When Halloween Bingo was kicking off, and we had to submit the seven squares we didn't want included on our card, I was a little bit flummoxed, because there were 9 squares on my list.  I knew I wouldn't be able to convince Moonlight Reader to just give me three cozy mystery squares instead, so I had to pick the 2 lesser evils.  Classic Noir was one of them.  I'm generally not a fan of the sub-genre as it's all a bit too 'dame' and 'broad' for me; the slang wears on my nerves after awhile and feels too affected.

But I'd just received Bibliomysteries: Stories of Crime in the World of Books and Bookstores;  it's the (presumably) first collection of the Bibliomysteries Otto Penzler commissions from authors each year, which he then publishes to offer first as gifts to his good customers, then to sell to the general public.  One of the stories is It's in the Book; originally started by Mickey Spillane before his death, it was found amongst his papers and Max Allan Collins finished it for Penzler.  I don't know if Spillane meant for it to be a short story, but it certainly works beautifully as one.

Hammer is hired, first by the NYPD, then by the mafia. Both want the same book:  a ledger allegedly used by a recently passed Don to record every nefarious deed and transaction he ever undertook.  Names are named and nobody wants it to see the light of day, although a few would kill to use it themselves.

It was a lot of fun riding along with Hammer as he makes short work of finding the book, and while the noir was thick, it wasn't overdone (perhaps by virtue of being a short story).  The ending is purposefully foreshadowed early on, making me think that it was more about the action and savoir-faire than about the conclusion of the 'mystery' itself.  Collins did offer up a slight, pretty comical twist at the end, and it had me smiling as I closed the book last night.

I won't rush out to read more noir, but I definitely had a good time with this one!

Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley

                For many people, the title of Rankin’s “Bibliomystery” will make them think of Hans Christen Andersen’s fairy tale of the same title.            

                Well, Rankin does draw a bit from Andersen’s story of a spirit of a dead man, but not in the obvious way.

                Rankin’s novella draws upon the work of Robert Louis Stevenson and despite being set in Paris, seems to be channeling Edinburgh.  A young student in Paris before finishing his studies about Stevenson is sent by his employer to look at some old books.  What follows is part dark fairy tale (along the lines of Andersen’s “The Shadow”), part Stevenson at his best story, and part literary mystery. 

                In other words, it is a book lover’s dream.

This novella is part of the Bibliomysteries series, which features short stories all of which have something to do with books. What could be possibly better than that?

This story takes place at the Library of Congress, where the main character has to sort through books and can only choose a few to keep. The rest goes straight into the incinerator. (No one told me this was going to be horror ;) )

Condor, the main character, was completely unknown to me as I never read about him before or watched the movie. Therefore, at times I was a bit confused. The story didn't help solve that problem, because of the length restrictions it also felt like it skipped some things and that made it confusing as well. Moreover, the story wasn't very remarkable. It was an easy and enjoyable read, but not something that will stay with me for long.

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!

4 stars!  #TheLIttleMen  @openroadmedia  @meganeabbott

This was like a little mini Twilight Zone. I read it and I'm still like shaking my head like WTF? This girl gets this room cheap and its not far from work and she's real excited until she talks to her neighbor and finds out how she has got the room for so cheap. It was a nice short little story, only 71 pages long, and it told a story. I'm not much on short stories, so my review is pretty biased. However, I know there are people who don't have a lot of time to read and who would love this book.

I'm pretty sure that sitting back with a bowl and reading this would definitely enhance your reading experience because this one is kind of out there. I enjoyed it, wish it was longer, and would definitely recommend it.

Huge thanks to Open Road Media and Net Galley for providing me with this free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.