Booking in: A Crang Mystery (Crang Mystery, #7)

by Jack Batten

Mystery-solving criminal lawyer Crang returns to investigate the disappearance of two rare books.



Fletcher Marshall is a Toronto antiquarian book dealer, internationally respected in the business. One night, someone blows the safe in his office and makes off with the contents, which include an infamous forged first edition of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnets from the Portuguese that is in itself a collector's item. Fletcher, who was still in the process of verifying the book, doesn't even know whether it was the real thing or a clever forgery (of a forgery). But rather than summon the cops to investigate the theft, he turns to his pal Crang, the nervy criminal lawyer, hoping he can retrieve the books before their owner gets wind of the crime. The owner happens to be the richest woman in Canada and a tough cookie who could ruin Fletcher's career.


Crang gets on the hunt, learning much about the trade in musty books and the lucrative business it makes for forgers. Just as he seems to be getting close to answers, a shocking development makes things much more complicated - and much more dangerous.

• ISBN10: 1459736931
• ISBN13: 9781459736931
• Publish Date: 18 November 2017
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: CA
• Imprint: Dundurn Press
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 328
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Booking In is the 7th outing for lawyer/fixer and sometimes sleuth Crang. He's a likeable, intelligent jazz fanatic and martini lover. He is stable and has a great relationship with a woman he cares for and a house and home life he enjoys.

He has a loyal group of friends and associates with particularly 'interesting' (not necessarily strictly legal) talents which play a part in his freelance consulting. When one of his legal client's safe gets burgled and some potentially very valuable documents are stolen, he calls in his friends, a former safe-cracker and a burglar, to help figure out who/what/how (and maybe why).
The secondary cast of characters include some memorable comic relief and provide a foil for Crang's witty repartee and occasional fisticuffs.
There are several interwoven stories and the way they're resolved form the basis for a really solid mystery. The writing is top notch and the characterizations and dialogue are very well written and a lot of fun to read. It's cleverly written and the denouement is satisfying.

I just really enjoyed reading this book. As a bonus, there are a lot of great jazz, literature and poetry references. Well worth a read! Anyone who enjoys Robert Parker's Spenser books, or John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee books will definitely find something to please with these books. I read Booking In as a standalone, you get all the necessary background without having to read the other books first.

Four stars

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher.