. Too bad, I think Perry could have stretched it into a full book.
urlphantomhive's review
3.0
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
Professor Dominic Halkyn gets a strange phone call from someone claiming to have a very very special medieval book in his possession. To prevent the caller from destroying this book Dominic will have to meet his demands.
For once, although this is only my third Bibliomysteries-series books, I felt there really was a mystery to solve, which made for a nice change. I also quite liked that there was more than just the story, it also deals with some other questions, that I won't discuss now out of fear for spoiling. At the end there is an - although not that original - interesting twist. It's just that these books are so short, this one in particular I think would have worked great in a longer story.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Professor Dominic Halkyn gets a strange phone call from someone claiming to have a very very special medieval book in his possession. To prevent the caller from destroying this book Dominic will have to meet his demands.
For once, although this is only my third Bibliomysteries-series books, I felt there really was a mystery to solve, which made for a nice change. I also quite liked that there was more than just the story, it also deals with some other questions, that I won't discuss now out of fear for spoiling. At the end there is an - although not that original - interesting twist. It's just that these books are so short, this one in particular I think would have worked great in a longer story.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
anjanette's review
4.0
really enjoyable story.
read more on my blog: http://readerhayworth.blogspot.com/
read more on my blog: http://readerhayworth.blogspot.com/
chewdigestbooks's review
5.0
Even though it can get pricey to grab them all, I do love this series not only for the plots, but it has introduced me to a few mystery authors that were new to me. (FYI: Some libraries have them in their digital collection, including Freading, so check them if cost is an issue for such short books/stories.)
This one, based on Chaucer was really great thanks to reminding me that I need to A. go to the Huntington Library to check out their copy because although I've been there often when I lived nearby, I never knew that they had what is not now thought to be the second copy and B. I adored The Canterbury Tales in high school even though the language was challenging.
WARNING, PERSONAL STORY AHEAD: When I was in elementary school, I chipped my front tooth. (I'm not going into how it happened because it was stupid and embarrassing.) With braces and everything soon following, my parents were loath to have it capped until they knew I wouldn't do something stupid again. Still, it was embarrassing as a teen until my English teacher, Sister Anne, while teaching this book, laughingly compared one student or another to each of the characters in the story. Because of my tooth, I became the one she choose for the lustful gap-toothed Wife of Bath, which was hilarious coming from the rather straight-laced, yet polio-stricken Sister Anne. She used specialized crutches and wore her disability with honor, which made it easier for all of us to see out various imperfections in a new light. For her to point out the chip in my tooth and compare it to the lustful ideas of what a gap-tooth was thought to mean in the middle ages was so over the top, that I wore it with pride until the day I finally got it capped. So that is why I loved The Canterbury Tales and Sister Anne, may she rest in peace. (I haven't asked, but haven't seen her in reunion photos, so I'm assuming that she's no longer with us.)
Back to the story, what could be more enticing to a professor of the literature of the Middle Ages than a huge find of another of Chaucer's work that was thought to be lost? Nothing. Luckily, the professor has rich friends and is able to pull together the money to buy it for later donation to a library. Things go awry, however, as they always do in a mystery and a huge dream.
I loved that the professor had kept friends from his own school days and that even better, that friend happened to be a literature lover with deep pockets in an emergency. Seriously, I talk to no one from my college days, I'm horrible at keeping in touch, so this made me jealous.
It was a fun read with a great twist at the end. For someone that tends to loathe short stories for their lack of depth, this was a refreshing change.
(I apologize for the personal story, even if it was a great example of how a teacher can not only build self-esteem and confidence but make you love really tough literature.)
This one, based on Chaucer was really great thanks to reminding me that I need to A. go to the Huntington Library to check out their copy because although I've been there often when I lived nearby, I never knew that they had what is not now thought to be the second copy and B. I adored The Canterbury Tales in high school even though the language was challenging.
WARNING, PERSONAL STORY AHEAD: When I was in elementary school, I chipped my front tooth. (I'm not going into how it happened because it was stupid and embarrassing.) With braces and everything soon following, my parents were loath to have it capped until they knew I wouldn't do something stupid again. Still, it was embarrassing as a teen until my English teacher, Sister Anne, while teaching this book, laughingly compared one student or another to each of the characters in the story. Because of my tooth, I became the one she choose for the lustful gap-toothed Wife of Bath, which was hilarious coming from the rather straight-laced, yet polio-stricken Sister Anne. She used specialized crutches and wore her disability with honor, which made it easier for all of us to see out various imperfections in a new light. For her to point out the chip in my tooth and compare it to the lustful ideas of what a gap-tooth was thought to mean in the middle ages was so over the top, that I wore it with pride until the day I finally got it capped. So that is why I loved The Canterbury Tales and Sister Anne, may she rest in peace. (I haven't asked, but haven't seen her in reunion photos, so I'm assuming that she's no longer with us.)
Back to the story, what could be more enticing to a professor of the literature of the Middle Ages than a huge find of another of Chaucer's work that was thought to be lost? Nothing. Luckily, the professor has rich friends and is able to pull together the money to buy it for later donation to a library. Things go awry, however, as they always do in a mystery and a huge dream.
I loved that the professor had kept friends from his own school days and that even better, that friend happened to be a literature lover with deep pockets in an emergency. Seriously, I talk to no one from my college days, I'm horrible at keeping in touch, so this made me jealous.
It was a fun read with a great twist at the end. For someone that tends to loathe short stories for their lack of depth, this was a refreshing change.
(I apologize for the personal story, even if it was a great example of how a teacher can not only build self-esteem and confidence but make you love really tough literature.)
bethr's review
3.0
Great premise
Cynical execution. I’d expect better from Perry, but maybe this was good enough for a novella. Could be better, though.
Cynical execution. I’d expect better from Perry, but maybe this was good enough for a novella. Could be better, though.
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