[.ca] The Sign of the Book: A Cliff Janeway "Bookman" Novel (ISBN 0743255054)

Unfinished Business:
The Sign of the Book will probably appeal more to new readers of this series than to those who have been reading all of the Cliff Janeway novels. Why? The Sign of the Book is weaker than the other books in the series but does have a tincture of the book world that will appeal to those who haven't read one before. What's different? The book connection is modest . . . and overdeveloped from the modest base. Also, much of the book's action serves little purpose. Basically, this is a novella stretched into a novel. The stretching dilutes what could have been a taut, but shorter, story. Here's the background, Cliff's partner and lover, Erin D'Angelo, gets a call from an old friend asking for legal help. Erin hasn't forgiven Laura Marshall for stealing Erin's old boyfriend and marrying him. Erin is also tied up in court so the most she can and will do is send Cliff to check matters out with local counsel. Cliff quickly spots that Laura is being railroaded by an incompetent deputy. She's also holding something back. But what does all that mean in the context of her confession to murdering her husband? With Laura locked up and not remembering much, Cliff decides he'll have to check matters out on his own. Before long, he's stirring up hornet's nest after hornet's nest of opposition. Two long stakeouts start to open up the case. From there, it's a waiting game as the puzzle is slowly put together. Even if you are a Cliff Janeway fan, you could skip this book.